I ENCOUNTERED SAILFISH FOR THE FIRST TIME

Last weekend has been extremely eventful for me. I was invited by my friend Bihzhu to join her friends to a fishing trip at Kuala Rompin in Pahang. The location was about 4 hours or more drive away from Kuala Lumpur. I encountered my first ever Sailfish, and it was quite a magnificent experience! Also, we had a chance to meet the King (Agong) of the country in that same weekend too! What a crazy adventure it was, and a much needed time away from the city to just chill and spend quality time with truly amazing people. Special thanks to Shamin (from TheMilkfishLady) and Naweshad for hosting us, it was truly an unforgettable experience! I vlogged the fishhing trip of course, you can find the video here (click). 

Image by Shamin Shaimah, used with permission

Shamin and Naweshad practices ethical and sustainable fishing, and they also do research and analysis on the fish and overall ecosystem. As they bring people and guests with them on their fishing trips, they concurrently would do their own research of the fish they caught, by taking photographs and taking measurements. They were the first in Malaysia to push the ethical way of sports fishing, by capture and release, ensuring the fish was unharmed and allowing them to continue to live, grow and populate. Hearing them speaking about their struggles and challenges in educating the locals on doing the right things in sustainable sports fishing was truly inspiring, and I wish I had 10% of their passion and zeal in what they do! Not only have I learned so much about fishing but I was also reinvigorated by their determination and will in standing by what is right, and fighting for a cause. Here I was, just wielding my camera and doing things for fun!

We took a small boat and got to about 8 nautical miles into the ocean, where we started fishing for sailfish. We caught quite a few, and it was truly a spectacular experience. Holding the fish in hand was also quite remarkable, there was something magical about these sea creatures, and it reminds me of how small I am, and how little I know about this planet. I am glad the fish was released unharmed, and got to continue living its life, which is probably more majestic than mine, being underwater. 

I, unfortunately suffered seasickness. I did not drink or eat anything for 10 hours, so the combination of feeling nauseous, thirsty and dehydrated was not a good feeling throughout the boat trip. That did affect my ability to film and the vlog footage suffered as time went by. At the end I decided to just stopped touching the camera and not bother about the vlog any more. I guess, next time I should be more prepared, like taking seasickness pills or something. It was my first fishing trip, so I had no idea how seasick I would actually get, or if I could tolerate the rough sea waves. Despite the seasickness, I had plenty of fun, it was an eye-opening experience and just simply observing Shamin and Naweshad in action was worth all the seasickness I was going through.

Our fishing trip coincided with an international fishing competition held in Kuala Rompin, but we did not participate, we were just out there chilling. Shamin and Naweshad were invited to the prize giving ceremony dinner, and myself and Bihzhu were tagging along. The King graced the ceremony and we were seated just two tables away from His Majesty! What an awesome treat, this was the closest I have been to the royal family. I did have my camera with me but decided not to take it out, as there were security people crawling all over the space and I did not want to raise suspicion. I was there to eat, as a guest, it was not a job, so I should be putting the camera down. 

All in all, I must say, what a weekend it has been, and I cannot thank Shamin, Naweshad and Bihzhu enough for having me along this trip! 

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