The Aral Sea and its Fishery

Since 1991, where Danish fishermen for the first time visited the Aral Sea, the desire to support the fishermen and their families at Aral, had been discussed in Denmark. The thought that the fishermen more efficiently than the many reports and articles would be able to attract the attention of the world to the catastrophe in and around the Aral Sea, was directly imported from the work conducted in the Fiskerikollektivet af 1978, concerning the Danish marine environment, in the project "Environmental cutter Anton - for a clean sea", and the thought was strengthened from what the Kazak fishermen told us themselves.

They had grown tired from the many delegations that had visited the area and developed theories, made promises and written scientific articles, without the emergence of anything concrete, and this lack of action had caused a feeling of despair among the fishermen, which was expressed in this image: "If all the delegations that visited the Aral Sea, had only brought each a bucket of water, then this water - together with our tears - could have refilled the Aral Sea".

The philosophy of the Fiskerikollektivet is very simple: The people suffering from mismanagement, in this case the fishermen, should be mobilized in order to bring themselves in the front line of the struggle to improve the nature that also forms the basis of their profession.

In the early nineties, Danida, in the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, opened an NGO-support scheme. We therefore enquired Danida about the possibilities of exerting NGO development funds in favour of the remaining fishermen and societies at the Small Aral. We were advised to undertake a preliminary identification investigation of such a project, using private funds. The Danish foundation Solhvervsfonden agreed to supply the necessary economical support to the preliminary investigation, and this was conducted in 1994.

Since the late eighties, biologists in Aralsk had worked to draw the attention of the fishermen to the apparent fact that a stock of flounder in Aral was about ready to form the basis of a commercial fishery. The biologists had performed investigations showing a stock of around 50,000 tons of flounder, and that the fishermen could catch 5,000-10,000 tons a year without depreciating the stock.

Now, the fishermen told us that they would very much like to start the catching of the many flatfish in the Aral Sea, but were in acute lack of effective tools and know-how to do it. They showed us a Russian book from 1936, explaining about the Danish seine fishing that was specially developed to improve the catches of flounder. (The Danish seine was invented in the middle of the 19th century by Jens Væver from Esbjerg). Could this technique be applied to the Aral Sea?

In the Aral Sea, the fishermen use a special seine that is quite voluminous, and which is pulled ashore by camels. This tool is extensive and has very long arms. It is most effective in the catching of the types of fish swimming in the upper parts of the water: species that are also seen in shoals, but it does not search the bottom nearly as thoroughly as the Danish seine. The seine traditionally used in the Aral Region is therefore not very suitable in catching the flatfish that is widely spread on the sea bottom. The fishermen also use ordinary staying nets, but these are nets like Danish fishermen used in the fifties, and they are construed to catch the known species in fresh water, and therefore unfit in the catching of flounder. Add to this that the fishermen have very few nets, all of which are in a bad shape (no re-newing of nets has been possible since 1991), and it is understandable that no vast effort has been made to catch the flounder n the Aral Sea.

• There are several reasons why the flounder fishery was never initiated:

• The acute economical limitations. No money exists in the area to invest in new equipment.

• Limitations with regards to management. Few, if any, make the necessary decisions, especially because of the lack of economical potential in the area.

• Tradition. The flatfish (flounder) was introduced 20-25 years ago. Together with 25 other species/organisms, flounder was introduced in the sea in attempt to create a basis of a commercial salt-water fishery in the Aral Sea to replace the fresh-water fishery that disappeared, when the salinity increased from 9 to 30 per mille. Only the fishermen knew nothing of flounder fishery. They didn’t know how to catch it, and they were insecure as to whether the people in the area would at all eat this unknown fish.

At the Small Aral there are there larger fishery organisations left: two kolhozes, Raim in the delta near the Syr Darya, and Djambul in the desert west of Aralsk, and the sovkoz Aralrybprom in Aralsk.

The fishery on flounder was initiated, but at the same time the catching of traditional species went down significantly. Hence, when looking at the total catches in the period 1991-1996, you notice a vast set back in all species, measured by tons:

 

Year	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995
Total catches	3680	2539	2163	1519	570
Flounder	50	116	55	8	0

The set back in traditional fishery is explained a.o. by the disintegration of management structures, and a lack of willingness to work among the members of cooperatives (this disinclination is inextricably bound up with the fact that the members do not receive their salory in cash value, but in services and in poor victuals, such as margarine). The lack of equipment, in the fishery and in the treatment, is also of significance. Furthermore, the statistics do not account for the fish that is sold outside oficial systems, by private fishermen and their families.

The preliminary investigation in 1994 resulted in a "Terms of Reference"; an agreement that formed the basis of a Kazak visit in Denmark in 1995. The visit was supported by the Demokratifonden (The Democracy Foundation) in Denmark. During this visit, the first "Protocol of our common aims" was signed by the Danish and Kazak originators and the leaders of the remaining fishery communities around Small Aral, and this declaration of intent caused an application to Danida towards the end of 1995. In the early 1996, the project "From Kattegat to Aral Sea - a fishery project" was granted around $200,000.

The most important arguments for the development project:

• There is a yet unexploited ressource of fish.

• There are many professionals available (fishermen).

• There is a historical tradition of a well-developed fishery.

• There are many unemployed men and women in Aralsk with experience in fishery industry.

• There is an environmental disaster, in which the fishermen have only been taking part as the ones who lost.

• There is a vast need of development on all areas in the societies.

The overall target of the project is: To support the maintenance and development of the Kazak fishery culture around the Northern part of the Aral Sea, through three partial aims:

• To aid a sustainable fishery on a largely unexploited ressource by supporting an ecologicaly responsible technology.

• To support the traditional fishery with staying nets as an emergency aid to rebuild the fishery on Aral.

• To strengthen the local means of distribution by improving the skills in fresh fish treatment among workers.

The primary target group is the Kazak fishermen and their families.

The secondary target group is the workers in the fishery industry, most of whom are women.

 The plans concerning the introduction of Danish seine fishery in the Aral Sea had to be abandoned, because of a considerable risk that the water level in the natural harbour meant to be used, would be far from stable. And the Danish seine fishery would require a harbour, since to smaller cutters were to be engaged to this purpose. The fishery with staying nets, on the contrary, could be conducted from the beach with smaller boats, which is why the project could obtain higher degrees of security by focusing on the staying net fishery.

The project runs in three years, beginning in 1996:

The 1996-phase:

• August A one month stay in Denmark for 19 Kazak: Eight fishermen, four specialists from the fishery industry, six interpreters, and one coordinator.

• October A trial fishery on the Aral Sea. Participants from Denmark: 2 fishermen, 1 biologist, 1 photographer, and from Kazakstan: 65 fishermen, 25 workers, and 14 women from the fishery industry.

1997:

• August Midway evaluation.

1998:

• June – phase 2.

 Throughout this period the development is followed via reports and letters from Almaty and Aralsk. The Danish co-ordinator has a monthly contact with Kazakstan, and locally a minor budget exists to cover expenses in the preparation of analysis and project descriptions, and the support of the establishing of smaller co-operative units among the fishermen.

In June 1996, the Danish co-ordinator went to Aralsk. In co-operation with the Kazak co-ordinator it was the aim to establish understanding and backing in the one month stay of a Kazak delegation in Denmark. Leaders didn't express much understanding of the urge to let so-called ordinary fishermen and workers should go to Denmark - they believed that they themselves would be most fit to explain the circumstances in the project to the fishermen and workers. But the plans had to be maintained, and in the end the leaders had to accept the plan the project was to be continued. The grounds for this were - and are - that the leaders have had their time, the agreements were signed by the leaders, but in order to ensure the results, plans had to be worked through with the people that were to take care of the practical circumstances in the preparation of the trial fishery on the Aral Sea. The practical elements of the 1996 phase were crucial in the attempt to prove that flatfish existed in the Aral Sea, and that the Kazak fishermen were able to catch it.

Eight fishermen, four of whom were brigadiers, four vicechairmen from co-operative Aralrybprom and six interpreters were invited to Denmark. The interpreters counted four English teachers from Aralsk and two from Almaty. All needed new passports and visa, and separate permissions were required for each to leave the region to go abroad. All preparation; standing in a line for several days waiting for permission and visa; ordering and paying for train- and plane tickets; co-ordinating the meeting in Moscow between the group from Almaty and from Aralsk, was only possible because the Kazak co-ordinator had experience from previous trips to Denmark. Kazak delegations visiting Denmark have to travel via Moscow and stay in the city for several days waiting for visa, since Denmark has no diplomatic representation in Central Asia.

The group arrived in Denmark in early August, and was acommodated in three summerhouses near Boennerup on Djursland. The program included visiting firms, seminars, culture meetings and fishery. The fishermen from Boennerup Port had agreed to take the Kazak fishermen with them on daily fishery, and in this manner, the Kazak fishermen took part in fishery with both staying nets, Danish seine, and trawl. This co-operation went on for a fortnight, and interestingly, the fishermen soon decided not to want interpreters going with them on the fishing. The communication took place in Danish, English, Russian and Kazak, and apparently understanding was no major problem, when centered around the professional co-operation. The other members of the delegation went on excursions, took part in seminars, visited the fishery industries, and a lot of talks took place on the trial fishery on the Aral Sea soon to be set in motion. A one day meeting was focused entirely on the problems to be expected, when they were to convince the leaders at home that they should support the project. The following was needed:

• That a base camp was build by the sea, app. 75 km from Aralsk. The sea bottom is very muddy at places, and therefore difficult to navigate. At Tastubek, the shore and the sea bottom were acceptable, and the small village itself was situated relatively close to the intended base camp.

• That at least 20 boats with working engines were moved to the camp. These boats were to be moved across significant distances.

• That five trucks and a jeep were available for the transportation of fish, equipment, gasoline (10 tons), food, a biological field camp with five workers, tents, material for building toilets a.o., and for the building of a gangway and a bridge to reach 40 m. into the sea.

• That reliable agreements were made between the Aralrybprom, Raim and Djambul kolhozes, concerning the distribution of tasks and economies. To the Kazak side, the agreement meant that equipment, food, salary etc. at a value of $20,000 were to be provided. These were the conditions of the Danish contribution that consisted in a.o. 1,000 new nets, rope, fillet-equipment, and a complete equipment for 100 fishermen, including thermosuits, rubber clothes, boots, knives, and gloves. Equipment worth in all at least $110,000.

Before leaving Denmark, the agreements should be undersigned, and a farewell party was arranged with the many people that had contributed to the success of the stay. The party was a Kazak evening with all the dishes and ceremonies that go along with such a celebration.

The Kazak visit in Boennerup was locally a success, and an event that is still frequently mentioned and warmly described. Still in 1998, people in Djursland often ask how their friends at the Aral Sea are doing. And the evaluation among fishermen in Boennerup clearly suggested that their Kazak colleagues are fishermen with practical and professional skills.

The visiting delegations in 1995 and 1996 have created good relations between Djursland and Aralsk. These have emerged around the direct co-operation in fishing, and by the fact that the Kazak have visited and lived with families at Djursland. Now, many people know about the problems in and around the Aral Sea, which means that communication in this respect is significantly eased. Local media, newspapers, television, and radio, have brought a number of articles and broadcasts. A counting of the national media interest, shows the following:

In Kazakstan, no actual counting of the coverage has been made, but the project has app. 10 articles from Kazak newspapers , all written before 1997, and more have emerged since then. During the Kazak visit in Denmark, a programme of half an hour was produced, and has been repeatedly broadcasted on Kazak television, latest in September 1997. During the trial fishery, local media from Kzyl-Orda broadcasted their own features and programmes.

On September 16th 1996, a cargo transport left Djursland with destination in Aralsk, and expected arrival in the days before the 1st of October. The transport was loaded with equipment for the trial fishery; 1,000 nets, suits for fishermen, rope, well boxes, seine rope, anchors, knives, 100 plastic boxes for fish, a 10x10x5 m. pound net to keep living fish, objects collected for an exhibition on Danish fishery, and a pallet of LEGO to be distributed among the schools in the area as a present from LEGO-toys in Billund. It was the first time ever that a Danish company was to transport equipment to this area of the former USSR. A co-operation between a Danish and a Polish transport firm, had taken the assignment, which assured at least one Russian speaking driver.

On September the 20th, the four Danish participants in the trial fishery started their journey by train via Berlin, Poland, Moscow and using the Moscow-Almaty/Tashkent railway. This journey took five days, and having arrived in Aralsk, the work began to start the trial fishery - and to worry whether the transport from Denmark would reach Aralsk safely and in due time.

In August it had been agreed that our partners in Aralsk should try to purchase three nomadic tents ("yurte"s), and try to collect a complete set of effects for a nomadic household. The Moesgaard Ethnographical Collection in Aarhus wanted to add such a household to their collection. The fishery department of Djursland Museum had donated some materials for the exhibition on Danish fishery in Aralsk, and would like to have some objects in return, to make an exhibition on the fishery on Aral, in Denmark.

However, only some fishery equipment had been collected, and therefore we had to buy tents, carpets and other equipment in a hurry. We had three days to collect the equipment that was going back to Denmark, since the transport had to return only two days after its arrival. We managed to buy three tents and the many carpets that go along with them, and to collect some household effects, however not a complete set. The fishing tackle for Djursland Museum was collected, some of it donated by the Aralrybprom museum and the Aralsk biological institute, and some of it lent, with the courtesy of the same institutions.

The cargo truck arrived exactly on schedule, and the transport had been perfectly successful, even if the last app. 500 km were all gravel roads. (During the preparations in the summer of 1996, we had investigated the possibilities to load the cargo on a container and transport it using the railway, but no guarantee as to the delivery could be granted, and the cargo had to be in Aralsk before the 1st of October, otherwise we would have severe problems with the plan of the trial fishery.)

When the transport arrived in Aralsk, we couldn't initiate the reloading immediately. Intense negotiations were going on between us, the local leaderships and the city council of Aralsk. Problems had occurred in relation to the general director of the Aralrybprom, who now wished to alter the contract. This contract, which in detail describes the distribution of equipment and the responsibility of the implementation of the trial fishery, was undersigned by his deputy, the vice director, during the August visit in Denmark. The agreement on co-operation from June 1996, on which that contract was founded, describes the budget as well as the distribution of equipment between the three local parties. In 1996, three agreements concerning the trial fishery were made.

The city council pressed the general director to acknowledge that the agreement had to be kept, if there was to be any hope that the project could be launched. During these negotiations, we also needed to establish a guarantee that the necessary equipment was brought to the sea - this equipment had not been moved there at the time of our arrival, and again pressure had to be put on the leaders in order to achieve our aims. One very important part of the project was the gasoline. In Aralsk, gasoline had become a valuable form of payment, and hence we were expecting notable problems in this particular aspect. Under these circumstances, and under severe pressure, we couldn't achieve the maximum fulfilment of all agreements made, local tension was too high for that, but most importantly, we reached a level of necessary security that the trial fishery would be carried out, and from this point, it was possible to begin the work. The cargo truck loaded with the tents and effects bought, set sails for Denmark - and arrived there six days later, again without any problems on the way.

The Fishery: The planned base camp by the sea shore had to be changed to lodgings in the small village Tastubek, about 10 km from the sea. The alteration was explained by the wind and the cold nights that would make it inconvenient to the Danes to live in tents. The real explanation however, seems to be that no initiative had been made to build the camp, before our arrival. In the village, which did turn out to be a warm and good place to stay, the fishermen lived in three houses - one of them with more than 30 people - and the Danes and their interpreters were lodged with a local family that was too take care of our well being for the next 20 days, assisted by chosen people from Aralsk.

At the sea shore, a head quarter was made, consisting in tents and a wagon, toilets, a biological field station, and a system of weighing the catches. Two flagstaffs were put up, and in a ceremony attended by leaders and mayors, the Kazak and the Danish flag were hoist, and the flags became the symbols of the co-operation during the following weeks.

The camp was situated at a place that had not been used for fishery before that, which is why nothing whatsoever indicated that people had ever been there. The coast was "cleaned" of any of the blessings of civilisation, such as plastics, and it was a peaceful place without much wild life. About 2 km from the sea shore, the steep former shore rose some 100 m, and on the former sea bottom camels passed from time to time.

This place, 75 km away from Aralsk by wheel tracks in the sand, turned out to be the centre of the first major fishery in Aral since 1975. The event had created much attention in the Aralsk region; would it really be possible to start fishing on Aral again? Old fishermen who had been fishing on the sea themselves, back when that was possible, came to the camp to wish us good luck and to tell their stories about the time when the sea gave life to so many people. To the Danish participants these moments were of significant value. One of us had been in the area in 1991 and again later, but none had tried to sail on the sea, and much less of course to catch fish from it.

Hence the big question was: Did an amount of fish exist in the sea big enough to legitimate this summoning of people and forces? Maybe the time was wrong, maybe the place was wrong, and if no fish was caught initially, how to start it all up again in another place? Here, on this very spot, so far away from Everything, the project that had taken so much of our thinking and energy, was to prove its validity.

The following day, 2,500 kg of flounder were landed; a good catch by quantity, but importantly also flounder of a very high quality: a quality that was unseen in Danish waters. And during the 16 days to come, app. 60,000 kg of high quality flounder were landed. It was a good catch, when compared to the number of boats and nets applied. The project didn't get the promised 20 boats with engines, and had to work with 15 boats, four of which didn't have their own engine. Each boat could handle no more than 15-25 nets, depending on size and crew. Initially, the fishermen had to learn the craft of taking out the flounder from the nets, which needs practice and time. Furthermore, the flounder had to be cleaned - something that wasn't done when catching the traditional species: normally, the fish was simply driven to the city and frozen there. Flounder is more delicate in its skin than traditional fresh water species such as carp and pike, which is why the fish had to be cleaned and preferably cooled as soon as possible - an unusual way of working to the fishermen.

The fishery was conducted in the following manner. Early in the morning, before sun rise, everybody drove from Tastubek to the camp. Soon after arriving there, the fishermen started going out to the fishing grounds. On some mornings, one Dane went out with a boat, but usually there was enough work to be done ashore until the fishermen started bringing in the fish in the afternoon. The truck from Aralsk arrived with boxes, and things had to be made ready for the weighing. A gangway was build during the first week, and turned into a fine quay along the way. It was a most needed piece of work, since mud at the sea shore, 100 m into the sea and the first 50 m at shore, made the transport of equipment and fish a most difficult task. Before the bridges started working, the fishermen, in mud to their knees, dragged tubs with fish weighing 80-100 kg ashore - just about more than flesh and blood can stand. All the time, however, pressure had to be made, to get the necessary materials from Aralsk. The large amount of "specialists" attached to the camp, rarely promoted the facilitation of the work.

- One fisherman was in Aralsk on the plant, where the work with the fish was conducted: a fillet-team of 14 women was established, fillets were cut and frozen, and the smokehouse was to be supplied with fish. Furthermore, pressure had to be made to produce ice, to obtain gasoline, and to have trucks sent to the sea. There was always a lack of ice and gasoline; the production of ice could brake off immediately because of lack of ammonia. The fillet-team worked well, but was unaccustomed in working with flatfish, and the work was interrupted every day in the afternoon, because the electricity supply was cut off in the entire Aralsk region. The main problems in Aralsk were the power cuts, the lack of gasoline, low quality of water, inefficient capacity to freeze the fish, ineffective and much too many leaders. The positive sides were the big support and hard work of the fishermen, the women in the industry, the interpreters, and the people who struggled to create coherence along the way: the drivers and the workers. Their efforts were exposed in connection with a market day, where flounder was introduced to the public, prepared like in Denmark, and prepared in traditional Kazak dishes. At this market, flounder was also sold, whole, in fillets and smoked.

- One fisherman was responsible of the camp, which included a project of drying flounder at the beach. The October climate invited to the drying of fish: not too hot and always windy. The flounder was dried without salt, and salted at various degrees, with good results. Every day the fishing should be planned, changes of working routines introduced, and solutions were to be found to the problems arising from the increasing amounts of fish landed. A truck could carry no more than 3,000-4,000 kg of fish because of the condition of the roads, and the project had only got one closed truck at it's disposal. Therefore, an ordinary truck had to be made ready for transport of fish. The 100 plastic boxes could hold no more than 3,000 kg, and therefore sacks had to be applied; sacks that had been brought from Denmark and are usually used for potatoes. 100 m into the sea, at convenient distance from the mud, a "cleaning-station" was established, consisting in two boats at anchor. Here, the fishermen pulled over with their catches, in order to have them washed and cleaned. To the Kazak fishermen this work was very troublesome, since it was normally the job of workers in the industry. To a Danish fisherman it is most natural to clean flatfish, but this skill is trained and developed over years. Considering the increasing amounts of the catches, the fishermen were even more loaded, and this fact together with the necessity of transporting some of the fish on open trucks, questioned the procedure of cleaning in the boats. It was doubtful, whether it was defensible to let fish that had been "opened" be exposed of the dust and sand on the way to town. As a consequence, the procedures were changed, so that in the last half part of the trial fishery period, the fish was only washed in the boats, and then sent to Aralsk, where a team of women started cleaning it.

- The photographer, who brought with him a professional video recorder, made recordings in the camp, on sea and in Aralsk in order to describe the events. 11 hours of film were recorded, describing the fishery, the living in the camp, in Aralsk, in the plant, in the villages etc. Furthermore, pictures were made for photos and slides. It was also possible to visit schools and exchange tapes, letters and photos on behalf of a Danish school class that wanted to get in touch with pupils of same age in Aralsk.

The photographer also became the self-appointed analyst of the project, taking down data of the catches: which boat caught how much, when, how and where, using how many nets? These data were made public on a notice board in the camp, for instance: "On the 7th of October, boat M8 caught 725 kg flounder using 10 pcs. 65 mm og 15 pcs. 70 mm nets". This work made it possible to end the trial fishery by a celebration of the most skilful/luckiest boat and crew.

- The laboratory technician worked together with the biological field station that collected data and conducted a trial fishery of their own, weighing and measuring the fish, and taking out ear stones to decide the age of the fish. Samples were taken from stomach contents, and this together with some pieces of dried fish was brought back to Denmark to be scrutinised for heavy metals and pesticides. Having worked for several years as a fisherman however, the technician spent most of his time assisting the organisation of the practical fishery.

Every day, visitors came to the camp, and on some occasions this was celebrated by slaughtering a sheep on the spot, and boiling it with pasta: the traditional Kazak dish "Bisbarmak" ("five fingers"), which everybody eats from the same plate - using the five fingers.

The days in Tastubek hence were much the same: Wakening at 6:00, driving to the beach on the truck body, and getting busy working before dawn. Gasoline was sucked up from the truck tanks, and carried to the boats. The lucky ones without engine trouble could go to the sea, while the unfortunate started separating and adjusting. The nets were pulled up in silence, and if the catches were good, they were accompanied by the quiet humming of the fishermen. Once the flounder had been taken out, the nets were put out again, and the boat headed towards the camp and the weighing. The fishery had come back, and as a visible sign of this, the boats were accompanied on their way back by ever larger flocks of seagulls. At 19:00 everybody was usually back in, and the trucks rumbled back to Tastubek. The fishing was conducted within a radius of max. 10 km from the camp, in depths from two to eight meters. Only one day, the fishing had to be abandoned because of bad weather.

Back in Tastubek, it was time to eat. In the Danish house we could do with a sheep a day, whilst the 35 fishermen of Aralrybprom (though including visitors) finished a horse within a few days! After dinner, an evening meeting was held with the fishermen on the strategies for the coming day: what could be done better, should anyone go to other grounds, and how was the day just finished? These meetings were held in a good atmosphere, since none wanted to miss the possibility of sharing a bottle of vodka with the Danes. After the meeting dombra and guitar were taken out, and the improvising Kazak poets were kindly making fun of the odd Danes.

On the 18th of October, the trial fishery was ended officially by a celebration in the Aralrybprom. All the leaders of Aralsk were represented, and the many speeches all expressed sincere optimism as for the future flounder fishing on Aral.

Our last days in the region were reserved for visiting private homes and schools, where the LEGO-presents were to be divided. Once again we experienced the many feelings connected to the Aral Sea. The songs of the children expressed the longing for the Aral Sea that many of them had never seen, and in their many speeches and by the many presents, the villages made it clear to us that the project had created some hope for a better future.

• The October month trial fishery proved that there is a significant stock of flounder in the Small Aral. An average of app. 30 pounds/net in 15 days and in an area of only about 30 km2, which equals something like 1% of the present area of the Small Aral, is extremely high compared to a similar Danish fishery. These figures cannot of course be multiplied to be valid for all of Small Aral, but the indication is clear: there is a basis of a commercial fishery for flounder.

• The quality of the Aral flounder is very high, with an average weight of app. 300 g, and the laboratory examinations in Denmark showed no sign of abnormal occurences of heavy metals nor pesticides. When the gastronomical quality is added, you have a very fine article. (It tastes good!).

• The fishermen are able to catch the fish, and the women in Aralsk are able to fillet it.

• The participants of the project showed that co-operation was possible, and that difficulties could be overcome.

• In the Aralsk region the myth about the death of Aral has been called seriously into question.

• Especially among the fishermen in the region the conception that the leaders alone decide and control the fishery and the general development, has been somewhat disturbed.