'Military report on Tehran and adjacent Provinces of North-West Persia (including the Caspian Littoral)' [‎165r] (334/610)

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iSsrs^Liono- The sturgeon on their way up the river swim low and are
nzali, Hasai foul hooked. Two or three times a day they are brought into
the fishery where they are split open and 1 7 or 8 lbs. of ova of a
grey green colour are extracted from each fish.
ak’ (santo)
and bream
The ova are then poured into large tubs containing a strong
solution of hot brine and stirred in it for about 5 minutes, the
•length of time depending on the degree of saltness required in
the°caviare. They are then removed from the brine and poured
into cloth bags which are tightly squeezed 3 or 4 times in a
press to cause the water absorbed from the brine to exude. The
irator, lb squeezing process changes the colour from green to black and
>on. completes the manufacture of the caviare.
irator, Ik
Many sturgeon evade the hooks and run up the river, where
fishermen anchor boats or stand on the bank armed with a pole
-aged 35,01 fit to 8 ' in length with an iron hook watching the water for the
7*1 i i _ ... j.1. _ -i-T ^
wave, which betrays the presence of a sturgeon on the way
up-stream. On detecting it the fisherman hastens into the
water, judges the distance, strikes down with his gaff and rarely
misses his c/uarry. The fish is very powerful and puts up a
jbh,’ tussle, but is usually overpowered and dragged struggling to
00 pouds, lan(L
The sturgeon’s ova soon deteriorate in fresh wqter becoming
soft and fluid, and a few miles above the mouth of the river the
fish are not considered worth catching.
Other varieties of fish were caught by Lionosoff’s employes
with nets in the sea mostly in shallow water off the mouths of
id 11,000
streams.
Valuable fisheries also exist in fresh water and are let out by Fresh water
fisheries.
the riparian owners for large rentals to lessees who construct
traps during the season from November to March or April.
The Safld Rud is too big a river for fixed traps, but on most
streams reed barriers supported by timber are constructed from
bank to bank within half a mile of the sea.
Small apertures are left in the barrier through which
the fish nose their way. A few yards up-stream is a second
barrier without any apertures. The fish congregate in this
confined space between the two barriers and scores of perch,
carp, and bream, etc., are brought up at every cast of a net.
The most prolific of the Murdab streams are the Namakab-
rud, the boundary of Kalaristaq and Tiinakabun, midway
between the Chains and Seh Hazar rivers, and the Larim between
1 The weight of the sturgeon averages between 30 and 40 lbs.