A word about fishing licenses in Mongolia.
Mongolian Sport Fishing permit (note its the same special hunting permit that you would need to hunt big game).
We know this system isn’t ideal, but as a responsible outfitter we have to play it by the book. We urgently need a more effective system to manage and protect the fisheries including catch and release only for Taimen. Sport fishing regulations and laws relating to Taimen conservation in Mongolia are under review and we are expecting revisions to the current regulations in March 2008, we’ll keep you posted here.
Four years of sport fishing permits (note its a group permit, not an individual permit)
There are a few dodges that are taken by less scrupulous tour operators or just plain ignorant independent travelers; namely making arrangements locally with the Soum Governor or ranger, and not bothering with the rest of the licensing procedure or Ministry of Nature and Environment permits. Some do get away with it, but its still illegal, and if you in inadvertently turn up where there is an active conservation project, ranger patrol, or a legitimate outfitter defending their ‘patch’ you could find yourself in a lot of trouble, at the very least you might have spent a lot on money on flights and in-country travel only to get chucked off the river.
So what are we doing?
We are actively involved in conservation on the rivers we fish. To us that means working closely with the local community to support and encourage their own conservation efforts; helping them out with community projects, and exploring ways that they can benefit from our eco-tourism operation. In return they are helping us to protect the fishery. Lets just say they get very annoyed at anglers who just turn up without their approval.
On the regulation side of things we try to participate in all the Ministry of Environment policy consultations and Taimen conservation discussions in Ulaanbaatar; we also submit an annual report to the Ministry on our own fly fishing and conservation activities. We advocate ideas including catch and release only for Taimen, a simpler more inclusive permitting system, zoning of fisheries to include both public access for Mongolians and visitors, and more exclusive zones such as community-based ‘concessions’ where the local community hold the fishing rights and have an incentive to protect the river through partnerships with outfitters.
Our message here is this: if you want to go fishing in Mongolia, you need a permit, and you’ll need to book your trip through a reputable outfitter.
One Comment
Anyone considering going to Mongolia to fish on their own would be well served to read what this tour operator has posted regarding sport fishing permits in Mongolia. That is the way it is as of now, so be ready.
If you try to go to the Ministry of Nature and Environment on your own to purchase a Sport Fishing Permit, you will be treated to a Kafka-esque experience: the official is sitting at his desk, in front of him is a stack of sport fishing permits, and you are trying desperately to purchase one because you want to do the right thing and buy a permit. And they won't sell you one. Period. You can try, but they won't buckle, at least to your best rhetorical efforts. Your under-the-table cash? Good question, but I don't know the answer to that.
For sure, they will give you the telephone number of a fishing outfit, such as "Fish Mongolia," and tell you to call them up and see if they won't help you arrange a permit.
So, you are in a pickle. No permit. And maybe you will end up just going out there anyway. Because it still is possible to make deals with the local officials or rangers or whoever. And you pay $5 instead of $150. Its ridiculous. Such is the life of "plain ignorant independent travelers" who don't have the cash to hire a guide and logistics team. You are on your own. Its harder to it yourself. Fun, too. And you'd rather have forked over the cash so you'd feel like you'd contributed to local conservation efforts, but what can you do? Turn around and fly home? Not likely.
You might meet some local fishermen as you travel around, and you will find that many of them kill every taimen and lenok they get their hands on. Its their resource, and their fish, and their country, but wow. Carnage.
Taimen, if properly protected, could really bring a great deal of sport fishing tourism revenue to the country, and if properly done, to prime fishing areas to provide the right kind of incentive for the locals to protect the resource, instead of eat it. Or worse, photograph it and throw it away.
For sure, outfitters like yourselves are extremely motivated to protect the resource. And for sure, you support worthy projects and initiatives in order to ensure a sustainable Taimen fishery.
But the way the system is now, it severely constrains the inflow of cash from independent fishermen, many of whom I would bet are at least responsible anglers and, even if they are 100% into killing fish and think C&R is for wimps, they would be hard pressed to match a local Mongolian fisherman's capacity to rack up a body count. And they would again be bringing cash into the local economy.
Do you think there is any prospect that the country's fisheries will be opened up to independent travelers any time soon? And, what efforts are underway, if any, to curtail current local unsustainable fishing practices?