- Title: ETHIOPIA: Fishing industry booms before Easter
- Date: 28th May 2002
- Summary: (L!1) ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA (RECENT) (REUTERS) SV/MCU/CU BUTCHER SERVING CUSTOMERS (3 SHOTS) SV/CU PEOPLE EATING RAW MEAT AND INJERA (5 SHOTS) SV (Amharic) MAN SAYING: "Starting from tomorrow, and for the next two months, we will not eat meat at all, so we're saying good-bye to it." SLV/MCU OF CEREMONY IN ETHIOPIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH (3 SHOTS) MCU (Amharic) ETHIOPIAN ORTHODOX PRIEST YEMANEBERHAN SEYOUM PRIEST SAYING: "By fasting, we try to redeem ourselves to the Holy Spirit. We bow to God. During that period, one has to make special efforts to avoid sins, to go into a spiritual fasting as well." SV WOMEN PRAYING SLV/LV ETHIOPIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH BUILDING (2 SHOTS) SV/SLV PRIESTS CARRYING WORSHIP ITEMS/CEREMONY (3 SHOTS) CU/SV FISH BEING FRIED AT TENKISH RESTAURANT (2 SHOTS) SV/CU CUSTOMERS AT TENKISH RESTAURANT (2 SHOTS) MCU (Amharic) TENKISH RESTAURANT OWNER MESERET WOLDE HANNA SAYING: "Last year, I started putting fish on my menu even outside the fasting period. I'm trying to push people to make a habit of eating fish, it would be better for their health. Fish is full of protein, it's great for children's growth." SV CUSTOMERS EATING FISH AT TENKISH RESTAURANT SV WOMEN KISSING A CROSS MCU (Amharic) ETHIOPIAN ORTHODOX PRIEST YEMANEBERHAN SEYOUM SAYING: "God did not say that we could eat fish during the fasting period. Fish also has blood and fat in it. We shouldn't eat fish." SV/CU VARIOUS PEOPLE FILLETING FISH (5 SHOTS) (L!1) VARIOUS AT LAKES AWASSA, ZIWAY, LANGANO IN SOUTHERN ETHIOPIA (RECENT) (REUTERS) CU/SLV FISH IN NETS AND OF FISHERMEN (4 SHOTS) MCU (Amharic) ETHIOPIAN MAN SAYING: "We are not fishermen traditionally. Our parents are farmers. But many kids who could not go to school come to the lake to start fishing. These days even city boys go into fishing." CU/SV MEN EATING FISH (2 SHOTS) CU/SV MAN BOILING FISH (2 SHOTS) SLV MEN FISHING (2 SHOTS) SV FISHERMEN SELLING FISH TO ETHIOPIA FISHING CORPORATION (2 SHOTS) SLV MEN FISHING (2 SHOTS) MCU (Amharic) ETHIOPIA FISHING CORPORATION MANAGER MENGISTU MEHARI SAYING: "There are more and more illegal fishermen these days. Soon, there will be a problem of over exploitation of the lakes." SV/SLV MEN FISHING (2 SHOTS) MCU (Amharic) ETHIOPIAN MAN SAYING: "When I was a child there was a lot of fish in the lake. But these days everybody has become a fisherman." SLV FISHERMAN CUTTING FISH LV CROWD OF PEOPLE ON LAKE SHORE CU/SV FISH BEING COOKED (2 SHOTS) CU FISHERMAN MENDING NET CU/SV FISH BEING COOKED AND SERVED (2 SHOTS)
- Embargoed: 12th June 2002 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: ADDIS ABABA, LAKES ZIWAY, LANGANO, AWASSA ETHIOPIA
- Country: Ethiopia
- Topics: Business,Industry
- Reuters ID: LVA3ALSISMWGYTNU4FRKCF13WP07
- Story Text: In Ethiopia, raw meat is a delicacy. But when the annual season of Lent comes around, Ethiopian Orthodox Christians must change their menus - replacing meat, with lots and lots of fish.
It may look like any other butchery in the world - but this beef will not be cooked or eaten at home. Raw meat is a delicacy in Ethiopia. It is usually eaten with a traditional Ethiopian pancake called Injera, dipped in chilli sauce.
Weddings, Sunday meals and any celebration in Ethiopia is not complete without it. However, this meat feast doesn't last for the whole year.
"Starting from tomorrow, and for the next two months, we will not eat meat at all, so we're saying good-bye to it", says an Ethiopian orthodox believer.
Every year, from March to May, the Coptic Orthodox Church enters the fasting season of Lent. During this period eating meat, eggs, butter, and any other dairy products would be considered a sin and is strictly forbidden.
"By fasting, we try to redeem ourselves to the Holy Spirit. We bow to God. During that period, one has to make special efforts to avoid sins, to go into a spiritual fasting as well," said an Orthodox priest Yemaneberhan Seyoum.
Coptic Orthodox devotees fast on almost every Friday and Wednesday. But the eight weeks before Ethiopian Easter are the most important. Christmas Day in Ethiopia is on January 7, and last Easter was in early May.
When the season of Lent comes, even restaurant menus change. For Tenkish restaurant it is the busiest part of the year. The restaurant is famous for its fried fish. And the owner is quite successful in promoting his fish menu.
"Last year, I started putting fish on my menu even outside the fasting period. I'm trying to push people to make a habit of eating fish; it would be better for their health.
Fish is full of protein, it's great for children's growth," he said Most of the people would rather have a plate of red meat.
But for the time being, fish will have to be the next best thing. However, some of the strictest Orthodox clerics, be it their way, would even ban fish for the Lent fasting.
"God did not say that we could eat fish during the fasting period. Fish also has blood and fat in it. We shouldn't eat fish," said Yemaneberhan Seyoum.
Those words fall on many deaf ears. The Ethiopian fishing industry booms in the two months before Easter. Fishmongers in markets of Addis Ababa hire extra workers just to meet the demand.
Most of the fish eaten in Addis Abeba comes from lakes in the Rift Valley of Southern Ethiopia. Residents in surrounding towns are quick to take advantage of the seasonal boom.
"We are not fishermen traditionally. Our parents are farmers. But many kids who could not go to school come to the lake to start fishing. These days even city boys go into fishing," a fisherman said.
Sticking to fish diet during fasting is peculiar only to Northern Ethiopia. In the Southern part of the country fish has always been part of the daily diet.
Fishing used to be strictly regulated in Ethiopia. Only officially registered fishermen were allowed to fish and sell their catch to the Ethiopian Fishing Corporation. But times have changed.
"There are more and more illegal fishermen these days.
Soon, there will be a problem of over exploitation of the lakes," said Mengistu Mehari from the Ethiopia Fishing Corporation. "When I was a child there was a lot of fish in the lake. But these days everybody has become a fisherman,"
said one fisherman.
The nets are not as full as they used to be. But lack of employment opportunities forces many youngsters to join illegal trade anyway, increasing the risk of depletion of the country's once abundant fishing resources. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2013. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
