The Arkhangelsk artist Vladimir Sarayev created an untitled oil study in 1957. In this painting, he depicted fishermen pulling a huge ‘ryuzha’ (a fishing tackle) full of fish ashore. Compared to the tackle and rocks, the human figures look tiny — they are hardly noticeable.
‘Ryuzhas’ (otherwise known as ‘ryuzas’) were used by fishermen who lived near the mouth of the Northern Dvina. This tackle was a long net that had from 11 to 17 hoops. It worked like a funnel: the fish got inside the trap and could not swim out of it back. Sometimes the net was so loaded with fish that it was impossible to pull it out of the water, so it had to be cut, and the fish had to be collected from it by hand.
The ‘ryuzhas’ differed in design, size, and diameter of the net cells. All these parameters depended on what kind of fish the trap was designed for. This type of trap mainly targeted the saffron cod, whitefish, smelt, herring or salmon.
The earliest prototype of the ryuzha was a ‘merezha’ (fishpot). It had two nets at its mouth — they were fastened in the water on special stakes. The tackle is mentioned in the documents of the 15th–16th centuries for the first time.
Fishing was the main occupation of the Pomors. In summer they went to the coast of the White Sea, where everyone had his own plot. They took a supply of food with them: flour, butter, salted cod and grains. This was enough to bake scones and make fish soup. In addition, each fisherman or crew took from 30 to 35 poods of salt (one ‘pood’ was equal to 16.38 kilograms). The salt was needed to preserve the fish and not let it spoil.
‘Ryuzhas’ (otherwise known as ‘ryuzas’) were used by fishermen who lived near the mouth of the Northern Dvina. This tackle was a long net that had from 11 to 17 hoops. It worked like a funnel: the fish got inside the trap and could not swim out of it back. Sometimes the net was so loaded with fish that it was impossible to pull it out of the water, so it had to be cut, and the fish had to be collected from it by hand.
The ‘ryuzhas’ differed in design, size, and diameter of the net cells. All these parameters depended on what kind of fish the trap was designed for. This type of trap mainly targeted the saffron cod, whitefish, smelt, herring or salmon.
The earliest prototype of the ryuzha was a ‘merezha’ (fishpot). It had two nets at its mouth — they were fastened in the water on special stakes. The tackle is mentioned in the documents of the 15th–16th centuries for the first time.
Fishing was the main occupation of the Pomors. In summer they went to the coast of the White Sea, where everyone had his own plot. They took a supply of food with them: flour, butter, salted cod and grains. This was enough to bake scones and make fish soup. In addition, each fisherman or crew took from 30 to 35 poods of salt (one ‘pood’ was equal to 16.38 kilograms). The salt was needed to preserve the fish and not let it spoil.
