An Indian team has won an international fishing competition organised by the Russian state atomic energy corporation Rosatom which brought together game fishers from 10 countries for the tournament held at the Gulf of Finland earlier this month.
A Rosatom statement said the International Fishing Tournament was organised in the Pro Anglers League format which is a European competition for game fishing from boats. The tournament was held close to Russia’s largest operating nuclear power plant (NPP) at Leningrad that includes the cutting-edge Generation III+ VVER-1200 reactors.
This year, two fishermen from India – Arunabha Sannigrahi and Santosh Jaiswar – came first in two categories: Biggest Single Catch and Total Catch. Fishermen from Egypt and the combined team of Russia and Egypt took the second and third prizes, respectively. A participant from India was awarded a special prize for the “biggest catch.”, while a team from Uzbekistan was awarded a prize in the special nomination “the determination to win.”
“During these two days, we lived through some incredible experiences and got a chance to do what we love to do, fishing! We did it not far from a nuclear power plant, visited the station itself, which, of course, amazed us with its size and high level of technology. We hope that Rosatom will continue to hold such tournaments, and we will be happy to take part in them”, representatives of the All India Game Fishing Association said in a statement.
In all, 26 amateur athletes took part in the competition. Besides Russia, the participants came from countries where Rosatom implements, or plans to implement, NPP construction projects – Armenia, Bangladesh, Egypt, Hungary, India, Kazakhstan, South Africa, Turkey and Uzbekistan.
Rosatom said fishing competitions allow to strengthen the bonds of people’s diplomacy, demonstrate that the inhabitants of the countries of the company’s business interests belong to the global nuclear community, while demonstrating, at the same time, the safety of nuclear plants for the environment, including the flora and fauna of nearby water bodies.
“Although the event was held on such a wide international scale for the second time, Rosatom has been organizing fishing competitions in near-station water bodies for more than 10 years. For us it is an opportunity to demonstrate that nuclear power is a clean source of energy, that nuclear technology and nature complement each other. We are happy that our guests from nine countries were able to see for themselves that clean fish live in the immediate vicinity of the NPP, which has been operating for almost half a century”, said Rusatom International Network President, Vadim Titov.
The statement said the tournament helped verify not just the biodiversity richness of the Gulf of Finland, but also its cleanliness thanks to dosimetric control that monitors exposure to radiation. After weighing, the fish were released back into the sea. In total, 203 fish were caught with a total weight of more than 7 kg. Two-time world champion and head coach of the Russian national team, Vladimir Inozemtsev, was the chief judge of the competition.
The participants also visited the town of Sosnovy Bor, where the Leningrad NPP is located. Industrial nuclear power has been developing for half a century in Sosnovy Bor and new types of reactors are also being put into operation here, the statement added.
