Carp harvesting underway around the country
Every year from the middle of October till the end of November, fisheries clear their ponds, netting carp for the Christmas season. For people living in the vicinity of fishponds attending carp-harvesting events has become a firmly established tradition.
Carp cultivation dates back to the 11th century, when monasteries maintained fishponds for raising carp, but the greatest upsurge of fishpond cultivation came in the 15th and 16th centuries, when most of the fishponds in South Bohemia –dubbed the country’s “lake district” – came into existence.
Every year from the middle of October till the end of November, fisheries clear their ponds, netting carp for the Christmas season and that event itself has become a part of the Christmas tradition for people living in the vicinity of fishponds. Whole families turn up for a day-long trip in which they brave the cold to watch fishermen in rubber suits pull in nets full of frisking carp, but also pike and catfish. Usually some of the fresh fish is grilled at stalls on the spot for visitors to enjoy with beer or wine, and most families buy fresh carp to take home.
Most of the carp netted in Central and South Bohemia ends up on the Czech Christmas table, but part of the fish harvest is also exported to Italy, France, Germany, Austria, Poland and Slovakia.
