FISHING MACEDONIA

Wednesday, February 14, 2007

THE RIVER RADIKA

Mavrovo National Park's main river is Radika it flows through a spectacular, 30 kilometer- long gorge from the northern to the southern boundary of the park.
Radika`s source area lies high above timberline, in the desolate highlands of Mt.Shar: here, a mountain glacier has widened and flattened the valley floor, cutting off the spurs and straitening the course of the river. Countless sparkling streams transverse these glacial landscapes, eventually joining the main flow of the Radika.
Beyond the point where the glacier malted, the river gets squeezed between high mountains, which force it into a narrow and steep bed. Radika picks up more speed and power as larger tributaries join in; its rage increasing as the canyon deepens, the river begins to tumble down ferocious rapids and even cascades. This spectacular show is enhanced by Radika`s turquoise green color, as well as the lush subtropical vegetation clinging to the limestone cliffs.
The park`s extensive drainage system includes many smaller rivers and streams; they have formed canyons and gorges of their own, sometimes even more impressive than that of of the Radika.
From the left (eastern) side, the Radika receives several large tributaries, including to Adjina, Mavrovska and Mala rivers. The northernmost Adjina river has knifed a narrow and steep gorge into the remote Vratsa plateau. Small circular cave openings are visible along the gorge's sides.
Another prominent tributary is the Mavrovska . The upper part of its valley has been dammed to form the Mavrovo reservoir; still, the lower section has been preserved. In this one of the most beautiful gorges in the park, densely vegetated side-canyons are interrupted by limestone pinnacles rising sharply into the sky.
The third tributary, the Mala river, wends its way across the southern boundary of the park. Its raving beauty is accentuated by the famous "Stag's jump-a gracious 18-centry Turkish bridge.
Further upstream from this bridge, the Mala river splits into several smaller rivers whose value are even more scenic. Perhaps the most impressive such tributary is the Tresonechka. This pristine river has carved a gorge into pure limestone, while cascading down an uninterrupted series of rapids. The lack of surface water in the karstiik plateaus

above the source of the river is counterbalanced in the valley of the Tresonechka , where powerful springs burst from the grayish cliffs above the river`s course. The Tresonechka itself puts on an impressive natural display in the upper part of its valley, with three consecutive waterfalls,20,10 and 8 meters high, respectively..
To the west, the Radika receives another major tributary, the Ribnichka river. Its valley is and more peaceful , and only in a few places does the river get compressed into narrow gorges and rapids. However, Ribnichka numerous unspoiled tributaries are far more unsettled ,breaking frequently into foaming rapids. A mighty glacier turned the upper part of Ribnichka`s valley into a flat highland plateau, whose bareness stands in stark contrast with the densely wooded lowlands.
Complementing the beauty of Ribnichka`s watershed is its main tributary, the Dlaboka reka ("Deep river"), which has incised three spectacular gorges on its course from the highest Korab peaks; the uppermost is the most dramatic, because it has been rejuvenated by glacial action

DOJRAN LAKE

Lake Dojran is the smallest of the three tectonic lakes in the Republic of Macedonia and it's location is in south-eastern Macedonia, on the Macedonian - Greek border. It is settled in the Dojran valley between the Belasica, Kruša and Kara Bali mountains. It is considered that the lake today represents remains of a larger Peonic lake and lies on an altitude of 148 m.

The Dojran lake has a surface of 43,1 sq km, of which 27,3 belongs to Macedonia and 15,8 sq km on Greece. The shape is similar to a circle and it's length is 9 km and it's width 7 km. The depth was 10 meters, but today after loosing it's waters because of the Greek farmers it's depth is between 3 and 6 meters.

There are several rivers that flows in the lake, but most important are Surlovska and Hanzda. There are also many gorges called by the people "kajnaci". The water from the lake flows in the river Gjolaja. Due to its small surface and depth, during the summer period, the water in the lake is considerably warm and in August is approximately 28 degrees, while in the winter period it's getting frozen. The color of the water is dark green.

Due to the lake 15 types of fish, (of which famous are kostreš, plašica, carp, sheath-fish) and water grass (algi), it enters the list of world's rarities due to its special features. It is the richest lake in fish in Europe. The ancient way of fishing with the assistance of birds (kormorans) and gratings practiced here is very interesting. A similar method of fishing exist only in distant China, and is carried out during the winter.

Here, the notorious Dojran fishermen still fish in a very special traditional way - by the help of birds, a special type of birds called Cormorants. Lake Dojran is also rich in vegetation. The algae that generate and emit iodine must be mentioned, as they make the water suitable for balneal therapy.

Today the condition of this lake is extremely poor and reason for this is Greece, member of the European Union, which used the water of the lake for its fields with agricultures. But the situation is extremely bad, and the there are Macedonian-Greek conversation in progress.

This lake's life can be saved in way of leading water somehow to it. There are a lot of plans for making this lake alive for tourists again after a long time. In September 2002, a waterline from Gjavato, was successfully built in order to fill the lake with water. This helped the condition of the lake, and in the past few years, the water level got higher enough at the normal, so the situation today is normal.