Mar 282012
 

Trip Planning

I’m in the process of planning my trip to Iceland in June. I’ll be going for the summer solstice so will get to enjoy photographing sunsets that run right into sunrises through the night. I’ve also got a few interesting bits I’d like to do. The top of my list is snorkeling in the rift between the North American and European tectonic plates. Apparently, the water’s so clear you can look down for miles into the Earth and feel like you’re floating in space. I also need to photograph some puffins and want to go whale watching, as well as exploring some ice caves. There’s so much to do I wish I was going for longer. It’s going to be difficult coming up with a plan that won’t leave me totally exhausted. Despite the walls of my room having had sufficient insulation,  I’m not entirely sure when I’ll sleep. If anyone’s got any advice on Iceland let me know.

Fish Farm, Rwanda

When setting out on a hike through a few of Rwanda’s thousand hills it’s reasonable to expect to find something interesting around every corner. You encounter sights ranging from a young boy juggling a football made of plastic sheeting and twine, to two men using a long saw to split a log (with one man standing 8 feet in the air atop the trunk being cut), as well as the subject of today’s photo.

It’s somewhat startling to find this large, man-made pool of water in amongst the sugar cane, maize and potatoes. Initially, what it is ain’t exactly clear. Then, you notice concentric ripples forming on the surface as if the water was being disturbed by a light rain. It’s not raining so the only solution is that there must be something below. The guide confirms that it’s a fish farm and begins explaining how it works. It’s quite fascinating, particularly the purpose of the fence pictured below. I’m intrigued to see what people think it is for, so have a guess in the comments section. I’ll see what everyone comes up with then add the answer in a comment of my own if no-one guesses.

This photo employs 5 exposures bracketed from -2 to +2. I had shot 7 exposures but decided that the other two weren’t adding anything so decided not to include them.

Large, man-made pool of water in amongst the sugar cane, maize and potatoes in Rwanda countryside contains a fish pond separated by a sunken woodfence.

  8 Responses to “The Mysterious Sunken Fence, Rwanda”

  1. Do the fish need to “attach” their eggs to something and that’s why there is a fence?

    I Googled it (yes totally cheating) but nothing came up!

    • That’s an interesting idea… someone came to my site by googling something about fences and Rwandan fish farms yesterday and I figure it was a reader!!

      Nope, that’s not it.

      • So what’s the answer then?!

        Hope I didn’t mess up your readership stats by coming through that way! Haha!

        • When they’re ready to collect fish from the pond they lower the level of the water, that results in some of the fish getting trapped in the fence. Then, they only take the fish that get trapped there.

          • That is so interesting! How do they lower the water level then? It’s man-made so I assume there is a mechanism of some sort.

            Interesting. And thanks for sharing.

          • They open up a gate to let the water out into the irrigation system to water the crops and provide them with nutrients (in the form of fish crap).

  2. Is the fence for the fish that are too small and are thrown back?

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