Lithuanian Collector Coins

Coins dedicated to fi shing by attracting Lithuanian Collector from the series Coins

“Lithuanian Nature” LITHUANIAN NATURE

Smelt fi shing by attracting

Information at the Bank of Lithuania: Lithuanian Collector Coins Denomination: €10 On the edge of the coin: STINTA-PŪKI Denomination: €1.5 Edge of the coin: rimmed +370 5� 268 0316 © Lietuvos bankas, 2019 [email protected] Silver Ag 925 Quality: proof Cu/Ni alloy Quality: unc www.lb.lt Coins photographed by Purchase at: www.coins.lb.lt Arūnas Baltėnas Designed by Liudas Parulskis Diameter: 34.00 mm Weight: 23.30 g Diameter: 27.50 mm Weight: 11.10 g Photo credits: Vigantas Giedraitis, Aidas Macevičius, Neringa Museums

Mintage: 3,000 pcs Coin designed by Eglė Ratkutė Mintage: 30,000 pcs Coin designed by Eglė Ratkutė Printed by INDIGO print Coins minted at www.indigoprint.lt Issued in 2019 Issued in 2019 the Lithuanian Mint Published by the Bank of Lithuania www.lithuanian-mint.lt Gedimino pr. 6, LT-01103 Vilnius Smelt fi shing in their four-wheelers and fi sh right from their spawning, they weaken, some of them die, cause underwater vibrations. are very They could not aff ord large under-ice nets and tents. The winds blowing in the plain Lagoon turning into prey to predatory fi sh or water sensitive to such vibrations as they feel them had to attach small-sized ones to the poles, Lithuania are really harsh, so this is the only way to birds. The smelt fi shing season is closed after through their lateral line system. They start plunge them through an ice-hole and lure fi sh by shield against the cold. To dig out ice-holes their spawning period – this is when they lose fl ouncing, going round in circles, approaching playing such “music”. When the crisp autumn wind settles down and remove the ice, fi shermen used (and are both their cucumber-like smell and taste, and the source of vibrations, until they fi nally What kind of “music” does a fi sherman and the frost silvers the late-night landscape at still using) a special Curonian axe, known by more valuable fi sh appear at the Lagoon. are caught in the nets. Re-emerged in the play with mallets or trimmed stakes in his the Curonian Lagoon, all eyes turn to its waters, the name of izikas. Now, however, amateur Every year, several hundred tons of second half of the 19th century, this method hands? Each of them beat their own unique waiting for the fi rst ice. anglers are using drills, while commercial smelts are caught in the Lithuanian part of the of fi shing somewhat changed: instead of rhythmical melody with its pace going up and Before winter sets in, countless schools of fi shing employs high-power chainsaws. Curonian Lagoon. A good catch of an amateur a pole used to cause underwater waves down. The rattling used to be accompanied by small silver fi sh start fl owing from the depth of But why do smelts travel to the Curonian angler may reach 20-30 kg a day, let alone and vibrations, fi shermen started using the words “stinta pūki, stinta pūki” or a longer the to the coastal waters, heading to Lagoon? Two year-old smelts, grown and commercial fi shermen, setting under-ice nets planks. Local seaside fi shermen dubbed it line “stinta pūki, stinta pūki, lįsk į tinklą, lįsk į where the Curonian Lagoon spills its fresh water matured in the Baltic Sea, are already able to and catching them in high quantities. rattle fi shery (lt. bumbinamoji žvejyba), while tinklą” to lure fi sh into the nets. These unique into the sea – towards their spawning grounds. spawn. Having entered the Lagoon, they stay However, the oldest method for smelt scientists are still at odds, referring to it as phrases became part of folklore, the rattling Smelts are coming! Smelts are coming! there to feed and, in March or April, reach the fi shing is by attracting, i.e. by splitting up their either fi shing by attracting or by frightening. sounds were called “music”, while its performers Such news does not take long to travel Nemunas Delta, where each female spawns schools, making them spin around and get So what does fi shing by attracting dubbed “musicians”. around, attracting fi shermen from all over 10-12 thousand tiny eggs on pebbles, plants entangled in the cast nets. In the Curonian (frightening) or the so-called rattle fi shery Such music attracted two types of fi sh – the Lithuania and even abroad. Smelt fi shing brings or tree roots. The fi sh spawn only if the river Lagoon, this method has been used since entail? smelt and the ruff e, which had long been called people from far and wide and takes quite a bit water is above 4-6 degrees Celsius. A larger the Teutonic Order times, but in 1510 was First of all, a rectangle ice-hole is cut pūkis by Curonian fi shermen. Both species were of their time. smelt’s egg is about 1 mm in size. In two almost banned due to its “barbaric” nature. with a chainsaw (in the earlier days, it used a welcome catch that would follow underwater Smelts are part of the Salmonidae family. It weeks fi sh juveniles hatch and then descend The ice-fi shing technique involved a wooden to be chopped out with an axe). After that, vibrations coming from the plank into the nets. is an oblong-shaped, fl at-sided and big-eyed to the sea to grow and mature. mallet used for knocking on the end of a two or three 12 m long wooden poles with Around 1960, this luring technique started The lifespan of smelts is quite short. After wooden pole, partly dived into an ice-hole to nets fastened to them are plunged into water to fade away and people knew it had to be fi sh. European smelts ( eperlanus), genus name Osmerus (meaning “odorous”). at the edges of the ice-hole. Right in the captured in photographs and video before it which reside in the Baltic Sea and make The Lithuanian word for the smelt – stinta – middle of it, fi shermen insert a 4-5 m long was too late. The simplistic rattling music was their way through the Curonian Lagoon to is believed to originate from the German pruned spruce plank with an oak crossbar even used in some artistic fi lms. spawn in the lower reaches of the Nemunas Stintfi sch or Stint (meaning “stinky fi sh”)*. Be at its end. One fi fth of the plank, which has The tradition of ice fi shery with rattling was River, grow up to 30 cm long and can weigh that as it may, Lithuanians claim that they to be wrapped with a rope to prevent it from kept by Curonian fi shermen, yet, at the end up to 75 g, although those most commonly are not bothered by this cucumber-like slipping down, sticks out from the water of the 20th century, it stood on the brink of caught are 14-16 cm in length and weigh smell, quite the opposite – they even like it. surface. Local fi shermen knew very well disappearing. Luckily, it was salvaged, albeit 20-30 g. Smelts have a greenish-brown In late December, when a thick layer of that only a spruce plank could make a good adapted to the present days – fi shermen no back, white sides and a tiny fi n at the top ice forms on top of the Curonian Lagoon, sound and, therefore, did not use any other longer use sledges, while ice-holes (not just of their tail base, typical of all Salmonidae amateur fi shermen make haste to catch type of wood. By the way, such equipment one, but many of them so that more nets could species. Small freshwater smelts living in their take. Seaside fi shermen used to walk was only used by local Curonians and some be set) are cut using chainsaws. Only the luring deep Lithuanian lakes are very similar in their a few kilometres from the coast, pulling fi shermen from the town called Rusnė. After music and its rhythm remained unaltered by appearance, yet usually grow only to 6-10 cm or pushing their fully equipped sledges. the war, Germans who repatriated from time. long and weigh about 20-30 g. Smelts Having reached the fi shing site, they would Lithuania Minor adopted this ice-fi shing Undoubtedly part of Lithuanian heritage, are uniquely known for their rather strong stretch sails or a sturdy cloth by their method in East Germany as well. this one-of-a-kind fi shing tradition has been scent which is said to remind of cucumbers. sledges to shelter themselves from the Fishermen used to sit on the side of their kept alive in the Curonian Lagoon, where one Drifting over Neringa municipality, the smell wind. Today’s fi shing enthusiasts set off on sledge, stool or a log, holding oval-shaped can still hear the unusual sound of rattling is caused by volatile products of amino stakes or oblong mallets called šliegiliai or wooden mallets and the simple, yet distinctive acid degradation, characteristic to smelts buoželės and beat rhythmically on the nailed song for attracting smelts and ruff es – stinta *The term European smelt (sparling) in some other during their migration period (this kind of oak crossbar (kliugis) or the edge of the plank. pūki, stinta pūki... European languages: fr. éperlan d’Europe; pl. stynka, “communication” is common to fi sh species es. eperlano europeo; it. sperlano; lv. jūras salaka; Seaside fi shermen say that such fl ocking in large schools). Hence the Latin et. meritint; ru. korushka, snetok. technique was mainly used by poor fi shermen. Selemonas Paltanavičius