Nothing predicted that the night of October 21, 1971 at Bojana would be special. Even less that it will be talked about for days, months, years, and even half a century later. The fishermen, as usual, in the evening of that night, lowered the net of the mega calimera into the water, which stretched from one bank to the other, about 150 meters from today's bridge towards the fork of the river. The Kalimera was held up by huge concrete pillars on both sides of the river, where the motors for lowering and raising the net were also located.
It was the time of the so-called jesenka, one of the highest quality types of grasshoppers. Around two o'clock after midnight, the fishermen raised their nets... Six hours later, that morning, 23 tons of grasshoppers were weighed, and according to some estimates, more because not everything was "on tas". Due to the load in the net, the poles began to lean towards the river and later ended up in it.
from Ulcinj Dzelal Hodzic he remembers that fish was sold all over the coast and Rijeka Crnojevića.
"In Ulcinj a month after that, only fish was eaten. "The butchers could not work," says Hodžić.
Mega Kalimera is now gone, the pillars at the bottom of the river were probably covered by sand, and hundreds of houses and cottages have sprung up on the banks in the meantime. The memories of older Ulcinians and Bojan fishermen have remained, that they talk about one October night, which will probably never happen again...
"That mega-calimer should be restored and put back into operation. That would be an attraction," said Hodžić.
In addition to the mega calimera, there were dozens of smaller calimeras at Bojana, Port Milena and the small pier on Cape Đerane. They were the trademark of Ulcinj and Montenegro in the seventies, eighties and nineties of the last century, they adorned numerous postcards that went to all corners of the world, but the state did not know how to recognize and preserve the brand.
Kalimera is a word of Albanian origin and is derived from the expression "kalo dhe merr", which in translation means - "come and take".
By the decision of the Ministry of Culture only in April 2017, the "good of fishing with calimera" was granted the status of an intangible cultural asset.
As the bearers of the cultural values of the cultural property, the Ministry then appointed Ivo Knežević, Goran Novaković, Ramazan Kovači, Milorad Raičević, Dzelal Mustafić, Brand i Goran Mašanović, Radovan Bogojević and Hodžić.
The Ministry stated that the pollution of Port Milena and the Bojana River represents a great threat to the cultural and historical values of good fishing with calimmers.
Hodžić points out that Port Milena was an identity, landscape and tourism development brand of Ulcinj, Montenegro and the region.
"That unique channel, once the largest natural fish hatchery in the Mediterranean, has become the largest septic tank in the region due to the negligence of state authorities and the crime of the anthropogenic factor," Hodžić told "Vijesta".
Calimers on Port Milena shared the fate of the canal - the more it collapsed, the less often the nets went into the water, and today not so much. The calimers on the scaffolding on Cape Đerana did not survive the erosion of time, while those on Bojana still survive...
"The cisterns at Port Milena are 'dead' today, because so is the canal, which has become the largest septic tank not only in Montenegro but also beyond. I don't know if anyone fishes there anymore, but nobody wants fish from the canal on the table. Only the calimers on Bojana have a chance to survive, but with an agreement with neighboring Albania and more careful planning of the area on the banks of the river," says Hodžić.
Today, out of a total of slightly more than 30 calimers on Bojana and Port Milena, as many of them are registered with the Ministry, about 20 of them are in operation - ten occasionally, and ten permanently.
President of the Assembly of the "Ada Bojana" Association and representative of the owner of the Calimer Drago Vukcevic he reminded that most of the owners of the first calimer in Ulcinj are not alive today.
"They had older calipers Luka Mašanović, Džemal Muratović, Vlado Vuckovic, Angelo Vicari, Marko Vojvodic, Bahria Chausi, Džilo Šurla, Kadro Ramović, Niko Stojanović, Avdo Tafić, Blazo Raznjatovic... Upstream along the river, they had calimers Elezovici, Hoti, Peasants...Everything was in operation because there was plenty of fish," Vukčević told "Vijesta".
Today, mostly only those on Bojana are in operation.
“And in Sri Lanka. There are some there, they told me, but we don't have to go there to see how it works. If the state returned Port Milena to the way it was, the fishermen and fishermen would also return," said Hodžić
Secretary for Agriculture, Rural Development and Ecology in the Municipality of Ulcinj Zećarije Sulejmanović she said that the calimeres are under the jurisdiction of the Public Enterprise for the Management of Marine Assets.
"Slightly more than half a year ago, the Municipality went with requests to the Marine Corps about reviving the collapsed calimers in Ulcinj. To this day, we do not have an answer from JP", said Sulejmanović to "Vijesta".
Bonus video:
