2nd Terengganu International Squid Jigging Festival 2015

The massive Terengganu International Squid Jigging Festival was back for the second year this past week, bringing alive the town of Kuala Terengganu and its waters, with the arrival of more than 120 participants from 28 countries, including Malaysia.

This year, the organiser Tourism Terengganu have focused on a better representation from the new media, from blogs to websites and other social media influencers.

Yours truly was also in Terengganu as a delegate of the Festival at the invitation of Gaya Travel Magazine and Tourism Terengganu.

The event, which was supported by Tourism Malaysia in conjunction with the country’s theme for tourism, Year Of Festivals 2015, saw the delegates going out to sea twice for a hands-on experience in the traditional method of squid jigging.

It was hard work, I can personally say. The first trip out, we tried our luck off Redang Island but the sea was so rough, most of us became victims of seasickness, including myself. Due to that, the majority of my boat mates and I didn’t even bother holding the squid jig, let alone take photos, but then again, what good are photos of pale-faced people puking and lolling around on the boat?

I would say, it was a disaster for most of the twelve boats that were flagged-off. For the second trip out which was from Duyong Jetty, we made an attempt off the coast of Kuala Terengganu. We were more hopeful of better sea condition as the moon was no longer full unlike on our first trip. No, its colour was also not the angry red that we witnessed during the earlier trip.

True enough, radio control was busy receiving reports of delegates successful in their jigging, although overall the catch wasn’t much to shout about due to the timing of the Festival, as June is the tail end of squid jigging.

Still, something is better than nothing. Of the six participants on my boat, three managed to catch at least one squid. As for myself, the score now stands at Emily 0, Squid 5. I am definitely better at eating them than jigging for them!

The state government of Terengganu, through this annual International Squid Jigging Festival, hope to promote the sport throughout the world, and at the same time create awareness on their other tourism destinations such as Lake Kenyir, Kenyir Elephant Conservation Village (KECV) and Islamic Heritage Park, as well as an exposure to Terengganu lifestyle and culture, from playing traditional community games to gracing the official launch of the 2015 Terengganu Peranakan Festival.

Event: Terengganu International Squid Jigging Festival 2015
Venue: Terengganu, Malaysia
Date: 2nd – 7th June, 2015
Time: full day

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