For those that are serious fly fishing anglers, the mentioning of Mongolia will likely bring forth dreams of a giant timen salmon (Hucho taimen) at the end of the line. The taimen is the monster salmonid that lives in the large rivers that meander over the frozen steppes of Mongolia and Siberia. Rodent-mimicking “flies” are commonly used to catch these fish. However, for the average Mongolian, a people of nomadic traditions, the fish is rather known for its river spirit if known at all. In general, Mongolians have not utilized the bounty of the rivers that runs through their country. I had, however, heard about the H. taimen, and I was eager to find out more about them. Not only do the rivers harbor the taimen, other salmonids like the lenok trout (Brachymstax lenok), grayling, and whitefish are also found in the rivers. But not only did I go to Mongolia for the fish, what brought me there was the conservation work done by an organization that calls itself The Tributary Fund (TTF) and their cooperation with faith leaders to promote conservation on the grassroots level.

Mongolia is likely the only culture that the Great Salmon Tour will visit because of its taboo of catching salmonids as opposed to utilization. Mongolians are mainly Buddhists, and the Buddhist faith is rather sensitive to the killing of living organisms and does have a rather holistic view of the world, the yin and the yang. Not only that, old scrolls (sutras) mention fish as especially sacred and, according to TTF, local faith has it that the killing of one taimen equals the suffering of 999 souls. By cooperating with faith leaders and making monks conscious of conservation concepts by providing training, the TTF aims at finding a powerful way to get the message of conservation out to the sparsely distributed nomadic settlements. They also provide resources for youth camps, training in economic enterprises for women, and other activities that will help the people in the Eg-Uur watershed where they concentrate their work. However, it was my fascination with the faith connection to a salmonid in the culture that drew me all the way to Mongolia’s capital Ulaanbaatar and from there to a ger along the Urr River.