Bangladesh participates in Rosatom fishing tournament in Russia

A four-member delegation including amateur anglers and journalists participated in the second international fishing tournament held on 7-8 September in St Petersburg, Russia.

From 10 countries, 26 anglers took part in the tournament, hosted by Russia's state nuclear energy corporation – Rosatom which is constructing the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) in Ishwardi, Pabna.

The NPP, which will be the first in Bangladesh, will host two power units based on Generation III+ Russian VVER-1200 reactors.

Alongside the fishing tournament, which aimed at strengthening the bonds among the global nuclear community, Rosatom also demonstrated the safety of nuclear power plants for the environment, including the flora and fauna of nearby water bodies.

The tournament brought together participants from countries where Rosatom implements or plans to implement nuclear power plant construction projects – Bangladesh, Russia, Armenia, Hungary, Egypt, India, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, South Africa, and Turkey.

Mohammad Nasim Hasan Sujan and Miraz Rahman Khan, anglers from the amateur fishing club – Angling in Bangladesh – participated in the tournament.

The competition was organised close to the Leningrad NPP, Russia's largest operating nuclear power plant in terms of installed capacity of 6400MW, and one of the first in the world to host cutting-edge Generation III+ VVER-1200 reactors. It was held in the PRO ANGLERS LEAGUE format – a European tournament for spinning fish from boats.

Anglers from India Arunabha Sannigrahi and Santosh Jaiswar came first in two nominations: Biggest Single Catch and Total Catch.  Anglers from Egypt and the combined team of Russia and Egypt claimed second and third prizes respectively. A participant from India was awarded a special prize for the "Biggest Catch" while the Uzbekistan team received a special prize "Determination to Win". Vladimir Inozemtsev, the two-time world champion and head coach of the Russian national team, was the chief judge of the competition.

The participants of the tournament were able to see for themselves the richness of the Gulf of Finland in fish, and its cleanliness thanks to the dosimetric (measurement of radiation exposure) control.  A total of 203 fish were caught and after weighing were released back into the sea.

"Although the event is held on such a wide international scale for the second time, Rosatom has been organising fishing competitions in water bodies near nuclear power stations for more than 10 years. We attach great importance to such events because for us it is an opportunity to demonstrate that nuclear energy is a clean source of energy and that nuclear technology and nature complement each other," said Vadim Titov, president of the Rosatom International Network.

"We are happy that our guests from nine countries were able to see for themselves that clean fish lives in the immediate vicinity of the nuclear power plant, which has been operating for almost half a century," he added.

As part of the tournament, the participants visited the Leningrad NPP, located in the town of Sosnovy Bor, and were able to get acquainted with the operations of the nuclear power plant.

Participants also met with local authorities and interacted with the inhabitants of the city.