An Ideal Day of a Fisherman

Cresting the waves at the crack of dawn to get the best catch, that’s what the life of a fisherman, is all about…..

It’s the early hours of a morning and as the rest of the world sleeps, the fisherman they fire up the engine, switch on the navigation lights and let the ropes go from the jetty. As they say on land, the early bird catches the worm, and it is true that to get the best catch for the day you need an early start. Fisherman says there is method to our early morning madness; it’s always quite exciting when they bring the nets to the surface.  They wonder if their hunting instincts are correct today the thy may have a good catch or not says, Abdul Razak

The fishermen along with his team, carries bundles of net and drop that into the tiny diesel powered boat. They bring the nets to the boat and leave them just on the stern of the boat and then they slowly come round in a circle and take the cod ends one at a time, near the sea gulls are squawking loudly now as the cod ends come to the side of the boat; this is always a good sign – the louder they are quite often the better the catch, and someday they are reassuringly noisy and messy, so the local fisherman says they believe the sea gulls they bring! The hooks are carefully pierced into the tiny prawns in this case. The bait plays its role in attracting the fish. Some fishes get stuck onto the hook and some get caught in the net. “Waiting patiently is the key to a good net catch, says Abdul and someday they are reassuringly noisy and messy! Catching fish every day is a very monotonous work and every day after a momentous and timeless wait comes the first catch of the day the fisherman ad its team feels joyous and willing to take more rounds after one trip on the sea. The fisherman frees the catch from the net and welcomes to the boat. The fish gasps for life.  Slowly, little by little the number of fishes in the catch increases. After a satisfying catch, it’s time to move on, and as fisherman is totally dependent on the fishes, their livelihood runs through this profession.

Fishing is a big business. A majority of the fishes is consumed within the country itself. Hence, like agricultural export, is not looked upon as a great profession. It is an uncertain occupation due to high dependence on seasons, is prone to maritime disasters like tsunami and torrential rainfall. With the seasonal business, May is toughest month of the year. When the waves are threatening and fishes lie low making it impossible for fisherman to cast his net. Life is hard the salt and the water makes the boat rust, nets get caught in the rocks of the sea and gets destroyed. Every net needs an additional expense of Rs 20,000. Every fishermen hope for a better life for his family, after all, the life of a fisherman is very uncertain. A fisherman does not have income during monsoon months. Also the rough seas are always dangerous, even then, it’s not monsoon season. The lack of infrastructure nearby and reluctance of government and other bigger corporations to build proper facilities are taking their dreams away. An income hardly enough to feed his home. In the night, he sleeps for a while, and this time – he wakes up a little early – to start his day again –  A fisherman’s fight with the sea and earn money for his family

Shrestha Bhattacharjee

JSW Foundation Fellow