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Tradition, fishing and modernity
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Traditional methods of fishing are still prevalent in Kochi. There is extensive use of modern gadgets to help them in this profession. But PRATIMA ASHER feels that the instinctive knowledge of the traditional fishermen is indeed valuable.
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FISHING HAS been the traditional occupation for generations among people living in coastal Kochi. It is interesting to go back in time to find out the kind of fishing techniques employed by them. Stranger still to realise how some of the methods still work, just as well.
Several writers have in the past chosen to describe fishing, in these areas, at some length. Francis Day, for instance, writing in 1863, chronicles several techniques used by the fishermen here, many of them mildly curious. When Mr. Day wrote there were three widely prevalent categories of fishing. A) Fishing in the deep sea, b) Fishing along the coast and c) fishing in the rivers and backwaters. He talks of how boats would leave for the deep at four in the afternoon; stay out all night and return at around seven in the morning. And when they touched the shores buyers greeted them. Stormy weather often kept the boats away from the sea and fishing in the rivers and backwaters was preferred.
Various types of nets were used, many of them now largely obsolete. Most of them were made of cotton thread or coir and sometimes individual nets, each belonging to a person, were fastened together to make a large net. A share of the net belonging to a single person was five yards square. Nets for catching mackerel, says Mr. Day, were about a hundred yards long and eighteen feet deep and were kept "afloat by hollow coconut shells on the top and weighted below with stones". There were round nets, with a funnel in the centre, the ends of which were attached to two boats.
Fishing along the shores was often done by cast nets in the afternoon and early in the morning by fishermen who stood 50 to 100 yards from each other and covered the fish as soon as they spotted it.
Nets were cast by a person, who twirled himself and the net round and round before throwing it. In the inland rivers fishing was done in small boats. In the backwaters, says Mr. Day, fish were caught with the help of bamboo poles fixed in double rows into the mud, with nets fixed on to them. Fishes were caught with Chinese nets, or on a line with the aid of hooks. At the river's mouth fishes were also ensnared with a line and bait, the bait sometimes was poisoned. Fishing for sport included shooting them with an arrow from a bamboo blowpipe, or with cross bows.
Are any of these methods employed today? Fishing with the aid of Chinese nets is inseparable from the image of Kochi, and these nets, it is believed were put up between 1350 and 1450 and it is a well-known fact that they were reintroduced by the Portuguese from Macau. These nets will probably remain as showpieces, even when they are no longer remunerative. Fish never stay in a single position, so if you manage a large catch at one place today, no fish might be found there the next time.
Asked about the techniques used, S. K. Shaigon of Thoppumpaddy pointed out that the use of instruments such as echo scanners are widely used to track fish.
It's monsoon time in the State and majority of the boats have been temporarily berthed at the harbour, while groups of fishermen and boat operators engage in mending their nets, simply relaxing, playing cards or just chatting even as a few canoes, with powerful engines, are being readied for the trips scheduled for the evening.
Mr. Antony, Mr. Pankiraj and Mr. Joseph from Thiruvananthapuram ply gillet boats and are experts at what they term "valla work". They travel up to Gujarat over a distance of 1,195 nautical miles and take six days each, back and forth on their expeditions. About fifty people may man a boat. "You should come here in the mornings to look at the catch", they said.
All the three modes of fishing described by Mr. Day are still in vogue. Cuttle fishing is done at 140 metres and is usually carried out in the months of August, September and October, after which it is possible to go to the deeps, where fish are caught at 400 to 500 metres. Chemeen is usually caught in the deep. But again boats, equipped with scientific instruments and modern techniques, are combined with some traditional ones.
According to knowledgeable sources, in the vicinity of this fishing harbour, the water is pollution free, unlike in areas like Eloor. This, despite, use of engine-propelled motorboats that are an object of much discussion. However, the catch, says Mr.Soman from Ambalapuzha, has decreased over the years and he blames some of the modern techniques though he was not prepared to specify them. Several types of fish have moved away from these waters. Many fishermen blame foreign trawlers for this.
Mr. Devadasan goes out in his boat generally after big fish that weigh 50 kg, 25kg, or 10 kg fish like the `kera'. Fishing for these type of fish is usually done in the night and expeditions can last for 2 to 4 days. Sharks are also caught, says one of the fishermen, though again others claim that sharks do not frequent these shores now, a claim seconded by Mr. Desmond Carneiro of Fort Kochi who once manned a mechanised trawler. Ten years ago, sharks could be easily spotted here, he adds.
The whole harbour is full of nets of various shapes and sizes. There are double nets made of nylon, as well as others. "We used to make them ourselves", says one fisherman. Watching their elders do the job perfected the technique of making those nets. Fifty people, working for a month ,from morning to evening with cotton threads ,usually did this job. Now they are available with the companies.
The fishermen here are not interested in river fishing. In the backwaters fishing for fun is still in vogue. You may also find the use of the blowpipe or the bow and arrow techniques to snare fish. Again, it is in these backwaters that you come across the small rowboats, where some time-honoured techniques are still used.
The fisheries here are interested in larger catches and have at their disposal all the methods and facilities that the modern age provides. And yet probe deeper and you will find that these catchers of fish have not discarded wisdom gathered over the years.
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