KARACHI, Dec 15: The bare survival of a fisherman depends on the catch he gets after a tiring and strenuous work, and then on its sale in the market.
The total monthly income of a fisherman ranges from Rs1500 to Rs3000/- and he could hardly meet the expenses of his huge family, usually comprising seven-members.
It also varies and depends on the season, according to the head of a fishermen village. A fisherman of a Hawksbay village said that during the winter the income ranged from Rs1000 to 2000 or even less than that.
Most fishermen of these villages have to suspend their fishing activity for four months due to unfavourable weather and non-availability of the jetty facility.
Giving a grim picture of the life of a fisherman, an elder of the Younisabad village said the life of a fisherman was wors than a bonded labour.
Fishing is the most important economic activity in the villages of Hawksbay where a vast majority of the population are engaged in the fisheries sector. The fishermen usually spend mornings in fishing while afternoons are spent repairing nets.
Mohammad Haroon of Mubarak village said that although most nets were now commercially manufactured, repair work was done by the owners or their sons.
According to him, many of the fishermen have their own boats and nets, but some get boats and nets on lease from financiers for varying time periods.
He said: “These financiers are either local or from Karachi Fish Harbour. In case the boat and nets are taken on lease, the profit of the total catch is equally divided between the financier and the fishermen, otherwise all the profit is divided between the fishermen.
In any case profit earned by the fishermen is divided into equal shares according to the number of crew. The Nakhuda gets 4 shares, the driver gets two shares, and the rest of the crew gets one share each.
The number of fishermen per boat depends upon the size of the fishing craft. There may be up to 10 fishermen on one boat, of which one is called Nakhuda (captain).
In every village, fishing usually begins early in the morning and fisherfolk often leave well before the sun rises. Nets are drawn up by hand along the side of the boat.
It is very strenuous and tiring work that can take up to 60 to 90 minutes per net. Often the nets catch on rocks and are broken free only through the use of intense pulling or the use of the motor.
Bottom nets get tangled very easily and often contain a lot of debris that must be cleaned out as the net is pulled into the boat.
Fish, like this large sting ray, are pulled on board and then removed from the nets. Often the temperature of water causes the catch to be destroyed or rot before the fisherfolk can retrieve it.
Fish are stowed beneath the floor boards of the boat’s deck to protect them from the sun. The traditional vessels do not carry ice and it is important to keep these fish out of the sun so that they do not get spoiled.
Seasonal variation in fish occurs and is important to document in order to understand seasonal fishing patterns in the past. Also, biological and commercial information was insufficient to understand seasonal patterns.
Prior to going to the field I was told that there is no fishing during the summer monsoon seasons. Generally, the large commercial vessels did no fishing during the summer, but for more traditionally-oriented fisherfolk, the summer monsoon season was the most important fishery.
It is during this time that the sua fish (protonibea diachanthus) migrates inshore to spawn and is abundantly available.
This fish seems to represent by weight and count the most important species caught during the year. Sting-rays, sharks and skates are important to the fishing industry itself. These fish are not used for food.
Instead the livers are boiled down to make a thick, odorous oil that is spread over the hulls of the boats in order to water- proof them and protect the wood from destruction by marine organisms. Crabs and other crustaceans are caught and used as a minor food item. These animals are considered extremely “hot” and are eaten for the treatment of ailments such as the flu or colds. The main fish protein source focuses on smaller fish that are caught in the inshore area. One of the main methods used to catch these is a casting net.
Unlike other forms of fishing nets, this is an active form of fishing where the fisher stalks the fish by looking for the “fish sign” of the glitter that reflects off the fish scales through the water.
Other fish are used for commercial sale, but these inshore fisheries provide the bulk of food for the household.
Today large fish are primarily for sale on the commercial market. However, occasionally their heads are used for food.
