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Published 18 Jun, 2011 11:42am

Fishy Business

Sana Agboatwala

Karachi is a fishy place; ironically, yes it has a coast too. While the fishermen of Karachi are predominantly seen at the port and its vicinities whereby fishing activities are centred around fishing boats and trawlers in deep waters. There is, however, a small branch of fishermen that practice their profession on the beaches of the city.

‘Beach’ fishermen belong to that fraction of the population that is below poverty line, hence their common mode of transportation is a bicycle. Luckily, these bicycles do not contribute to air pollution, for the rest of the population that factors above the poverty line.

Their activities are seldom seen by the general public given that their presence is determined by tide levels and therefore the fishermen frequent the beach shores in the early hours of the morning or late evening.

These fishermen, who work in groups of four to six, use only basic fishing equipment, such as a single large net. This photo blog show cases this rarely witnessed sight, of six fishermen at Sea view.

On a typical day at work the fishermen unload their net and prepare their equipment; four of them making big splashes as they tread into the water with their net dragging behind them.

The net is strategically pulled to form a semi-circle on the shore. Beach fishermen wear bright clothing to increase their visibility; if faced with dangerous calamity. These colorful clothes are unfortunately not bullet-proof.

One of the remaining fishermen stays near the shore overseeing his colleagues’ activities. Gauging from his stance; he is quite possibly also the boss of the lot. The remaining sixth fisherman holds the net securely while the other four pull; spreading the net.

The men pull the net, fighting against the force of the tide to ensure that the fish they have cornered in their net doesn’t escape. This tactical fight against the strength of the ocean is a quintessential show of brain and brawn, one that would put any gene discovery survey to shame.

Fishermen across the country complained that in the last year their work was becoming increasingly difficult at the alarming rate in the increase of pollution; destroying marine life.

The fishing industry is critical to Pakistan’s national economy, providing employment to at least 300,000 fishermen.

Sana Agboatwala is a LUMS graduate with finance and banking experience and is a photography enthusiast.

The views expressed by this blogger and in the following reader comments do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the Dawn Media Group.

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