Imagine yourself to be a fisherman and write a diary entry about your fishing trips in bay of bengal
Answers
Even before the sun rises and warms the sea, there are men at work, braving the elements. The fishermen — depending on whether the type of catch they want — set out in the middle of the night or very early in the morning. To catch fish with metal hooks suspended by nylon threads is what takes the longest, and this sees them travelling deep into the sea. But to get a catch using their nets they don't have to travel far. A ride in their motorised boats before sunrise will do. But there are also times when they go deep sea fishing in large boats stocked with food and water to help them survive 10 days at sea.
Once they are back in the morning, the boat is hauled to shore by the fishermen, who venture out in groups of four, sharing the burden, cost, profits and losses alike. There are days when they are blessed with plenty, but on other days they return empty-handed, with a loss of about Rs. 400 that they spend on diesel to fuel the motors.
The catch is removed from the nets and sorted according to the type — crabs, Red Snapper, Blue Fish, Butter Fish, Cat Fish, Mullet, Smelt, Salmon and more. The fishermen need to invest in 10 different types of nets depending on what they plan to catch, with the most expensive net costing around Rs.1 lakh, and each weighing between five kilos and 400 kilos.
Once sorted, the fishermen's wives sell the fish in the market. Fishermen also sell to vendors depending on the best price offered and the vendors in turn sell them at the market.
In the evenings, the fishermen are free to relax, watch TV, spend time with family and catch up on gossip over mending nets and preparing for the next day.