An unexpected catch

Sleepy early morning on the beach in Malvan, Maharashtra. Salty sea-dogs are combing the beach for scraps.
The rich pickings from the fisher’s nets mean that the population is growing, but this causes conflict and many bear deep scars.

Along the beach, a shore-seine net is being pulled in. Towing one end of the net, a boat has made a big arc out to sea. As the net is played out behind, it makes a semicircle in which to trap the fish. Once the boat has returned to shore,
fishers pull in both ends of the net.

Pulling the left and right ends of the net, they make a semi-circle in the sea. Back-breaking work!

But some sharp eyes have spotted something hidden in a corner of the net… A green sea turtle, caught by mistake and hidden amongst the fish.

The surprised and excited fishers carefully release the turtle and it begins to haul its way back to the sea. As the turtle slips back into the water, the fish is piled high.

This article is from issue

13.2

2019 Jun