A team of trek fishermen caught a shoal of (mostly) pilchards off Strandfontein this afternoon. I arrived as the last fish were being scooped into the back of the bakkie, and then got to watch the laborious process of getting all the nets out of the sea, folded, packed and ready for the next job. It all looks so idyllic and pretty, but I think it's a very hard life.
(This is net-based, subsistence fishing. When a shoal is spotted (from the shore) the (usually rowing) boat drags the net out to sea and scoops up the catch - which is then pulled in to shore by a dozen or more men.) It's hard, manual labour.
Originally started the project to improve my photography skills. Over a 2500 photos later it's become a personal diary. I post pictures that mark my...
