Catch of the day?

In Kerala's Fort Cochin, perhaps the biggest tourist attractions are the photogenic shore operated lift nets, or 'Chinese fishing nets'. They are big cantilevered contraptions, operated typically by six men, and through the day they lower and raise their big nets in the hope of catching an odd fish that has swum by. The fresh fish are usually sold there on the waterfront, and maybe cooked up straight away at a nearby restaurant.


It looks hard work, and often there's not a single fish in the net. So they go through the process several hundred times a day, and presumably make a living out of it.

There again, the fish are not the only catch. When we were invited onto one of them and got to watch the whole process from centre stage, it was a spectacular experience. When we were asked for a donation afterwards, we

complied willingly. It had been well worth the money, and from the fishermen's point of view we were probably the main catch. The single fish they pulled out that time wouldn't have fetched them very much.