16 hours Ago By Arockiaraj
CHENNAI: A Stephen, 74, and V Xavier, 61, from Caritas Nagar in Kottilpadu, Kanyakumari district , recall the days when they used to haul the long and heavy shore net in their village. “We got fresh and tasty fish for our homes and the elderly got some money. Now, we rarely do shore-netting because there is hardly any fish close to the shore,” they said.
Shore-netting is an ancient fishing practice in which an entire village is involved. Before dawn, a large net is taken out in a boat and dropped in a semi-circle near the shore. The fishermen, both men and women, assemble after four or five hours and haul the net to the shore.
The catch is shared among villagers. The excess is sold. The practice was once popular in 47 coastal hamlets from Arockiapuram to Neerodi on the Kanyakumari coast.
Now, hardly anyone does it, said Joan Lenin, former president of Kottilpadu’s fishermen cooperative society. The coastline had witnessed erosion ever since industrial beach sand mining and construction activities began in 1964, said Lenin. “Tsunami was the last nail in the coffin for shore-netting that used to help the poorest fishermen,” he added.
Post-tsunami, fishermen were rehabilitated in settlements farther away from the coast. Shore-netting depends on elderly fishermen and women. “When these people moved away from the shore, not many hands were left for shorenetting,” said S Ponipas, 69, from Kadiapattinam.
“After tsunami, everything changed. Forget shore-netting, we are not even able to predict how the winds and sea currents change now,” said C Siluvaimuthu, 74, from Arockiapuram. Traditional fishing depended heavily on this local knowledge fishermen gathered over decades and passed on.
Fishermen across coastal hamlets say it should be windy in Dec for certain fish to come near the shore. The coastal stretch is now unusually calm and sultry, said country boat fisherman C Michael, 44, from Colachel. He struggles to feed his family of four despite having a fibre boat because there isn’t much fish catch left near the shore.
“We never feared the sea before the tsunami. Now, we fear even the slightest change in the wind or sound of the sea,” laments Helen Mary, 58, from Kottilpadu. Stay updated with the latest news on Times of India .
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