Some forms of fishing in India - I

To all fish lovers, is your catch colour blind? If not, why do fishing nets differ in colour? Is it because of different refractive indices of water in different parts of the sea? And is the differences dependent on salinity and water temperature? I dont know, but I do know that there are different nets used.

I realised this on my 6 month journey through 76 towns.  Fishing did not only differ according to quantum of water, but also on the types of nets used. Nets changed in size, gauge, length, shape and even colour. In some regions the nest were white, in another nets were red and in other places they were blue. In one of the coastal villages i visited fishermen were dyeing their nets green.

Red fishing nets being prepared at the fishing pier in Malpe

The length of the nets can be seen in this snap of fishermen bundling a fishing net in Poompuhar

Tidal nets that are strung across the tidal plan to prevent fish from swimming back to the sea as the tide ebbs. Dahanu

Fisherman scooping fishing from puddles in the rocky tidal plain in Dahanu

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Samir Nazareth is the author of '1400 Bananas, 76 Towns & 1 Million People'. Read an excerpt of the book here. Read more about the book here. The book is currently available as an Ebook on Amazon here, Scribd here  and on GooglePlay here . The hard copy will be out in February 2015.