Kerala boatmen
Kovalam, India
Fishing is a community business along the coast of Kerala. There are few harbors and the sail boats are too heavy to beach alone, so the whole gang helps bring in the boats in the afternoon.
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Fishing is a community business along the coast of Kerala. There are few harbors and the sail boats are too heavy to beach alone, so the whole gang helps bring in the boats in the afternoon.
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Craig Wacker writes:
I recently witnessed one of these teams in action near Kovalam in southern Kerala. Once the men launch the boat, at least two crewmembers stay behind to spot schools of fish from the shoreline. The coast near Kovalam is dotted with rocky promontories that allow the crewmembers to look a few hundred yards out across the Arabian sea. Once something is spotted, crewmembers communicate with yells and hand signals that, according to locals, are specific to different kinds of fish.