Rowing make-do boats, ‘kundi fishers’ get their hooks into livelihood

HYDERABAD: You may have witnessed a large number of fishing vessels -small and large- leaving jetties in coastal villages to catch fish early in the morning; however, a strange breed of improvised one-manned boats have also started testing the fishful seawaters.

A small number of community individuals rowing their own tiny makeshift foam-built boats have started catching attention as they move to reach nearby creeks in search of livelihood. They carry different tools, like minor fishing nets, ropes, hooks, water bottles, and food items.

After reaching there they anchor their tiny boats, fastening them with hooks, and get down to business. It depends on the situation. They use small nets and fishing hooks with shrimps on them as bait to catch fish from the seawater, mainly nearby mangroves forest channels.

“We do not have boats now, but have long experience of working on larger boats as crew members. When they (boat owners) saw we were getting weaker for the work they fired us instantly, pushing us to live a challenging life,” said Majeed Mosani, affectionately called Chhapa, while narrating a hopeless tale of his life.

Mosani aka Chhapa owns a foam-built boat that he rows to unknown destinations everyday and is optimistic to continue work despite challenges.

Chhapa has a lifelong experience of going to sea since grooming age. He never thought of giving up in any difficulties he faces during work.

“I still have power in my arms to row this tiny boat to reach a site where I can find a huge stock of fish. I return with a small catch to sell it in the local market to earn bread and butter for my family,” he said.

Recalling the past days, he said he along with other fishermen used to go to the Sea View beach area in Karachi on bicycles with small nets to catch fish from the beachside. “We had to stay at the beach for a few wee hours to catch some fish and move back to the market.”

“Now due to rapid development of infrastructures on beaches we have lost that once rich source of income. Since then we are struggling to face the challenges created by the unchecked development, which has deprived many fishermen of their sources of income,” Mosani said.

He said following the COVID- 19 pandemic outbreak they had to stay home for a long time.

“It was hard to feed our families during the lockdown. There was a dire need for us to resume fishing activities through these makeshift boats,” he said.

These discarded foam-built boats have a short history.

Well experienced fishermen instead of sitting idle at home collect discarded foam pieces, which they fill in the large bags and stitch them up together.

Since these people make such boats for themselves they keep each and every thing in mind to run it in the seawater and move back safely.

They are natural swimmers and do not care of any rough sea weather.

Abdul Rehman, another fish worker running a similar foam-built boat, said they would travel up to eight to 12 kilometers off the jetties to reach the places, where they would find a larger size fish, having a high price in the local market.

They are well-calculated as they catch fish during six–seven hours usually from 6 am to around 1 pm. Because their itty-bitty boats neither have any ice box to preserve the fish for longer time nor have the capacity to carry heavy load during the trip. Therefore, they return earlier to sell their product at high rates.

They believe that the fish kept in ice boxes on larger boats is usually damaged. Thus, people prefer to take their fish, which is safe and fresh.

There are a large number of fishermen, who are more comfortable to have these tiny foam-built boats to work individually, instead of going on trips for a week or more days.

They calculate the share they get through boats is smaller than the product they bring themselves, individually. It is because the tiny boat cannot take more people for a trip.

Akhtar Shaikh, a small-scale trader said there were around 10-12 fishermen from Rehri Mayan, located on the outskirts of Karachi, using these tiny boats to catch fish. “

Similarly, more fishermen from different localities like Ibrahim Hydri, Chashma Goth, Bengali Para, and other areas of Karachi coast have adopted this practice to make both ends meet for their families,” Shaikh said.

They are careful about the sea tides and rough water, he said adding they usually travelled to Korangi Creek, Korangi Harbour, Port Qasim, and neighbouring areas and return within time to reach the market to sell their product.

These small boats do not need fuel or any burden, rather the community people physically row it with oars.

The species they bring back are locally called dandia, hira, kapartan, danthi, khirkhation, khusar and others, which they sell for up to Rs550/kg.

The same fish being brought by larger boats gets lower rates of Rs350-400/kg. It is because larger boats keep fish in the ice box for many hours, which damages seafood.

That is the only reason that these foam boat fishermen earn enough than those who spend more time in the sea and sometimes return empty handed or with a little catch due to weather ups and downs.

These poor fishermen proudly say the market people prefer to buy their catch, which is safe compared to the one coming through larger boats.

There are dealers in the market, who buy these specific seafood products for their safety and freshness.

Big boats have huge ice boxes, in which they keep fish for a long time and the product loses freshness. These dealers have a network to buy fish from these individual workers in different coastal villages at higher rates, encouraging them to continue supplying it.

Therefore, each individual operates his own tiny boat and earns more income compared to working as a boat crew member.

Each fisherman earns from Rs500 to 1800 daily, depending on tides and availability of fish.

They are locally known as “kundi fishermen” and people prefer to buy fresh products from them. They keep a close eye on the tides and usually move their tiny boats to channels under mangroves forests to catch fish.