lPagher, Kantali, Raponn and Paimvodo make comeback during monsoons l Frozen fish and shell fish not very popular lPlenty of fish if one has the skills
With the arrival of the monsoon comes the ban on mechanized fishing and getting fresh fish may be a challenge to many households in the State. That is, if you depend on purchasing it from the markets.
For the traditional fishermen and amateur anglers in Canacona taluka, their quota of daily fish depends not on their purchasing powers, but on their fishing prowess.
The coastal villages in Canacona have largely depended on traditional forms of fishing and though these methods are on the decline, people have been forced to fall back on these reliable techniques for fish during monsoons.
With mechanized fishing coming to a halt since the end of May, people in Canacona taluka have been struggling to find fresh fish in the local markets. Left with little option, most Canconkars have had to settle for either frozen fish or shell fish, which is available in quite some quantity in the fish markets for
the last many days.
“It’s been a fortnight now and except for frozen fish, hardly any fresh fish is noticed in the market or satellite fish selling joints,” complains Denny. “Dried fish is the only option for us these days.”
There is, however, a growing number of people who have refused the total dependence on fish from the markets .
During monsoon, a number of fishing sites become popular in Canacona taluka and prominent among these are the points at Saleri (northern end of Agonda beach), Talpona (near the jetty) and Galgibaga.
The traditional technique of casting (Pagher) and the smaller fishing nets (Kantali) is commonly used to catch fish at these locations.
Agonda Panch Tippu Pagi, an expert in casting (Pagher) the net, is often seen demonstrating this traditional technique. “We know it is not easy to purchase fresh fish from the local market every time, but why should people only rely on the expensive market fish during the fishing ban? I use my spare time to
catch fresh fish for our household,” said Pagui, who hails from the fishing community, but runs a business of seasonal tourism shacks and huts.
Incidentally, coastal Canacona is a primitively traditional fishing hub and the use of ‘Raponn’ (the large shoreseines) was rampant during the monsoon, especially along the shores of Agonda, Palolem, Talpona-Galgibaga and Polem. This practice has, however, completely halted over the years as mechanized and high sea fishing have gained prominence. Some fishermen from Canacona taluka, who were involved in tourism related activities during the season have also fallen back on the ‘Paimvodo’ (a smaller version of fishing nets, which are pulled back to the shore along with the fish). But these practices are largely limited only to Palolem due to favourable conditions even during the monsoons. When contacted, many traditional fishermen admitted the difficulty in getting the required manpower to manage the Rapons of yesteryears. As a result, it has been challenging to pursue such fishing activities and many fishermen have abandoned these largescale traditional fishing practices. The fishing ban, however, has not stopped some traditional fishing practices in Canacona as locals are willing to revert to age-old techniques in their bid to get fresh fish on their dining tables.
