Fishing
Over the last few years, water levels have increased significantly, and the use of diesel and crab baits composed of chemicals and additives toxicate the water, forcing the species to move to the interiors of the lake. Over the years, the water's salinity has risen as a significant volume of salty water enters through tiny openings created by storms near the lake-ocean junction.
Observing occupations as a significant anchor to link households to the environment, fishing is viewed as a vital source of livelihood for the residents of Behrampur and Mainshah.
The fishermen's routine normally starts at five in the morning, when they go fishing and put up their nets in their individual khondas (areas assigned to each fisherman on the lake). 600 fishermen in Behrampur are members of an association called Gramotoli.These 600 fishermen are further subdivided into three groups of two hundred fishermen, each of whom receives fifty khondas. Furthermore, each khonda is distributed to four fishermen, with the distribution of each khonda being determined by the lottery number that each group receives.
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There are two types of nets set up in these khondas: the linear type and the entrapment type-
the linear type, which is primarily used by fishermen who pay for the nets annually, and is laid out in a straight line that is primarily perpendicular to the coast.
And the entrapment type- fish species found in a given location may have distinct logics, and nets are positioned so that fishes are guided into traps of varied sizes by the water's flow.
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On the other hand, crabs are caught in cages using fresh meat bait. Crab catchments are placed at the entrance of canals that lead inland from the lake.
Following their capture and collection, the fish and crabs are brought to a godown where they are weighed and registered in accordance with the weight and type of fish purchased each day. They are then paid every 15 days. After that, these fish are shipped to Balugaon. Additionally, they are distributed from Balugaon to Surat, Kolkata, and Hyderabad in India and even to other countries.
After getting their catch of the day registered, fishermen clean their nets and prepare them for the next day. The tides play a vital role in the catch of the fishes. Nets are spread out in water during high tides, when water levels are high. During the low tide the strong withdrawal of water ends up trapping the fishes back in the nets and this is when the fisherman come back to their khondas to collect the fishes and the cycle repeats.
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