Life’s of Fishermen
Fishing is one of the most lucrative industries for Thailand where thousands of Burmese migrant workers are employed. Life for those working in the fisheries industry is often very difficult and dangerous.
There are many kinds of fishing boat in this region. Burmese workers prefer to work on 2 kinds of boats, locally known as wadan and wallet Boats.
Wadan boats go out to the sea everyday in the afternoon and come back to shore the next morning. There are typically 30-50 workers in a boat. They cast their nets at nights and draw up the nets 3-5 times a night to check for fish. Casting and drawing nets are done by hand so a lot of labor is needed.
Wadan boats are like satellite boats around a small “light boat” which is lit at night by very bright light bulbs. The light draws fish up to the surface the fishermen then cast their nets. At least 4-5 boats cast their nets around a light boat. Spreading nets and collecting once takes one and half to Two hours. Fishermen call it one “Suu” that means one catch. They have to make 2-5 Suu (catches) a night till the owner is satisfied. The more the number of time they catch they get worn out and fatigued. There are usually 3 to10. Thai lead workers and the rest are Burmese.
These fishermen have to work 18-20 hours a day about 25 days, a month. They have only 4-5 hours to rest and sleep as they have to keep on working sorting fish, cleaning nets and taking fish to the warehouse after they come ashore. Once the previous catch has been sorted and delivered, the men immediately begin preparing for the next trip. They must check fuel, water & food supplies; get ice for fish stores, etc. They only time they can rest is on the boat on the way out to the next fishing site Fishing boat workers usually get 4-5 days off (shore days) a month. Most of this time they spend mending nets and boats. The days on and around the full moon are usually unsuitable for light fishing as the bright moon light makes it difficult to catch fish.
The local fishing boats also employ underage workers. Children are often assigned to swim to the nets with a rope round their waist which they then tie to the nets floating buoys. Fishermen retrieve the nets spread in the sea by drawing the rope the children attach to the nets. Each boat may have up to 5 children between the ages of 12 to 15 they are needed to tie the upper edge of the net to a buoy every 20 or 25 feet. Children are favored for this job as they are swift, light and good swimmers. They are also ignorant about the possible dangers and don’t ask questions. They are always exposed to attacks from snakes, sharks and jelly fish. There are also other hazards for these boys to contend with. Electrocution from the light boats is a real risk; there have been a number of reported deaths. Imagine the situation for these boys, spending the whole night in the water, wet, cold and afraid.
Wages are paid in advance. The amount for new women and child workers is usually not more than 2500 baht a month. Only the experienced and skilled fishermen get “Posan” which is a small percentage share of the profits made from selling the fish. This kind of bonus payment is made every 2-3 month. The skilled workers, those with years of experience in the industry get about 7-8 thousand. The most skillful lead workers (Yae Shuu) can earn as much as a10,000 Baht share.
Nobody knows the exact number of children involved in this industry our staff estimate there to be close to1000 boats working in this area operating out of the major ports of Nam Khem, Tablamu and Kuraburi. Most boats employ at least 2 children. These children need to help their families earn money. There are not many other jobs available to them.
Written by Southern Migrant
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