If you have been on vr-kenting.com resource for a while and reading my blog, you would already notice that fishing and fishing villages are not just a big part but sometimes the most significant village-forming factor of many coastal villages in Kenting National Park and close to it. If you read the introductions of many villages I introduce in Kenting Townships part of the website, you will see that many of them start something like, “This village is a small fishing village located… ” and go on. Fishing is the life in Southern Taiwan, and many households directly depend on this.
There are even more interesting cultural and bonding traditions happening in Xinjie Village in Checheng Township called Qian Gu. Read about it, it is fascinating.
But no traditional fishing village can be imagined with a fishing netshanging out of coastal houses, and small fishing ports and boats, isn’t it? Let me introduce you to Net Mending!
Net mending is an ancient profession. Every fishing season, boat owners always have to ask the net mending master to repair their nets once or twice to ensure that no fish escape. In the early 1950s, selling fishing nets was a very prestigious business, especially in Donggang Harbor, or smaller fishing harbors, such as Fenggang Fishing Harbor, Banana Bay Fishing Harbor, or others, Xinghai Fishing Harbor in Manzhou is an interesting one as well. Making a fortune daily might be an exaggeration, but it does highlight the prosperity of that time. From exports to personal use, fishing net stores were bustling every day.
Shanhai Fishing Harbor, with a Ocean Paradise Resort on the hill on the back.
Net mending is an ancient profession. Every fishing season, boat owners always have to ask the net mending master to repair their nets once or twice to ensure that no fish escape. In the early 1950s, selling fishing nets was a very prestigious business, especially in Donggang, this fishing port town. Making a fortune daily might be an exaggeration, but it does highlight the prosperity of that time. From exports to personal use, fishing net stores were bustling every day.
During the fishing off-season, if you stroll around the vicinity of the fishing port, you can often see fishermen sitting by the port or by the road, working on their nets. They manually attach floats to the nets, hang lead weights, or mend the nets with a shuttle. The shuttle in the hands of the net mender flies continuously. However, such scenes are quickly disappearing nowadays.
In the early days, fishing nets were mostly hand-woven, which was time-consuming and labor-intensive. Net mending was often divided between male and female workers. Male workers usually took care of repairing the parts of the nets with larger holes or attaching metal chains and other heavier parts.
Female workers were responsible for sewing the nets with specially made net mending needles. Usually, when mending larger nets, they would use their fingers and toes to stretch the net, first trimming the holes, then using a net needle to mend them stitch by stitch. Between each stretch and mend, what was relied upon were meticulousness and patience.
Mending fishing nets is actually mending hope in small fishing villages in Pingtung
For those in fishing families, fishing nets are a part of life. In the past, women in fishing villages often supplemented their household income by mending fishing nets, earning a little extra money. The techniques were passed down through word of mouth, with one person teaching another by hand. As a net mender, one needs to understand the basic mending techniques, be familiar with the material, and understand the tension… only then can a fishing net be restored as good as new, bringing a bountiful catch for the boat owners.
20 to 30 years ago, fishing nets were mostly hand-woven, which was very time-consuming and labor-intensive. Today, new nets are mostly made by machines, mainly made of polyethylene products, which are corrosion-resistant, wear-resistant, and unaffected by salt and alkali.
However, mending broken nets is an exception. Due to varying degrees of damage to the nets, only skilled hands can repair them. Depending on the size, they stretch the nets using their heads and feet to mend them, something machinery can’t replace.
85-year-old Mr. Chen Hecheng said that those women who mended nets are now grandmothers. Fewer and fewer people mend nets under the bridge, and the task has increasingly been taken over by foreign fishermen. As he’s grown older and can’t go out to sea, he simply helps his sons mend their nets. Without blinking or pausing, he explained while chatting, “Look, this tear is so severe, it’s clearly caused by the sharp teeth of the ribbonfish.” An old fisherman can tell at a glance which fish caused the damage to the net.
An old fisherman can tell at a glance which fish caused the damage to the net.
Having been fishing since the age of 12, old fisherman Hecheng has two trawling boats of his own. He’s already retired and handed over to his son. But he took it upon himself since he couldn’t find a net mender, with over 73 years of experience in making and mending nets. Despite his age, his hands are incredibly dexterous when mending nets. He first pulls and tugs the entire fishing net, checks the joint condition, marks the net, and then sews and repairs the local holes.
Mr. Hecheng says that to mend with the net shuttle, you wrap the net line around it. When mending, you slowly release the line wrapped around the shuttle, using it until it’s gone. Before the shuttle is threaded, the line needs to be wound into a ball, making it easier for the net mender to thread. To make a ball of thread, you find the end from a bundle of lines and slowly turn the bundle into individual balls. During this process, tangles often occur, and you have to find a way to straighten the line.
Mending fishing nets is not only a skill but also an attitude towards life
Quickly threading the needle, Mr. Hecheng holds a plastic shuttle needle. With his foot hooked onto the net below and the shuttle moving up and down in his hand, he mends a hole in just a few moments. He can even weave or repair by feel and simultaneously share stories about fishing. Topics include which net to use for which fish? What kind of line is needed for knotting the net? Each aspect is technical, interconnected, and profoundly nuanced. Laymen often find it perplexing and struggle to understand.
Mr. Hecheng says that most fishermen can mend nets. They need to know how to join nets, create eyes (openings), and seal nets to repair them when they face special situations at sea. However, routine repairs are typically handed over to the net menders onshore.
Dive into the serene atmosphere of Banana Bay fishing harbor through our 360-degree video above. For mobile users, ensure you’re using the YouTube app to access all 360-degree features. On a PC or MAC, simply click on the full-screen icon. For an immersive experience, pop on a VR headset!
Usually, the net line’s thickness determines the fishing net’s weight and immersion speed, and the weight and immersion speed directly affect the catch rate. Thick line nets are durable and sink slowly, catching fewer fish than thin line nets. But nets of thin lines often break and get damaged easily, requiring frequent repairs. A top-notch net mender can seamlessly repair even the most irregularly damaged nets, making them as good as new.
As he speaks, Mr. Hecheng stands up and opens the storage box of his scooter, revealing various net-mending shuttles inside. He mentions that early net needles were made from bamboo, wood, iron, and copper. Nowadays, even plastic ones are available in different sizes for weaving various types of nets.
There are no nets that can't be mended, only a matter of cost-effectiveness
For fishermen, a fishing net is a tool for earning a livelihood. The price of a single net can range from thousands to hundreds of thousands of units of currency. When damaged, it’s usually repaired first. Often, a patched net can be used for another three years. Some veteran captains even mend the same net for over a decade. However, some opt to replace their nets every few years to improve efficiency. Regardless, in the eyes of a net mender, there are no irreparable nets. It’s just a matter of whether the cost of mending is worthwhile.
Try morning virtual walk in Xinghai Fishing Port in Manzhou
Due to the long-term engagement in net processing, which strains the eyes, those with poor eyesight must retire. Young people also do not want to engage in this line of work, resulting in fewer individuals skilled in mending nets. Local estimates suggest fewer than 10 professionals specialized in net mending. However, Mr. Hecheng believes that there will always be issues with nets as long as the fishing industry exists. The profession of net mending has its irreplaceable significance. The song ‘Mending the Broken Net’ will continue to resonate in fishing villages.