Kerala Attractions

Venue: Chinese Fishing Nets    When: Daily

Kochi's Chinese nets are fixed land installations for an unusual form of fishing. Most who visit the old town head to the water's edge to see how they are operated, and to sample the catch, cooked onshore nearby.

Each structure is at least ten metres high, with a cantilever with an outstretched net suspended over the sea and large stones suspended from ropes as counterweights at the other end. Each is operated by a team of up to six fishermen and the weight of a man walking along the main beam is sufficient to cause the net to descend into the sea. The net is left for a few minutes before it is raised by pulling on ropes.

If you look closely, you can see that the system of counterweights is ingenious. Rocks are suspended from ropes of different lengths and as the net is raised, some come to rest on a platform, keeping everything in balance. Each installation has a limited operating depth so it cannot be continually operated in tidal waters.

It is received wisdom that the nets are Chinese in origin, perhaps by the Chinese explorer Zheng He.