A good Friday for Muizenberg’s trek fishermen

Trek fishing is a centuries old method of catching fish. It’s hard work that involves a team of fishermen who row a boat through the surf, drop a net, and then haul it in by hand. At Muizenberg beach you’ll sometimes see a crew of fishermen working the water. They’re not always lucky. But on Friday they hauled in a big catch of yellowtail. I was fortunate to be at the beach around lunchtime. I had my phone on me and made these images.

The last time I photographed the fishermen was back in 2017 when they pulled in a similarly large haul. I’m not sure how often they get so many fish. When I went back to the beach in the evening they were still there, and had seemingly pulled in more fish throughout the day. As it was getting dark, and after they’d packed their catch into a truck, one of the guys walked past me and said, “Christmas came early this year.”