Bringing home the night's catch: Thai Fishermen

The night's catch is taken off the boats and sold right at the beach.

Thailand has some of the best seafood in the world. Fish, crab, shrimp, mussel, clam and squid fishermen spend the night offshore tending their large nets, then head to shore in early morning. Competing for beach space with tourists, chairs, umbrellas, and sidewalk drink and food vendors, the fishermen and their families bring the boats ashore and begin sorting their catch.

One has to travel a ways from the big resorts to experience the traditional Thai fishing industry and its accompanying beach culture, but it can be a rewarding experience to sit under a beach umbrella, eat freshly cooked seafood washed down with a cold drink, all the while watching the fishermen untangle their nets, fix their small boats, and set up their seafood sidewalk business, selling to street vendors and walk-by customers.

Sidewalk sales of live crab right off the boat.

Mobile food vendors cook and sell fresh seafood from the bed of pickup trucks. Yum!

Umbrellas are strategically placed to ensure shade throughout the day.

Fresh deep-fried crab and shrimp can be bought at any time of the day for 30 baht ($1) per dish.

Two people work together to untangle their net while others take their boat out 200 meters to dump the debris--nearly all of it organic remains, such as shells--that had been caught in their nets. 

More food! One doesn't have to even get up from the lounge chairs:
The vendors will most assuredly find you!

A crab fisherman will work all day to untangle his net. "And," as this man told me, "part of the night, too." As a result, many cannot go out every night. Unwanted debris is put into the basket for later sorting and ultimately dumped back into the sea.

Vendors of cheap plastic toys and cotton candy do a surprisingly brisk business among the tourists.

The small sturdy boats await the next night's work.

This scene is on Jomtien beach, a quiet alternative to the raucous streets and beaches of nearby Pattaya.