Haicang Port's Ancient Seafaring Town: One Net a Day, Avoiding Overfishing and Showing Respect for the Sea
In Fangcheng Port, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, fishermen's prudent and natural village rules and customs are captivating and thought-provoking.
Fangcheng Port, Guangxi, boasts a charming seaside ancient town – Jiangping Town. The waters here form a natural semi-enclosed bay, harboring abundant fisheries resources, with over 200 species of fish and shrimp. Jiangping people, born by the sea, all hold a sense of reverence and understand the simple principles of taking what is needed and being in harmony with nature.
The locals call making a living in the sea 'doing the sea'. 'Doing the sea' has strict rules. Su GuiFang started fishing at the age of 20, and now it's almost 30 years. Her home has many nets, with different mesh sizes for various purposes. Each time she goes out to sea, she chooses a net based on the season.
Different seasons require different nets to catch fish. The mesh is 8 to 10 centimeters, specializing in catching squid, mainly to protect marine resources. The strict rules stem from a historical incident several hundred years ago.
In the late Ming Dynasty, the government officials extorted and imposed harsh taxes on fishermen. To pay taxes, fishermen frantically fished, but the results were predictable: the yield decreased year after year, turning the once prosperous island into a bleak existence for the people. Fishermen said that the sea is our fundamental basis for survival, and we cannot be greedy with the sea, we must take what is needed.
The bitter life gave them a painful lesson. From then on, everyone reached a consensus: it was better to be poor but not greedy. A scholar specializing in local culture research discovered that many orderly fishing village rules and customs began to form as early as the Qing Dynasty. Qing Dynasty village rules and customs, especially fishing rules, had a regulation on the fishing time and fishing area, specifying from early morning's t'ou shi (3am to 5am) to late evening's yóu shi (5pm to 7pm) for strict enforcement.
Under the village rules and customs, people have followed this iron rule for generations, with fishing times and quantities strictly regulated, and everyone had to comply, and if they violated it, they would be severely punished. For hundreds of years, fishermen have relied on this 'responding to the times and taking what is needed' survival law, and have inherited it, enjoying the generous gifts of the sea in a controlled manner. The town has a three-month fishing moratorium from May to August, during which time fishermen bring all their nets ashore to allow the sea to rest and recuperate.
In August, the fishing moratorium ends, and fishermen begin to use seine nets in the near sea. According to tradition, before putting a new net into the water, they must bring wine and delicacies to worship the sea gods and pray for safety and a bountiful harvest.
Because of the gentle slopes and flat seabed, without mud, Jiangping is very suitable for pulling large nets. This fishing method usually requires dozens of people in groups to pull thousands of meters of nets into the sea, and then pull them up together, the whole process takes five or six hours. The return of the sea is always abundant, and this time the fishermen harvested a rich bounty.
For hundreds of years, the people who live here have followed the ancestral teachings, one net a day, never greedy, even if they don't catch fish, they don't pull the net. If anyone violates the rules, they will not receive help from others and become objects of contempt. After the large net is pulled up, anyone can take a few fish, this tradition is called 'sharing fish' because of sharing with others, it's a joyful affair.
