Shark attack!

The fishermen here go out in boats whose seaworthiness is debatable. They are purely powered with cloth sails that are attached to makeshift masts and booms that look to be make from long and skinny logs that have drifted in from the sea. The boats themselves are usually about 15 feet long and 5 feet wide and have quite a number of bailers sitting inside. The fishermen set out early in the morning and sail to a spot about 22 miles off the coast line. On boats with no motors or electronic devices of any kind this feat is very impressive to me. I’ve been told it takes 6 hours to get out to the fishing location and back. The toughest part is the home stretch: coming in over the waves. Just the other day when the waves were 3 meters high, a boat was flipped as it was trying to come in and lost all of its fish and tools sitting in the boat.

The nets are all hand made and hand cleaned. After a day of fishing it’s common to see the fishermen sitting in the shade beside their boats mending their nets. Back home all the net casting and hauling in is done by large cranks and mechanical arms, but here it is purely the talent of the fishermen which brings in their catch of the day. Before Jericoacoara became known as an elite windsurfing destination, it was primarily a small fishing town.

Today I was sitting reading my book on the beach when I noticed a large crowd amalgamating around a boat that had just come in on shore. I walked over to see what the fuss we about and along side the usual pile of freshly caught fish was 8 foot hammer head shark! Anyone want to go swimming? It was very cool to see the shark up close, how massive they can be. One fisherman cut out the jaw to show people the 15 cm wide bite full of crooked 1 cm long pointy teeth. I wouldn’t want to be swimming with that shark anytime soon! The fishermen cut off the fins and threw the guts in the water and proceeded to sell the large shark steaks to local restaurant owners. A few of the windsurfers watching the gutting and cleaning process joked we should borrow one of the fins and swim in the water where everyone windsurfs to try to scare people away from the busy areas.

I think I’m going to follow the theory: If you don’t eat it, it won’t eat you!