Today, fishing in kelongs is done with a push of a botton – the button is connected to a winch that automatically hoists the net full of the night’s catch. But back in the day, fishing in a kelong was a hard night’s work, as yg learns from his retiree friend.

it was a working kelong where visitors were not welcomed. there would usually be four workers to raise the nets, sort the fish, cook the fish and re-set the nets. the nets were so heavy that it needed at least two adult persons to work the axles to bring up the nets.

after that they had to sort out the fish according to types and sizes. some catch, like the octopuses, were discarded and thrown back into the sea. some, like ikan bilis, had to be cooked in salt water immediately so that they would be ready to be sold at the market in the morning.

How much was the salary for one night’s work? You’ll have to read yg’s blog to find out.

Tags: Kelong fishing