YE TOWNSHIP, Mon State — At this seaside village south of Ye Township in Mon State, the pungent smell of fish is a daily reality for the approximately 300 households that make up “New Andin.”
The fishing community lives about an hour’s drive by motorbike from the town of Ye, but many of New Andin’s inhabitants are from farther afield, such as the Irrawaddy Delta region or other towns in Mon State. They’ve come to catch and dry fish that they will later sell, mostly to markets in Moulmein.
Cho Wai Than, 33, came to the village in October and will return to her hometown of Kyaikkami in mid-May. While she is here, her husband catches the fish while she sorts and dries it. The family manages about 30 to 40 viss (108 to 144 pounds) of dried fish every two weeks.
Fishermen take to sea four to six times per day, depending on the success of their outings. Their wives and children sort the catch, selling some to the village but putting most of the fish and prawn out to dry under the sweltering tropical sun.
Most fishermen will take a two-and-a-half-month break in the coming months, when the monsoon rains whip in from the Andaman Sea.
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