Fathima Fareed's quest to become a seine netter

AT JUST 20, Fathima Fareed is on a mission to become South Africa’s first female seine netter, honouring her grandfather's legacy while inspiring young women to break into the fishing industry.

- YOSHINI PERUMAL [e-mail]

From the time she was two years old, Fareed, of Moorton in Chatsworth, was inspired by her grandfather, Goolam Fareed Essack, a seine netter and sub-sistence fisherman who died tragically during last year’s sardine run.

Essack, 73, of Welbedacht, a seasoned skipper, died after his boat capsized while he was netting sardines, at Umgababa Beach, on the south coast.

He and three other staff were about 100m away from the shoreline when the boat engine cut off. At the time Essack was running the net around the shoal. A wave crashed onto the boat, capsizing it.

Fareed told the POST that her real love for netting started when she was just 10 years old. It was a dream come true for Fareed when her grandfather allowed her to be one of his three pas-sengers on his four-man boat.

“I was 10 when my grandfather took me on his boat to net sardines for the first time. I had to put on a life jacket.

My grandpa told me to stand by him and not move unless he told me to. He felt I was ready at that age to learn how to net during the sardine run. My dad was on the shore. There were two others on the boat. They were divers.

“It felt amazing, exhilarating, over-whelming, and exciting all at once. The experience was surreal,” she said.

This moment made Fareed realise that she wanted to be the country’s first female seine netter.

“I also have fond memories of when I was two years old and accompanied my father Faizel and grandfather to the beach. I played on the shore while they fished and netted. My earliest memories are of them loading the sardines into crates.