Loading
Loading
You'll meet Domingos and his crew on the sand before sunrise, help push the canoe out past the break, and haul in the ballem net the way Betul's fishing families have for generations. Once the boat's back on shore, the morning's catch goes straight onto a wood fire for a beach breakfast of grilled fish and pao.
Goa's small-boat fishing communities work the same tides and reefs their families have fished for generations, and a shrinking number of villages still send out traditional canoes rather than trawlers.
Goa's coastal villages have fished with dugout canoes and hand-cast nets since long before mechanised trawling arrived, and many families still time their mornings to the tide rather than the clock.
We're still verifying a practitioner for this experience — check back soon.
Pre-dawn
Meet the crew and push the canoe out
Morning
Hauling the net and sorting the catch
After landing
Beach-fire breakfast with the morning's fish
Difficulty
Moderate — early start and time on open water
Age suitability
10 and up
Pushing the canoe out at dawn
Hauling the net
Beach-fire breakfastPhotographs from this experience will replace these panels once available.
Do I need to know how to swim?
No, but basic water comfort helps since you'll be on an open boat close to shore.
What happens if the sea is too rough?
Domingos calls it the evening before based on conditions and reschedules if needed.
“Hauling the net myself and eating fish an hour out of the water — nothing about it felt staged.”
Karan M. · 5/5
“Domingos treated us like extra crew, not tourists. Hard, honest work and a great breakfast.”
Ines P. · 5/5
Not a sight to see — a practice to enter.