The Fishermen of Sri Lanka

By Adam Docker

‘ I’m always intrigued by the strange and odd ways man will go to, to catch food. When and who came up with the idea to sit on some sticks in the middle of the sea in order to fish? Why not just sit on a boat? And why not use a net? And why did this not catch on in other cultures or countries?

There’s something about fishermen that has always fascinated me. Perhaps it’s because fishing is one of the oldest professions in the world. There’s a rawness to it, almost Neanderthal, that connects us back to survival.

When I first saw photographs of Sri Lanka’s stilt fishermen in a National Geographic magazine as a child, I was transfixed. Their silhouettes perched above the waves felt otherworldly, almost mythical.

In 2022 I finally travelled down the East Coast of Sri Lanka on a Royal Enfield motorbike and I managed to locate them. I spent the afternoon photographing and watching the fishermen patiently balanced on their stilts against the restless sea. As I stood in the water snapping away, fighting the currant from knocking me over, I took in this special moment.

Back in Colombo, as the sun was sinking into a pink sky, I took a walk along the beach and I came across a fisherman sorting through his nets on the beach. The scene couldn’t have been more different to the stilt fishermen. His hands moved instinctively, pulling, untangling, preparing as the sky glowed behind him.’