In Turkish, “longline” is called in various names as paragadi, paraketa, paragat, barigat, kostek, kupeste, cavalye…
It is possible to extend the list. It looks like a puzzle dictionary. Paragadi may look unfamiliar and it sounds strange, however, to fishermen, it means labour and the bread...

Hasan Huseyin Bayatkaya. Nicknamed as “Fisher Pasha”. The fifty-five-year-old captain was born and raised in Bodrum. He says that the sea is his everything. He goes out to sea before dawn every morning. In a Bodrum morning, our paths crossed with Fisher Pasha when we were chilled to the bone. After a warm greeting, we found ourselves on the boat; a paragadi basket was in front of us. We became his apprentices. We did both listen to him and fish. We have prepared what we put in our basket to share with you. Here is the story of paragadi with the expressions of a fisherman from Bodrum...

Not any fishermen are able to fish with Paragadi. For an inexperienced fisherman, tangled fishing lines and snapping lines are the most unpleasant surprises. At the end, swearing to give up is also possible.

Basically, paragadi is equipment for fishing, arranged to hang in the water, and it has branch lines (or snoods) with numbers of hooks (which are attached to the main line).

Fisher Pasha, whose father was also a fisherman, has been fishing since 1986, is telling us the subtleties of preparing the paragadi basket. There is a wicker basket (about fifty centimetres in diameter) standing in front of us. First, we are beginning to bait the hooks, which are attached to the corks on the basket.

We are using octopus for bait. Our captain is stating that we can also use soft-shell crayfish, cuttlefish or squid. Before baiting, it is essential to prepare the hooks. The main line is about 3000 metres in the basket. There is a hook attached every three meters. With great care and diligence, we are baiting the hooks. It is very important not to change the order. This preparation takes three hours. A basket can be used up to 3 months. A paragadi basket is difficult to find in Bodrum. When the father of our captain Eyup Bayatkaya was alive, he used to prepare paragadi baskets. Since he passed away, the fishermen in Bodrum have been providing the baskets from Milas. We should not give an important point a miss. Depending on the catch wanted, the line length and bait vary. Our fishing line size is fourteen, which is normal-thin. If you are going to hunt bigger fish, such as a sea bream, a sea bass or a grouper, the line should be thick and its size should be ten. In addition, your choice of bait should be sardines. The time has come to cast the line. Our captain is carefully leaving the paragadi from the boat to the sea.

The buoy on the age of the line is being released with weights, both not to lose the location and to prevent it from drifting. Then, we are taking all the hooks out of the corks and slowly leaving them to the blue sea. We have released the paragadi to the sea. Now, it is time to rest. We are taking our warm tea and beginning to chat. Our captain, who goes out to sea for paragadi almost every day of the year, is telling us that he cannot fish in stormy weather. It is important to receive a recompense for the work.

He says that he has a field day when there is a good catch. He is right, as paragadi requires patience and mastery. He is telling us that paragadi is no longer preferred as it is onerous. He also says, “Only three of the fifty boats you can see in Gundogan fish with paragadi”. As the sun is up, it is getting warmer and now it is time to haul the line back. Let us see what we have caught. We are returning to the point where we left the line and coiling the branch lines line neatly and curiously. Our excitement is further enhanced by each fish we see which is hooked. Fisher Pasha is hauling the line with patience; remove the hook very carefully in order to keep the fish alive, putting the fish in a bucket next to him, placing the line back to the basket and attaching the hooks to the corks. After two hours time, we are going back to the shore. The buyer of the fish is also ready. Our captain is sending us off with a warm smile, then going back to the basket and beginning to set the line for the next day.