There is more to a fishing net than just to cast it into the water to catch fish. It can be custom made to use for interior decoration, rope hammocks, swimming pool nets, bakkie or truck nets, sports like tennis, volleyball, and baseball or even for a jungle gym.
Steven Carter a seasoned fisherman, Bosun seaman, rigger, carpenter, electrician, and craftsman was taught traditional weaving techniques at a young age whilst working on deep sea fishing trawlers of which his father Nick Carter was the captain.
Nowadays, spending more time on land than on sea, he has started Steve’s Nets in Kariega, to weave nets for various domestic as well as industrial purposes and he does repair work on nets as well.
“The traditional knot I use is secure and not prone to slipping, which makes it strong and reliable. Therefore, I was awarded a contract to weave five 14 X 18-meter nets for Coega harbour. All nets had to be tested by the South African Bureau of Standards and the quality standard of my nets scored 97% with the closest other service provider scoring sixty-something percent,” said Carter.
Carter previously also had a contract with Sutherland Transport for the repair work of their nets.
Carter is a fisherman at heart. Whilst at school at Cape Recife, he slipped out of the hostel at night, and ran to the harbour to catch a fishing boat only to return at dawn.
“I had to get back quickly to take a shower before school started as I did not want to smell like fish. Then I would have been caught out,” said Carter.
But he was, however, caught out, after an accident in which the sharp tooth of a stock fish cut his hand and the following day he had to explain at school how he was injured. As a teenager he also was a familiar face selling stock fish at the corner of the Old Fisheries opposite the former Crown Hotel in Caledon Street. At the age of 22, Carter joined his father’s shipping crew in Durban.
“That was the best time of my life. There were so many memorable expeditions. I’ve joined my father on a mission to captain a vessel to Panama and for months we fished off the coast of Mozambique, a coastline I know like the back of my hand.
“When out at sea and a net needed repair work, it had to be done as quickly as possible. No fishing net means no income. So my father taught me the tricks of repairing fishing nets,” said Carter.
His experience and skills at sea and technical knowledge contributed to him being deemed the rank of the Bosun, which is the third officer on deck, and he worked for Lusitania Fisheries for seven years.
Although netting has been part of human history since the spinning of fibre into string more than 50 000 years ago, finding a skilled fishing net craftsman is scarce.
- So, if you need a woven net whether for fishing, a hammock, swimming pool or bakkie call Steven Carter on 078 300 9944.
