As the sun rises over the Arab Gulf, it illuminates the historic fishing village of Simaisma with hues of yellow and orange. Located in the Al Khor district of Qatar, some 30 kilometers north of Doha, the coastline is dotted with short, stubby mangrove trees, wrestling the wind and waves.
Adrian Alfaras wakes up at 4 a.m. once a week and makes the journey to Simaisma Beach to pursue his life-long hobby and passion: fishing. As the waves wash over his boots, he makes his way into the chilly water until no part of his legs is visible. He casts his baited line into the gulf and waits. Now in his 30s, Alfaras has been fishing since he was 11 years old.
“As a child, I first went fishing with my lolo [grandmother],” Alfaras reminisces about his boyhood in the Philippines. “I caught a catfish, and it made me really excited.”
More than two decades later, Alfaras spends his free time shore-fishing in the shallow waters in the Al Khor region or at Khawr al Udayd, also known as the Inland Sea, an inlet of the Persian Gulf in the southeast of Qatar. He is the founding member of the Anglers of Qatar, which brings together amateur fishermen from around the peninsula who spend their weekends out on the shore.
Alfaras often wonders if the next generations will be able to enjoy fishing along the pristine Simaisma shore as he and the Anglers do, as climate change continues to affect their hobby.
Abdullah Imran Tahir 