Coastal fishing net in India. Chinese fishing net being operated from a jetty on a sandy shoreline in Kochi (Cochin), Kerala, India. These fishing nets (also called cheena vala) are fixed and used as shore-operated lift nets. Using a counterweight system (centre left), they are lowered into the sea and then raised again after a short interval. The name derives from the theory that they were introduced by the Chinese, but it is now thought that they were introduced by the Portuguese from Macau. Photographed in 2013.