Four years ago, when Bangladeshi national Shahid Sardar started a Facebook page, his intention was to portray the daily life of a fisherman. He wanted to share the experiences encountered while out on fishing trips in a boat. When he began creating videos and managing the page, he never imagined that they would become so popular, attracting millions of viewers. However, this year Sardar has indeed gained significant public acclaim. He is now thoroughly depicting the life of a fisherman at sea. The 35-year-old Sardar lives with his wife and son in Chittagong District, located on the southeastern coast of Bangladesh. He began working as a fisherman in 2013, after a period of working in a hospital canteen in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh.
Sardar’s job on the massive fishing boat, which carries 50 crew members, is to cook for everyone. The boat departs from the Bay of Bengal and spends approximately a month at sea without returning to shore. Sardar’s videos illustrate the efforts made by the boat to find and catch fish. Through these videos, he shares various fishing techniques and his daily life while living on a fishing boat. As his videos started gaining public approval, he also began showcasing different types of fish found in Bangladeshi waters. Since the public was not widely familiar with these species, Sardar’s videos have become very appealing presentations to the general public.
Sardar stated that the public greatly enjoys the opportunity to watch videos about fish and learn about species not commonly found in markets. He believes that a large number of people watch his videos due to the inherent allure of the sea’s richness and beauty. The scenes depicted in the videos are not typically seen or experienced firsthand by most people. His Facebook page, named BD Fisherman, is followed by over 360,000 people. Additionally, another page he manages, Fisherman Shahid, has 240,000 followers. In December 2022, two videos he shared through his pages received extraordinary reception, leading Facebook to enable monetization for these pages.
Sardar explained that the first video to go viral showed a large number of yellowfin tuna and skipjack tuna. The scene of the fish being dumped onto the boat’s deck immediately after being caught became exceptionally popular among viewers. That video, captured during stormy weather, received immense public support, with over three million views within 24 hours. He mentioned that earning money from the videos encouraged him to create more, and the popularity continued to grow. Sardar stated that he currently earns about $500 per month from his two Facebook pages. In addition to this, he receives a salary of $120 for each trip, and a bonus of 60 cents per ton of fish sold in the market.
Sardar said that in his village, he is known as Fisherman Shahid, and everyone recognizes him. He mentioned that wherever he goes, people approach him, talk to him, and frequently ask for guidance on how to earn income by making and sharing videos on social media. He also shared that a friend’s child, who is in Grade 7, visited his home to learn about video production. Inspired by Sardar’s videos, other Bangladeshi fishermen have also created their own pages. Bangladeshi citizens living abroad also find Sardar’s videos very appealing. As fishing is one of the primary sources of income in many coastal villages of Bangladesh, these videos have become a means for those living far from their families and country to connect with their homeland.
Many of Sardar’s followers have no experience whatsoever of life at sea. By watching the videos Sardar shares on their mobile phones or laptops, they get the opportunity to experience, through a screen, an industry that contributes approximately 3.5 percent to Bangladesh’s annual production. It also enriches their knowledge about fishing, the seas, and marine life.
One viewer commented that they were amazed to see how fishermen live at sea. They added that despite bad weather and limited resources while at sea, the simple way fishermen adapt and become accustomed to life at sea is a captivating sight. The viewer also expressed that seeing so many people working together is a joyful sight. They further added that watching this life makes them feel as if they are observing how things happen in an entirely different world.
