Things have changed a lot since I first started. There used to be plenty of fish but now there are not so many. The nets were not that expensive to buy but now they are, and so are the canoes. If I had the choice I would be a clothes trader, or I would open a small shop selling everyday essentials.

The best thing about being a fisherman is being alone, out on the water, where it is so quiet and there's no-one else around to disturb you. And also, when you go back to your nets you hesitate for a moment. You're always thinking ‘will I get a lot of fish or won't I?’, and that moment is really exciting.

At 4 o'clock in the afternoon I go out onto the river to set my nets. We all have our own place to fish. Then I come back here, usually around sunset and at 4 o'clock in the morning I go out again to bring in the nets. We get back at about 6.00 and take the fish out of the net and sell it. People come to buy at around 7.00, and then after that we clean the nets, removing any crabs, or weeds that have got caught in them, and then hang them up to dry. Then we rest in the middle of the day, before going out again at 4.00 to start the whole process again. The best seasons for fishing are just before and just after the rainy season, in June and October/November.

The river is very important in the life of Mali. It benefits the whole population, even the farmers because when the river floods it spreads over the land and makes it very fertile and good for cultivation. There are so many benefits from the river, I can't name them all."