A hulking, dark green fishing vessel named Magdalena docks at the Navotas Fisheries Port Complex in Metro Manila as the sun goes down and another long night begins. Dozens of sweaty, shirtless porters unload tubs filled with the latest catch in this chaotic, boisterous and muddy marketplace, a labyrinth where buyers and sellers meet. A pungent mix of human sweat, polluted seawater and fresh fish wafts in the early evening air.
Fishing boats start arriving here around 6.00pm, eagerly awaited by hundreds of traders. The frenzy of activity goes on until around 3.00am, when the last vessel arrives.
