Our adventure is centred on the peninsula in the China Sea,
and begins in a small village called Pantai Sabak in the state of Kelantan.
At sunrise, the young Rupi is already at work.
He's going fishing with his two brothers, father, grandfather and uncle.
Today is a crucial day because the fishing season is coming to an end and the last few days have not been very successful.
His father, Yakub, started fishing at the age of 12.
He's now 47.
His brightly colored boat with its carved bow was given to him by his father.
Yakub Benzarupi's family form part of a team that consists of 30 fishermen and five boats.
The fishermen of Sabak, are famous in Malaysia for that team spirit and values of sharing and helping one another.
This particular spirit in Malaysia is called Gotong-Royong.
The pole in the water reveals the presence of an artificial reef.
The reef was immersed a few years ago, several kilometres from the coast.
It has developed corals and fish colonies of various sizes and species.
Malaysia has since amassed nearly 300 such artificial reefs along its coasts.
The fishermen of Sabak benefit from them.
And have devised a unique method of fishing the Selar Kuning a small fish resembling the mackerel.
They start by testing the quantity of selar kuning, using a line with numerous hooks called an Apollo.
When the test is conclusive, fishing can begin.
Four of the five boats lower a net several hundred meters in length to a depth of 30 to 40 metres at some distance from the reef.
A fifth boat, the flagship is roped to the others and heads for the reef.
The next step involves dropping a series of palm tree branches into the water weighed down by stones.
They gradually descend towards the bottom of the reef.
These branches are in fact, a trap that the Malaysians call an unjang.
2 divers jump into action!
Their role is to direct the movement of the fish towards the branches.
They attract the more curious, by tapping on the water.
This will show them that there are more below.
Using the ropes, the flagship is gradually pulled in by hand towards the other boats.
Without these ropes, the strong currents would quickly separate them.
The branches with that population of fish are gradually brought towards the net.
When the divers are sure that the fish are in place, they pass on the word.
There is very little time before the tide comes in and the currents change.
The team on the flagship quickly take up the branches from the water and signal to the others to pull up the net.
They must hurry from the center of the fishing zone to avoid the propeller getting caught in the nets.
The net is drawn in by the fishermen of the four boats who urge each other on.
Inch by inch, they reduce the perimeter, pitting their strength against the current.
The last catch was disappointing with barely 5 or 6 racks for each boat,
it was certainly nothing to write home about for our 30 sailors.
For the last few meters, the net is held by just two boats, while the other three wait behind to see the results.
One after the other, the baskets are hoisted out of the net.
They're still wriggling fish and divided up equally among the five boats and thrown into the racks.
A little ice is added to preserve the fish until they return to port.
The first catch is rather good.
Each boat fills two racks.
The fishermen then decide to go on and try their luck on another reef.