PHOTO ESSAY Ingenuity at sea: Cubans use makeshift rafts known as ‘corchos’ to catch elusive fish

From a distance, they look like tiny white dots floating on the sea. But get closer, and you’ll see people sitting on polyfoam rectangles. They are fishermen floating on “corchos,” makeshift rafts that have become common on the waters off the coast of Havana. It is an innovative way to fish in a country where it’s complicated — if not impossible — to access a regular fishing boat. These rafts are about 2 meters long by 1 1/2 meters wide. They are big enough for one person to climb aboard with his fishing rod, reels, pliers and hooks.