Fishing kept them afloat for 700 years. Now they are drowning in debt

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For nearly 700 years, the Koli community in Mumbai has been making its subsistence from fishing, the Arabian Sea offering an abundance of piscine riches to enable it to do so. Today, however, the Kolis - who are an indigenous community in India's financial capital - are having to venture farther and farther into the sea to catch enough fish to survive, sometimes going as far as the Gujarat coast and even near the maritime border with Pakistan. 


For women from the community, fishing is no longer a treasured profession passed down generations but a burdensome net they feel trapped in - and they are determined to ensure that their children escape. 


The men catch the fish, but it is the women who take the catch to the market and sell it, giving them a 70% share in the business.


At the Sassoon Dock in Mumbai, News Agency spoke to Smita, Rajini, Bharti, Meena and Vaishali from the Koli community.


"Nothing is left, there are no fish and we are drowning in debt. What should we do now? Our husbands had to leave fishing because their boats got destroyed. There's no use, there are no fish left nearby. Our children will not come into this business. We are somehow educating them by doing menial jobs," said one of the women. 


"Earlier, we used to be able to tell just by looking at the weather which fish are in season and at what depth they would be found. Now, you have to travel hundreds of kilometres to catch the same fish. Where will we poor people get the means to do this? Our earnings have less than halved," another lamented. 


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The dwindling catch is affecting customers too. 


"Our favourite fish is either not available or too expensive. Pomfret, surmai, tuna... all of these are often beyond our reach," said a customer. 

Losing Men

Earlier, individual fishermen would manage to net a good haul close to the coast itself. Sea and air pollution is worsening every year, however, and climate change and construction projects are affecting the catch too. All of these factors combined are driving marine life away from areas near the coast and making it progressively harder for fishermen to predict where they might be able to find fish.


Fishermen now have to form groups of 18 to 25 people and travel as far as 1,000 km, fishing off the coast of Gujarat and sometimes even close to the Pakistan coast. Each trip costs Rs 3 to 4 lakh and is fraught with danger - both of getting caught and of losing one's life. 


Krishna Chauhan, a fisherman and boat owner, said, "We carry a month's ration, water and enough ice to store the fish until we return. When we don't find fish even a couple of hundred kilometres away, we go towards Gujarat. There is a lot of risk, but sometimes we go even close to the sea border with Pakistan. Every trip costs over Rs 3 lakh and, sometimes, we still return empty handed."


"If even one person dies, his entire family is ruined. There is no help. That is why no one wants to stay now, the business is almost over," Shekhar Dhorlekar, another fisherman, rued. He pointed out that the number of fishing boats has gone down by about 50%.


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While at the dock, News Agency spotted a boat coming in with its haul. After spending 15 days out at sea, the crew had managed to catch eight tonnes of fish. They are not pomfret or surmai like they wanted, but the crew is still happy. 


"Pomfret and surmai are landing in the nets of only the lucky ones now. The expensive fish are no longer available. But it does not matter for now. We spent Rs 4 lakh on this trip and at least the expenses are covered. Sometimes, we get nothing," said Satish Koli, one of the fishermen on the crew. 


The owner of another boat, Dhaval Koli, said he is deep in debt - over Rs 28 lakh - and many of his crew members have quit and gone. Some Koli fishermen, like Dhaval, are still soldiering on, but more and more people from other parts of the country are taking the place of the Kolis in the Mumbai fishing industry. 


"We are not getting labourers, so we have to bring them from Bihar and Jharkhand. Whatever we earn, I keep half and the rest is shared with the crew," said Dhaval. 

Sea Change

Some fishermen claimed smog settling on the water off the coast is making it colder, driving fish away. 


Sunil Kamble, a scientist from the India Meteorological Department, however, said that is not the case. 


"Look, we don't understand any connection between fog, the temperature of seawater and the migration of fish. The water will be warmer near the shore than farther away during this season. So, this logic that fish are moving away from the coast in search of warmer waters is not correct," Mr Kamble explained. 


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Standing near the Thane Creek, whose water drains into the Arabian Sea, a white coating holds at least some of the answers. 


Nandakumar Pawar, environmental activist and President, Maharashtra Small Scale Traditional Fish Workers Union, points to the white foam covering parts of the over 30-km-long Creek. He says that while industries claim that the water is cleaned before it enters the Creek, results of samples that he has had tested prove otherwise.


"The report has shown that the results of the water samples are several hundred per cent more toxic than the acceptable limit. The poison is not only driving marine life away but fish also becoming poisonous themselves. Studies also show that many fish now have cancer," Mr Pawar said.


Rishi Agarwal, Director, Mumbai Sustainability Centre, agreed. 


"Water pollution has a very big role - almost 70%. We have to take it seriously," he said. 


Shobhit Kumar Mishra,  Water Treatment Plant Project Head, Adani Group, said more water treatment plants are needed. 


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"Look, when chemicals dissolve in water, it is very difficult to clean it. If you throw garbage, it will either float in the sea or land on the shore. The chemical will dissolve in water and kill or poison the fish. That is why there is a great need for treatment plants to clean the sea," he emphasised. 

Other Factors

Finding their catch diminishing, fishermen are now turning to "purse nets". Each net costs Rs 10 lakh, is laid in the sea and is pulled in by a machine, but it also traps small fish and vegetation, hurting reproduction and contributing to marine life numbers going down.  


Construction work near the sea and the erection of pillars for projects like the coastal road also cause vibrations, driving marine life away. 


Jayesh Bhoir, Chairman, Fishermen Society (Colaba), said, "Ever since the construction of the coastal road has worsened the condition, things have not improved. And it is getting worse. So much construction work is going on, how will the fish survive in the sea? Think about us like you think about farmers."