The Sea In Their Blood: How Climate Change Is Crippling Mumbai's Fishing Community

Sitting inside a blue-coloured safe house at the Cleveland jetty in Mumbai바카라�s sea-facing Worli region, Vijay Shantaram Pawar바카라�s face lights up with a smile as he digs out an old photograph of him holding a prized catch, a ghol masa or croaker fish, popularly known as sea gold.

바카라�It바카라�s a big fish and very expensive. I was able to catch it right here,바카라� he says, pointing in the distance towards the recently inaugurated coastal road, over which cars speed by.

The memory of a 2018 photograph, which shows a clear coastline, seems a part of another age.

At the time, Pawar sold the fish for Rs 20,000, earning a decent living fishing off the Worli coast. Marginal fishermen like him ventured into the waters near the jetty. The intertidal zone, a breeding ground, was reclaimed for the 29 km coastal road from Worli to Marine Lines, towards the metropolis바카라� southern tip.

The coastal road, with an underwater tunnel, is showcased as Mumbai바카라�s aspirational infrastructure project. But in reality, the ambitious urban connectivity project has robbed the livelihood of hundreds of fisherfolk like Pawar and left Mumbai바카라�s indigenous koli community, which has lived on and survived off the city바카라�s coastline for over 700 years, in a lurch.

바카라�Our forefathers fished in these waters and built our families. Today, we don바카라�t even have the freedom to fish anywhere we want,바카라� says Nitesh Patil, chairman of Worli Koliwada Nakhwa Society, about the loss of fishing in the intertidal zone. Worli Koliwada (koli habitat) is among the biggest and oldest fishing habitats of the 40 such koliwadas in the city. Today, 300-odd families are engaged in commercial fishing here, a majority of whom practice traditional hand-held fishing and 170 own large and medium boats.

The coastal road, constructed at an enormous cost of Rs 12,000 crore, has not just created a huge obstacle for the fishing community, but has also wrecked the precious marine ecosystem, already under the duress from high environmental pollution, rapid urbanisation and climate change.

The southern stretch from Worli to Priyadarshini Park in Malabar Hill was a productive zone for traditional fishing, says environmental conservationist and architect Shweta Wagh. Several species of fish, like black crabs, grouper, red snapper and white prawns, could be found in these shallow waters and large fish from the deep sea came to lay eggs.

Small fishermen would earn their livelihood from fishing in the intertidal and nearshore areas. Women would collect oysters and clams from the rocky shores and men would stand and fish with handheld fishing lines and nets in shallow waters.

When the area was reclaimed by dumping several hundred truckloads of debris, the intertidal zone was buried, putting an end to traditional fishing practices.

Wagh was among several campaigners who, along with the kolis, petitioned the courts to stall the coastal road. 바카라�The environmental impact on the city바카라�s southern shore is irreversible. The land reclaimed cannot be undone,바카라� Wagh says.

The local municipal body has allocated Rs 136 crore compensation for the project-affected fishermen. And the state government recommended the traditional fishing folks to transition to deep sea fishing. But a lack of funds for large boats and cost-intensive trips to the deep sea have discouraged many.

Last year, Pawar invested Rs one lakh and bought a small boat with one engine to venture into the near seas, but has come to repent his decision. A return trip up to 500 metres of water costs him over Rs 500 for five litres of diesel. 바카라�I am unable to even recover the cost of diesel. There바카라�s hardly any fish to find,바카라� Pawar rues.

바카라�Mase kami aani masemar jasta jhale aahet (there바카라�s less fish and more fishermen),바카라� adds his friend Dharmaraj Worlikar. 바카라�It takes 20 nets to procure the same quantity of fish that we would get by casting two nets,바카라� says Pritam Suryakant Shivdikar, a 43-year-old fisherman from Worli.

Fisherfolks held the government responsible for failing to crackdown against the illegal fishing by commercial trawlers, for the destruction of the fishing profession in Mumbai. The indigenous koli people who worship the sea as a source of prosperity and livelihood, avoid excessive fishing.

바카라�The sea is our treasure. We only take enough fish to provide for our family바카라�s consumption and to earn our yearly income for survival. We were happy with the earnings of Rs 2,000 or Rs 3,000 per month,바카라� says Rajashree Bhanji, head of the Marol Fisherwomen Society, adding that, kolis can바카라�t survive on that kind of money anymore. She blamed 바카라�evil바카라� technology like LED fishing and commercial boats venturing from outside Mumbai, for throttling their livelihood. 바카라�Large boats, trawl the seabed and collect everything that comes in their way, including small fishes, eggs and vegetation. They take all the share of our treasure.바카라�

Bhanji, 63, who has managed the fishing business alone in Versova Koliwada for the last ten years since her husband passed away, was forced to sell one of her three boats last year and has sold much of her gold바카라�a prized possession of koli women바카라�to settle rising debts. She earns part of her income from the business of selling dry fish. 

Unlike commercial fishing operations, the koli community follows traditional fishing seasons. Fishing is halted during the monsoon months of June and July to allow fish to breed. The peak season, called sariga, runs from August to November. After a slow winter, they get the maximum catch in March, April and May.

The koli community바카라�s traditional fishing cycle, guided by their deep knowledge of the sea, tides, and winds, is now disrupted by changing weather patterns and man-made destruction. They now face unexpected and frequent cyclones year-round, unlike the four storm situations typically experienced during the monsoon season. The powerful Tauktae cyclone in May 2021 severely disrupted fishing habitats and damaged boats and equipment. Warmer weather and increased humidity have visibly affected koliwadas on Mumbai바카라�s coastline. Encroachment, illegal construction, and a lack of development planning have turned these areas into congested, malodorous localities, contrasting with the past when cooling winds flowed freely, making ceiling fans unnecessary. 바카라�We used to have table fans, but now every house has an air conditioner. The heat levels are very high,바카라� says Camilo Kenny, a Christian native residing in Worli Koliwada. 

The warming Indian Ocean and rising sea levels threaten the fishing community across India. In 2008, the Cleveland jetty was reconstructed with a ramp one and a half metres higher to prevent seawater breaches during high tides. 바카라�Increasing the height of the ramp was pointless because the jetty gets flooded at high tide. We have already crossed the one and a half metre mark,바카라� Patil said.

The 2023 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report lists Mumbai among four Indian cities highly vulnerable to rising sea levels, predicting parts will be underwater by 2100. This threatens the Koli community바카라�s existence, raising concerns about their future in fishing amidst climate change바카라�s impacts.

바카라�No way. Till we are alive and (so is) the sea, we will continue to fish,바카라� Shivdikar says. 바카라�We learn about the sea and the ways of fishing from early childhood. Even in the worst situation, we can survive by catching fish and eating kalwan and bhat (fish curry and rice).바카라� 

As the earliest inhabitants of Mumbai, kolis are an indispensable part of the city바카라�s identity, history and cultural fabric. They have lived by the shores of the Arabian Sea continuously for over 700 years, long before the 바카라�Seven Islands of Bombay바카라� were merged to form Mumbai, literally Urbs Prima in Indis, the first city of India.

The kolis, one of the city바카라�s original natives, who call themselves children of the sea, have a doomsday prophecy for Mumbai: one day the sea will manifest rudraavatara, a violent and furious form, and swallow the city. 바카라�The sea does not keep anything for itself, it throws back whatever you put inside. The sea will react one day to all that has been done to it by reclamation of land and dumping of debris,바카라� says Patil with a sense of foreboding conviction. 바카라�The sea will not remain calm unless it destroys these projects of coastal roads and the sea link.바카라�

(This appeared in the print as 'The Sea In Their Blood')