A minute is always 60 seconds. But it rarely feels that way for Kavitha, 40, selling fish under an unforgiving sun.

By seven each morning, she has to arrange the day’s catch neatly on a small table at Chennai’s bustling Nochikuppam fish market, one of the city’s fishing hamlets tucked between the Marina Loop Road and the Bay of Bengal. Buyers drift in, bargain, leave, and return.

“Between each sale, I keep an eye on the fish. As the mornings are getting hotter, I worry about selling everything before the sun spoils their freshness,” she says.

Rising temperatures are not the only challenge fisherwomen face. Changes in the sea itself have made earning a livelihood far more difficult. Kavitha’s husband is among the artisanal fishermen who plan their work around the predictable rhythms of two fishing seasons: vaadai, characterised by northerly winds and currents, and kachan, marked by southerly winds and calmer seas. But those rhythms are no longer as dependable.

Changing sea, shrinking catch

According to S. Palayam, veteran fisherman from Urur Kuppam, Chennai, the traditionally calmer kachan season has become, on average, 33 days shorter than it once was, while the vaadai season now lingers well beyond its usual withdrawal.

His study, ‘Sea Changed; Seasons Changed: A Fisher Science View of Climate Change’, which draws on daily observations recorded over 1,179 days between September 2018 and October 2023, also found an increase in rough sea days during kachan, disruptions in the productive transition between the two seasons, and the disappearance in recent years of vanda thanni — a nutrient-rich phenomenon that traditionally brought abundant fish closer to shore.

Fisherwomen sense these changes not through measurements of wind speeds or currents, but through the uncertainty they bring to daily work. Disruptions at sea, whether rough weather, poor catches or fewer fishing days, reduces the fish available for sale, thereby shrinking women’s daily earnings and, with it, the financial agency they exercise within their families.

“My husband manages the bigger expenses and repays our loans. But the money I earn gives me some independence. I can buy groceries, pay for my son’s school needs, or spend on small things without having to ask anyone,” says Kavitha.

Fishers say the waters close to the shore no longer yield the catch they once did. Forced to travel farther into the sea, they incur higher fuel costs and spend longer hours fishing, even as their returns continue to shrink. “We’re spending ₹5,000 to ₹7,000 more per month, but the catch is much less,” says Kavitha.

Although overfishing by mechanised trawlers remains the biggest reason for declining catches, many fisherwomen say changing weather and sea conditions have made their work increasingly uncertain. The seasonal cues they once relied on are no longer dependable. Erratic winds, rougher seas, and unpredictable ocean currents have made it increasingly difficult to anticipate fish availability and plan fishing trips as they did in the past.

Pollution deepens woes

S. Velvizhi, marine biologist at the M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF), says climate change is only one of several pressures bearing down on marine fisheries. Marine pollution, overfishing and the degradation of critical habitats such as coral reefs, seagrass beds and river estuaries have all contributed to the depletion of fish stocks, she says.

In Pulicat, India’s second-largest brackish water lagoon that straddles Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, fishers say declining catches are also linked to the periodic closure of the lagoon’s sea mouths, which regulate the exchange of water with the Bay of Bengal. When these remain closed, water flow into the lagoon is restricted, salinity rises during the summer months, and fish populations decline.

Standing knee-deep in the waters of the Pulicat lake in Tiruvallur district, Sarala, 50, spends hours hand-picking prawns to earn a living. But the returns have dwindled sharply over the years. Decades of industrial pollution have degraded the lagoon’s ecosystem, while invasive species believed to have been introduced through ballast water have further disrupted native fish populations.

Sarala recalls earning ₹200 to ₹300 after two hours of prawn picking; today, she says, four hours in the lagoon fetches her only about ₹150.

The shrinking income has consequences beyond the day’s meals, Sarala says. “I use it to look after my elderly parents, pay my monthly seetu [chit] contribution, and save whatever little I can for my daughter. Earlier, I could manage all that. Now, after meeting everyday expenses, there’s hardly anything left to save.”

Making ends meet

Like many fisherwomen in Tamil Nadu, Selvi, 50, a resident of Pattipulam in Chengalpattu, says she survives by borrowing. As declining fish catches have reduced her daily earnings, she has found it increasingly difficult to meet household expenses, let alone repay old debts. She currently juggles five or six loans at a time, borrowing from one lender to repay another and to keep her fish vending business going. “I keep rotating the loans,” she says. “If the catch is poor, there isn’t enough money to repay them. So I take another loan. That’s how we’ve been managing.”

‘Meenava’ Shanthi, a fisherwoman based in Kasimedu, says the welfare system continues to view fisheries through a largely male lens. Although the Tamil Nadu Fishers and Fishworkers Welfare Board is intended to cover those engaged across the fisheries sector, she argues that there are few welfare measures tailored to the realities of women’s work.

“Most of the welfare schemes are meant for those who go out to sea. Even when benefits reach a family, they usually come through the male fisher. Women like us, who sell, process and dry fish, don’t have any support meant specifically for us,” she says.

With little by way of targeted government support, many fisherwomen are finding their own ways to stay afloat. As fish vending has become less reliable, some are taking up tailoring, catering, daily wage labour, or work under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (now VB-G RAM G) during lean periods.

Coping with change

In the hours between returning from the market and preparing for the next day’s work, Kavitha has begun stitching clothes. At first, she learnt simply to sew for herself, her mother, and her sister. Encouraged by her younger sister, she now hopes to turn it into an additional source of income.

“My younger sister keeps telling me, ‘Why don’t you take orders from others? You stitch well.’” She has not yet begun taking customers but sees tailoring as a way to cushion her family’s income on days when there is little fish to sell. “If I can get more orders, I’ll continue doing it. At least there will be some income even when business at the fish market is poor,” she says.

Others are turning to value-added products such as dried fish and pickles or small self-help group enterprises. These supplementary incomes help soften the blow, but women say they rarely compensate for the steady earnings that fish once brought. “A few of us get together to make small batches of fish pickle, which we sell through a neighbourhood grocery shop,” says Sarala.

Velvizhi says many fishing villages have already demonstrated that alternative livelihood models can work when women receive the right support. “There’s much more of an entrepreneurial mindset among fisherwomen today. Earlier, when we suggested making value-added products like fish pickles or marketing them through WhatsApp, many were hesitant. Now, they’re far more open to trying new ideas,” she says.

But adapting to a changing fisheries sector, she says, requires more than encouraging women to diversify. The State must invest in building new skills that match today’s markets. “The old approaches won’t be enough anymore. Women need digital literacy, digital marketing skills, quality control, and training in value addition so they can access better markets and earn more from their products,” she suggests.

(This story is part of the Asian College of Journalism’s Climate Change Media Hub Mentorship Programme.) 

Mumbai:

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, NDTV 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. 

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%.

While at the dock, NDTV 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. 

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. 

“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.”

The world’s trade Ministers gathered in the U.A.E. on February 26 for a high-level WTO meeting with no clear prospects for breakthroughs, amid geopolitical tensions and disagreements.

The World Trade Organisation’s (WTO’s) 13th ministerial conference (MC13), scheduled to run until February 29 in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, is the first in two years.

The WTO is hoping for progress, particularly on fishing, agriculture and electronic commerce.

But big deals are unlikely as the body’s rules require full consensus among all 164 member states — a tall order in the current climate.

“I don’t have hopes that a very substantive agreement will be announced,” said Marcelo Olarreaga, Professor of Economics at the University of Geneva.

“My impression is that the negotiators are dealing with tactical positions — how to make it look like it is the other [side] who is blocking negotiations,” he told AFP.

Even WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has said she expects the meeting to be challenging due to the “economic and political headwinds” — from the war in Ukraine, attacks in the Red Sea, inflation, rising food prices and economic difficulties in Europe and China.

Her team is working around the clock to draft agreements for the talks, she told journalists this month, noting that “negotiating positions are still quite tough”, notably on agriculture.

‘Miracle’

During the WTO’s last ministerial meeting, held at its Geneva headquarters in June 2022, trade ministers nailed down a historic deal banning fisheries subsidies harmful to marine life and agreed to a temporary patent waiver for COVID-19 vaccines.

They also committed themselves to re-establishing a dispute settlement system which Washington had brought to a grinding halt in 2019 after years of blocking the appointment of new judges to the WTO’s appeals court.

“Replicating the success, the miracle, of MC12 in 2022 will be extremely challenging,” European Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis said this month.

“Negotiations on the big-ticket items” — such as fisheries, agriculture and the e-commerce moratorium — will “remain open until the final phase of the conference”, he added.

“Negotiations on dispute settlement reform and potentially some parts of the outcome document will also be challenging.”

However, the WTO faces pressure to eke out progress on reform in Abu Dhabi ahead of the possible re-election of Donald Trump as U.S. President.

During his four years in office from 2017 to 2021, Mr. Trump threatened to pull the United States out of the trade body and disrupted its ability to settle disputes.

“There will be the U.S. elections in November…so this is the last chance,” a diplomatic source in Geneva told AFP on condition of anonymity.

“Postponing anything until after MC13 is not a good strategy.”

Earlier this month, U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai underlined Washington’s “commitment to reforming the WTO and creating a more durable multilateral trading system”.

But Olarreaga of the University of Geneva said the other members of the WTO “cannot expect huge concessions” from the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden in an election year.

‘Fragmentation’

While there is doubt over progress at the WTO on major issues such as agriculture, there is hope for small advances on other fronts, particularly aid for developing countries.

On Feb. 26, two new countries, the Comoros and East Timor, are expected to be accepted as WTO members.

More than 120 countries and regions, including China and the European Union, but not the United States, issued a ministerial declaration early on Feb. 26, marking the finalisation of an agreement aimed at facilitating international investments in development.

They also issued a submission requesting the official integration of the deal into the WTO, but some diplomats fear Opposition from India, which rejects any agreement that does not include all member states.

But amid the difficulty of obtaining full consensus, more and more plurilateral agreements — deals with a narrower number of signatories — are being reached, applying only to the participating countries.

Adding to the challenges for those gathering in the U.A.E., is the ongoing war in Gaza and related attacks by Yemeni rebels on ships in the Red Sea, a campaign that has disrupted global maritime trade.

“The current situation is characterised by geopolitical tensions,” said a European diplomat who spoke to AFP on the condition of anonymity.

“High expectations from developing nations following the financial crisis and the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as economic tensions due to inflation… [add to the] risk of fragmentation of the global economy,” the diplomat said.