In unknown waters

I fall off the massive coil of nylon rope on the boat floor where I'm dozing and ask what happened, and Sridhar Bhoir, strong at the wheel, smiles pointing to the cargo liner that's left waves in its wake rocking our small vessel. “Go back to sleep. We're now in international waters and such ships will keep coming,” he says. 

Twenty-eight hours ago, I had stepped off the jetty at Mumbai's Vesave fishing village on this boat with the captain, two fishermen, two khalasis and one cook or poshya. The faintest hint of crimson caught my eye on the horizon. The sea seemed calmer and the water cleaner than nearer shore.

Santosh Koli sorts through his catch - Aadesh Choudhari

“Some fishing boats from Vesave, Palghar and Dahanu too go till the Gulf of Kutch looking for pomfret found between Thatta, Pakistan and Pipar on the Indian side in Gujarat,” he says, admitting to the risk of being caught by Pakistan’s Coast Guard. “But the catch on our side is dwindling because of pollution, so we have no choice. Also, once you come out to sea, risk isn't something you have time to think of, given how much there is to do.” 

The spicy prawn curry (freshly caught in the nets drawn in) wolfed down with the rice brought from ashore seemed to have vanished into thin air and I was getting achingly hungry. I politely avoid mentioning it but Bhoir seems to catch on. He calls out to the poshya, Raju, barely in his 20-s, to make us chai. Soon other crew-members wake up and biscuit packets are opened while black chai is served in small, thin plastic cups. A kerosene pressure stove whose legs are bolted into the table is used for minimal cooking, like no-fuss fish curry or chai. Condiments in small paper packets sit cheek by jowl with onions and green chilies in a box. Four 20 litre jerry cans of fresh water, two for drinking and two for washing, sit close to the cooking area, while a bigger black one carrying kerosene is kept with the large diesel drum in the corner of the engine room where the floor is wet. A covered cavity with thick plastic sheet across will hold the catch till the vessel reaches the shore. After each lot is brought in, crushed ice is added to keep the catch fresh.

Santosh Koli casts a net off the Madh Jetty Aadesh Choudhary

After three stops, the cavity is full but the crew is unhappy because they've got fewer silver pomfrets and king fish which give higher returns and more of the smaller anchovies and sardines. A few huge crabs, eels and black pomfrets give them some hope. After all the expenses for the trip, when the two fishermen Santosh Koli and Pradip Bhoye divide earnings between them, the former gets Rs 2,900 while the latter makes Rs 5,200, based on their initial investment.

And it will be three months before they can go out to sea again!