#12 Fishing for a future: A livelihood challenged by coastal infra transformation in Mudasalodai
By Jan Hauptmann
This month, we bring to you a series on how the modernisation of harbours in India is changing the lives of fishers in relation to the politics of their livelihood, and overall well-being. This story, written by guest author Jan Hauptmann, a social science researcher at the University of Amsterdam, traces the challenges faced by a fisherman in Mudasalodai, a coastal village in Cuddalore district of Tamil Nadu owing to harbour development initiatives of the central government.
The coastal region of Cuddalore district in Tamil Nadu, India, is primarily inhabited by traditional fishing communities that have relied on fishing as their livelihood for generations. Over the last three decades, the coast has undergone a targeted transformation driven by strategic coastal initiatives of the government. Among the latest endeavors is the ambitious “Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana” (PMMSY), inaugurated in September 2020 by the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying of the central government of India. The PMMSY initiative, spanning from 2020/21 to 2024/25, aims to modernize and fortify the fish value chain. As a result of PMMSY investments in harbor infrastructure coupled with a shift towards profit-driven motives among fishermen and rising living costs compared to previous generations, there is a growing willingness among fishermen to make significant investments in steel trawler boats equipped with high-speed engines and ample storage facilities, replacing the previously used fiber boats or wooden trawlers. Here the story of 40 year old Aaran unfolds - a narrative of struggle, hope, and the impact of changing harbor infrastructure.
"My whole family has always worked in fishing. I started in this profession when I was 9 years old," he begins our conversation. Like many of his peers, Aaran started fishing on his family’s small wooden boat. The decision to drop out of formal education after 5th standard marked the beginning of a full-time commitment to fishing, although he fondly remembers his school days when weekends were reserved for throwing nets on catamarans.
However, the youthful enthusiasm was confronted with the harsh changing reality of economic pressure. "Back then, we were very happy when we earned 100 rupees. But now even 800 rupees a day is no longer enough for a family. Because all prices have gone up," he says with concern. Inflation has washed away the joy of a good catch because the cost of living has skyrocketed. "Back then, we could buy 25 kg of rice for 200 to 500 rupees, but now it costs around 1500 rupees." At the same time, he complains about the unchanged fish prices since he started fishing.
The escalating costs of daily life and the heavy financial burden of providing a good education for their children are forcing many of the fishermen to look for opportunities beyond the fishing nets. However, they face the difficulty of gaining access to an expanded job market. "If you are looking for a job in India, some basic educational qualities are required. Even for a small job in a grocery store, at least 10th grade education is required." Highly educated fishermen are hardly better off, as the lack of networks to other professions in cities and the prejudice of employers against fishers makes it virtually impossible for them to find a well-paid job in Tamil Nadu.
Desperate, Aaran took matters into his own hands and decided to go to Singapore as a guest worker. "In the future, when there are more boats, there will be less fish. Sometimes we did not catch anything at all. That is why most people want to go abroad. My family members also told me that I should go abroad because only then can I realize what life really is. They told me that if I stayed here, no one would respect me. Based on their words, I made the decision to leave." The decision was not without its challenges, as he recounts: "I decided myself to go to Singapore to do painting work in a shipyard. I didn't have much money back then, so I asked my uncle for 1.2 lakh rupees for the visa and agent fee." His years in Singapore became a chapter of stability. But to start a family, he came back to Mudasalodai after 6 years, with a dream and hard-earned savings. "I was earning well abroad, I spent all the money to buy a boat and I thought I would definitely succeed."
But the harbor had changed.
Aaran, fueled by dreams of success, found his reality to be different. "After my return from Singapore, the prices have increased even more. At the time I went abroad, there were no speedboats in Mudasalodai harbor. But now we have boats with more horsepower that consume 30 liters more fuel than the previous boats. Everything has changed completely. The harbor has been expanded, there are new buildings and larger boats." Aaran is not alone in this experience. Around 80 percent of the fishermen in Mudasalodai have worked abroad for a time as guest workers. They also came back with high hopes, but had to realize that modernization not only generates higher profits, but also high costs. Today, there are no more small-scale boats in Mudasalodai harbor. Even the wooden trawlers are finding it difficult to catch enough. Mostly those who can afford a steel trawler can still hope to make a profit, although they are struggling with the high cost of operation. "Whatever I earn from fishing is only enough for fuel and paying off debts. And we can't say for sure how much fish we will catch. If we can't catch fish for 10 days, we will have incurred a debt of 3 lakh. And I have spent 1.2 lakh on buying nets. If we lose the net in the sea, that is also a financial risk for us."
The disparity between rising costs and stagnant wages became a pressing concern. "Everything is going up at the moment, except our salary. If I go fishing with my boat for a day, I have to spend 250 to 300 liters of diesel per day. So I have to make up that money with my earnings from selling all the fish. But nowadays we can't catch that much fish. This situation makes it difficult to feed our family." Without other relatives also working abroad and sending money for fishing costs and fuel, it became very difficult to use steel trawler boats without incurring new debt.
Until this day, the government is mainly considering its economic hopes of infrastructure and industrialized fishing, with no strategy to sustain livelihoods. Frustration permeates Aaran’s words as he questions the government's allocation of funds. "For example, I asked the government why they give out Rs. 1000 to each woman in each family, but their husbands would go to the wine shop using that money. Instead of that, they should decrease some prices for other necessary things." In a broader criticism of economic policy, he questions the government's willingness to give people from fishing communities the opportunity to look for other jobs. "Does the government give you a job that matches your education? No, it doesn't. Then why give importance to education? It is a waste. Because all educated people work in fishing."
Aaran sees the government's investments in new harbor infrastructure as positive, but insufficient to guarantee the people a good standard of living. Although the new infrastructure is also intended to promote deep sea fishing, the fishermen in Mudasalodai lack the financial means and knowledge to do so. The new steel trawlers are therefore only used in coastal waters and further increase the competition for fish. Thus, mostly steel trawlers benefit from the new infrastructure, as they can catch more fish and sell it more easily to large-scale buyers, with others complaining about less fish, which means they have to go into debt for daily expenses, let alone investments in new fishing equipment. "Nowadays if you touch anything, it costs. Only those who have crores of money will survive."
Aaran feels skeptical about the future of fishing, urging the younger generation to seek opportunities beyond the shores of Mudasalodai. "If they are young fishermen, I tell them to look for a job abroad, because when they are fishing, they can only cover their own expenses. But in the future, when they have a family, the money from fishing is no longer enough because all the costs increase." The complexities of life as a fisherman are encapsulated in Aaran's final plea: "We cannot predict the success of the fishermen's work. In Mudasalodai, only 100 families own boats, while the other 400 families depend on them. If the boat owners fail to catch sufficient fish, it becomes incredibly challenging for all families. So in the future we need more families to invest in large and fast boats. So my general advice is to definitely go abroad to raise enough money for big boats."
In the complex structure of life in Mudasalodai, Aaran's story is a poignant testimony to the profound changes in the reality of the fishing community. As the coastal region grapples with rapid transformations driven by industrialization, Aaran's experiences shed light on the challenges faced by traditional fishing communities. His journey, marked by periods abroad as a guest worker, underscores the harsh realities of escalating costs, stagnant income, and the struggle for sustainable livelihoods. Aaran's plea for the younger generation to seek opportunities beyond traditional fishing echoes the broader complexities of economic policies that, while investing in infrastructure, may inadvertently neglect the well-being of the entire fishing community. The government's focus on economic hopes without a comprehensive strategy for sustaining livelihoods or encouraging employment mobility underscores the need for a more inclusive approach. Aaran's story encapsulates the resilience of fishermen navigating unpredictable economic currents and calls for a concerted effort to address the multifaceted challenges faced by fishing communities like Mudasalodai.
Jan Hauptmann is a Master’s student in International Development at the University of Amsterdam, Netherlands. With his background in political science, he is interested in socio-economic transformations among vulnerable groups and migration patterns. His research focuses on understanding these issues and contributing to solutions that promote social equity and justice.
Ashwin N. holds a Master's degree in Marine Biology from Alagappa University. He has served as a research assistant and interpreter, contributing to the success of the research project in Mudasalodai.
Recommended Readings
- Coastal Transformation and Fisher Wellbeing: Perspectives from Cuddalore District, Tamil Nadu, India . Madras Institute of Development Studies by Ajit Menon, Maarten Bavinck, Tara N. Lawrence, Nitya Rao, Muthusankar G., Balasubramanian D., Arunkumar A.S., Bhagath Singh A., Senthil Babu D., and Nicolas Bautès (2022) https://site.uit.no/fishercoast/wp-content/uploads/sites/415/2023/02/Cuddalore-report-r6-final-lowres-single.pdf
- Migration for capital accumulation: Changing class dynamics among small-scale fishers on the Coromandel Coast, Tamil Nadu by Nitya Rao, R. Manimohan (2020): https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781003053026-2/migration-capital-accumulation-nitya-rao-manimohan