‘Kambavala’ fish workers in distress

They want government’s help in tackling consequences of sea erosion

A group of 30 to 40 fish workers who work with a ‘Kambavala’ laying out the long net stretching hundreds of meters in the waters close to the shore.

For Nazir’s family, fishing using ‘Kambavala’ (gill nets) is a traditional method handed down over generations. The uniqueness of their method is that unlike many other fish workers, Nazir and his kin do not venture out into the deep sea.

A group of 30 to 40 fish workers, who work with a ‘Kambavala’, lays out the long net stretching hundreds of meters in the waters close to the shore, waiting patiently for a considerable catch. However, in recent years, the catch has been disappointing due to various reasons, including overfishing in the deeper waters. Their problems gets further compounded by a shrinking of the coastline.

‘Best returns’

“It is during these three or four months of relatively calm waters that we get the best returns. But now, there are several days on which we hardly get anything. Today, after many days, we got squid worth ₹10,000, but when it is divided among 30 people, it is nothing. Earlier, we used to get fish worth more than ₹1 or 2 lakh on the good days. Many of those who are working with the ‘Kambavala’ are elderly fish workers who do not venture out much into the sea. I own two such nets, each of which costs a few lakhs to make. When the catch dwindles, we struggle to pay the loans and give wages to the other workers,” says Nazir.

Along the capital’s coastline, there are around 80 such nets registered with the Trivandrum Kambavala Matsyathozhilali Federation, each of its employing 30 to 40 fish workers. Many of them have been struggling for the past few years with constant sea erosion washing away the shore at Shanghumukhom, Poonthura, and other areas. To prepare the ‘Kambavala’ for fishing as well as to dry it later, they need larger sandy expanses, which have disappeared in many of these places.

According to these fishermen, the work on breakwaters in other areas might have contributed to the shrinking coast in Shanghumukhom and nearby regions. “Fishing in the deeper waters at night time using LED lights also has contributed to this situation. We have been raising the various issues faced by us with the government for quite some time, but there has been no response. When the Vizhinjam rehabilitation package was awarded, we were also promised of aid, although of lesser amounts compared to those who used to fish in the project area. But although our work has been affected due to the shrinking coastline caused by the breakwater constructions, we have not yet been given any compensation,” says Davidson of Poonthura.

Tony Oliver, president of the Trivandrum Kambavala Matsyathozhilali Federation, said the government should take steps to either aid the ‘Kambavala’ fishermen by protecting the coastline or provide them adequate compensation and rehabilitate them.