The fish market wears a deserted look. The handful of stalls that operate are in no hurry to do business; hawkers stare vacantly at passers-by. Even the crows seem to sense the mood. Usually, at this time, Nochi Kuppam fish market is in a festive mood. It comes to life at around 5 pm with fish selling faster than one can say vanjiram . But the annual fishing ban on mechanised boats is on and those dependent on catch from these boats don’t have much to offer.
This is also the time when fibre boats go to sea with more wind in their sails.
A small crowd has formed around K Selva Kumar and his colleagues. They’ve just returned with their catch and have spread it on a wooden table.
Placed in small mounds, are silvery fish that Kumar and team have just extracted from their net that’s bundled by their feet. The catch consists primarily of small fish — madavai , kavalai … there even are palm-sized vanjiram .
“Small fish are healthier than bigger ones,” says Kumar. “And the kuzhambu (curry) made with the fish is extremely tasty.”
Chennai: Fishermen return after fishing at Marina Beach in Chennai on Sunday. PTI Photo (PTI11_24_2013_000091A) *** Local Caption ***
“There are 170 fibre-boats in Nochi Kuppam alone,” says fisherman R Ravi. “Traditionally, we did good business during the fishing ban season. That’s when people would look beyond the popular bigger varieties such as vanjiram and vaaval ,” he adds. “But the water currents have been quite strong over the past one-and-half months and we haven’t made much money. Our nets tend to get tangled. From the ₹ 1,500 we usually earn from one trip, we now make ₹ 500, which has to be split among four people.”
Ravi lounges on the veranda of a tenement by the lighthouse with few other fishermen. “We’d been to sea just this afternoon,” explains Ravi. Fishermen are all for the ban; in fact, many of them are sympathetic towards fish larvae. “We have an agreement not to catch small crabs. It is not good for our nets, as well as for the crabs themselves,” explains S Ramu. “This pact is in existence amongst fishermen from Triplicane, Ayodhyakuppam, Nadu Kuppam, and Nochi Kuppam.”
CHENNAI : 09/03/2013 : Fishermen returning back after a hard day at Marina Beach in Chennai on Saturday. Photo : M_Vedhan.
Ramu gives a list of smaller fish that people can try while they wait for the ban to end. “ Kavala has a bluish tint on its upper body; kilichai has a blackish upper portion; karapodi , a diamond-shaped silvery fish; and naam parai , that have white and yellow lines running through the body.”
These varieties, although regulars at fish markets in the city, are usually overlooked by buyers who pick fleshier fish. “Try them,” urges Ramu. “These are what our community mostly consumes.” Consumers are also supporting fishermen on fibre-boats in the process.
R Gopi from Kasimedu asks, “What’s the point in eating seafood when one can’t deal with the bones?”
There’s an inside joke about vanjiram among fishermen, “We call it somberi meen (lazy fish),” laughs Gopi.
