Fisherfolk from the coasts of Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu and Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala live their lives partly on land and partly on sea. Their journeys are not always safe. Sudden, violent storms and massive waves can rapidly wreck even large vessels, and the absence of communication with the mainland significantly reduces their chances of survival.
Fishermen move a huge catch to the storage, where it will be preserved on ice. Ice blocks taken along on the journeys usually last a month. | Photo Credit: Joseph Rahul
A shark caught in the net. | Photo Credit: Joseph Rahul
The fishermen use GPS and wireless communication to navigate, and sonar devices to locate specific fish in the high seas. These wireless network operates only within a 15-km radius, and are not of much help during storms and cyclones, and deaths and disappearances are common. Hundreds of fishermen disappeared during Cyclone Ockhi, which caused widespread devastation in southern India and Sri Lanka in 2017. More than 240 men—the figure varies due to the absence of official data—remain untraced.
Playing cards after a long day of work. | Photo Credit: Joseph Rahul
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A typical boat crew consists of 7 to 15 members. The captain, or srank, usually owns the boat, but ownership can also be on a cooperative basis. In any case, the srank’s word is final for the duration of the journey. Boats set out on fishing expeditions through the year, except during the monsoon.
Groceries, fresh water, and cooking gas are stocked up for a month-long journey before the fishermen set sail. Some journeys exceed a month. If a boat runs out of food or water, the information is communicated to the nearest boat over wireless. Boats relay the message until help arrives. | Photo Credit: Joseph Rahul
A fisherman returns on board after fixing the propeller. | Photo Credit: Joseph Rahul
They travel far, sometimes reaching the borders of Iran, Pakistan, Qatar, the UAE, and other neighbouring countries. As the boats pursue shoals of migrating fish, sometimes they inadvertently drift across international maritime borders. If this happens at night time, the crew sometimes faces seizure and detention. According to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), between 2020 and 2022, over 2,600 Indian fishermen were imprisoned in 10 countries in the Indian Ocean region for crossing maritime borders. The MEA told the Rajya Sabha in March 2022 that 577 Indian fishermen were lodged in Pakistan’s jails. Of them, 9 died in the period between 2017 and 2022.
Fishermen borrow LPG cylinder from another boat at sea. | Photo Credit: Joseph Rahul
On September 28, 2024, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, urged External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar to engage with Sri Lankan authorities for the release of 37 fishermen from Tamil Nadu who were arrested on September 21 for allegedly crossing the International Maritime Boundary Line.
Arun from Thengapattanam, Tamil Nadu, captain of the boat, Joshua, fixes the engine. The boat had set out three days before the COVID-19-related lockdown started in March 2020. News of the lockdown did not reach the crew, which learnt about the situation three-four days before returning to mainland Kochi. | Photo Credit: Joseph Rahul
Biju, a fisherman, shows a video of their boat stuck on a sandbar near an island in the Arabian Sea. The boat could not be retrieved but the crew survived, saved by another boat, which received the distress signals through wireless. | Photo Credit: Joseph Rahul
The fish—from swordfish and marlin to sting rays and sharks—give the boats a permanent smell of the sea. Once the boats reach shore after an expedition, the fish is sold through intermediaries, locally known as tharakans, who receive a share of the proceeds from the sale. In some harbours such as Kochi, the sale cannot take place without the tharakans, who have established a monopoly over the trade over the years.
A crew member mends the nets torn by a passing ship. Incidents of ships colliding with boats, firings from foreign naval forces throwing crews into the sea and tearing the nets, are common. In such cases, survival depends on the swift assistance of nearby boats. | Photo Credit: Joseph Rahul
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The fisherfolk still rely more on their traditional knowledge of ocean currents, tides, and weather changes rather than on technology to steer themselves through the seas. But the absence of a robust communication system is felt most strongly during emergencies. Lives have been lost simply because a boat has been unable to contact the mainland or other passing ships in times of distress.
Jackson from Thengapattanam, Tamil Nadu, captains the boat, St. Mary. It usually carries a 10-member crew. | Photo Credit: Joseph Rahul
Time for a break. | Photo Credit: Joseph Rahul
Such tragedies, however, are a part of life for the families of the fisherfolk living along the coasts. As a coping mechanism, their stories are woven into the legends that outlive individual lives and become part of the community’s collective memory. And the fishermen continue to set sail in spite of the dangers, hanging on to their dream of a sizeable catch.
A fisherman sleeps peacefully on a boat after reaching the harbour. | Photo Credit: Joseph Rahul
This photo essay documents the daily lives of these men riding the high seas. The photographs were taken between 2020 and 2024.
Joseph Rahul is a documentary photographer from Kochi, Kerala.
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