Between diesel price and deep sea: Many fishermen unable to set sail this season

The fishing season begins Wednesday but an uneasy calm prevails in Junagadh district’s Mangrol harbour, one of the biggest fishing hubs of Gujarat. The fishermen are a worried lot, thanks to high diesel price as well as falling exports volumes of seafood and low consumption in domestic market due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Fishermen leaders apprehend a sizeable number of fishermen will not be able to set sail this season.

Devchand Vardhan, a khalasi (crew) onboard a fishing boat, who is on a stroll on the road lined by hundreds of fishing trawlers in the harbour as waves crash on to the tetrapods, says, “Diesel costs Rs 97 a litre. I don’t know if the owner of the boat where I work, can afford such high prices.”