Almost all the 312 fishing boats in Madhavpur stand rooted in the sand with their bows pointing to the sea. It has been four days since fishermen here have ventured in the Arabian Sea, depriving members of the 268 Machiyar families living here of any source of livelihood.

The seizure of the fishing trawler Kuber, named after the lord of wealth, has led to many small fishermen between the two major fishing centres of Porbandar and Veraval wondering about the hungry days ahead; a fact that can be ascertained from a visit to the six fishing godowns at Madhavpur.

The godowns, all dimly lit and the size of a standard city apartment bedroom, are barely functional. There are hardly any fish to clean and preserve in ice. Even the traders from Mangrol have not been coming here for the last two days.

The reason: After the Kuber incident, Customs clearance has become difficult to obtain and the Coast Guard is shooing away fishing boats that even come close to the blue waters.

As Nasir Tayub, a fisherman from Madhavpur, says, “Though the fear factor has surfaced ever since the Kuber incident, the reason one finds so many boats here is that now the Customs has stopped issuing creek passes easily. Kuber was a big boat, but it’s involvement in the Mumbai attack has made the small fishermen suffer.”

According to the fishermen, the Kuber effect can be felt at Naie Bunder, Sheel, Mangrol, Mangrol 12 and Chorwad — fishing villages that lie between Porbandar and Veraval. These fishermen use small fishing boats made of fibre which makes it unsuitable for long days in the sea. The length of these boats range between 10 to 30 ft.

... contd.