Since it was first built in 1875, the Sassoon Dock in India’s financial capital of Mumbai has been many things: a gateway for trade with the Persian Gulf, a bustling hub for traders and laborers, as well as a center for commerce in textiles, spices, and opium.
More recently, it's been a major spot for the city’s fish trade.
But rarely has the harbor felt so muted.
The boats sit crowded next to each other in the morning sun. Their colorful flags fluttering against the backdrop of Mumbai’s high-rise skyline.
Normally, the dock hums with life. Nets are unloaded. Diesel engines rumble. Ice is hauled. Fishmongers shout over the din.
Today, that chaos has been replaced by concern.
Shekhar Chogle, who owns a fishing boat and whose skin is tanned a deep, warm brown from years at sea, has been forced to keep his vessel idle since the war began. Income has fallen, labor costs persist, and rising diesel prices make fishing all but impossible.
The diesel pump at the harbor looks forlorn, a dry marigold garland hanging over it. One worker returned unsuccessfully from a gas station with six empty containers on his wood barrow. Bulk diesel prices have soared above $1.20 per liter ($4.54 per U.S. gallon), making it harder for the groups that help fishers get cheaper fuel, ice, and gear.
In other parts of India and across Asia, fishers face the same impossible choice. Stay ashore or risk going out at a loss, putting livelihoods — and entire coastal communities — on the brink.
That Iran, the U.S. and Israel said they reached a deal for a two-week ceasefire in the war brings some comfort. But analysts warn that fuel flows would take time to normalize.
Chogle is running out of time. “Our income has dropped significantly since we have not been able to take our boat out to sea,” he said.
Even with fuel prices soaring, a few boats still venture out. At the morning markets, the morning bustle continues, but the haul is smaller.
Women in colorful saris haggle over the limited supply. One mother, balancing her baby on her hip, inspects each fish carefully, weighing the cost against the day’s needs.
“If diesel prices don’t come down soon, I don’t know how we’ll survive,” Chogle said.
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