Join us on #WorldIndigenousRightsDay in learning a little more about Mumbai's Indigenous Kolis, the original inhabitants of the city.

Follow this thread to learn about their artisanal fishing practices, & how the #CoastalRoad is destroying their traditional livelihood
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First, how many fisherfolk are actually even in Mumbai?

"The MMR is home to at least 33 active fishing villages, with a population of 1,64,507 dependent on fishing and related activities"
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What is artisan fishing?

"Artisan fishing is a labor-intensive,low-intensity & passive method,in contrast to the technology-intensive, high-intensity & active method of commercial fishing."(3/14)

"Their knowledge of the sea & its resources have been acquired through practice,passed on from generation to generation"

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What are some of these practices? In Worli, they include:

Dolichi jaali (dol or bag-net method)
Shevandichi Jaali (gill-net method)
Pongri Jaali (gill-net method)
Waghra Jaali (gill-net method)
Daldichi jaali (gill-net method)
Pag jaali (gill-net method)
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How all they be impacted by the #CoastalRoad?

"The project will almost certainly affect the livelihood of 15,000 fisherfolk who are directly dependent on fishing in and around the project area."
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During construction,

"Fishermen have been forced to remove their nets... The Worli fishers report that the police has threatened to arrest them, destroy their nets. Although this is fishing season, the daily fishers of Worli have no other option but to stay at home."
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The permanent impacts will be disastrous

"It is inevitable that reclamation and construction activity for the CRP will adversely impact fishing and livelihoods in the area."
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"This so called “green” reclamation will be highly destructive to the fragile and sensitive coastal ecology and biodiversity along the western coastline and irreversibly affect livelihoods of indigenous Kolis of Mumbai."
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"The alignment drawings of the CRP shows that reclamation will cover a substantial portion of rocky sea bed (fish breeding ground). Loss of breeding areas will generally affect the productivity of the entire coastal belt, resulting in a decline in shallow water fishing"
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"If the coast is reclaimed, the impacts on the coastal ecology of the inter-tidal and shallow waters of the Worli fishing zone will be irreversible. This will severely diminish the practice of artisan fishing, and the livelihood of all the families who depend on it."
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Some of the rich fish catch available before the reclamation:
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Amazing marine life dependent on the intertidal zone
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Keep in mind this information about the traditional practices of Mumbai's Kolis, and the total destruction brought on them by the #CoastalRoad.

All information from "Social Ecology of the Shallow Seas" - Collective for Spatial Alternatives - http://csaweb.org 

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