As the sea changes, fisherwomen in Tamil Nadu struggle to stay afloat
Fisherwomen in Chennai are facing economic hardship as climate change disrupts traditional fishing seasons and reduces daily catches. Local observations indicate that shifting wind patterns and rising temperatures are making the sea less predictable and less productive.
Why it matters
It highlights the disproportionate impact of climate change on vulnerable, traditional livelihoods and the intersection of environmental shifts with gender-based economic inequality.
A minute is always 60 seconds. But it rarely feels that way for Kavitha, 40, selling fish under an unforgiving sun.
By seven each morning, she has to arrange the day’s catch neatly on a small table at Chennai’s bustling Nochikuppam fish market, one of the city’s fishing hamlets tucked between the Marina Loop Road and the Bay of Bengal. Buyers drift in, bargain, leave, and return.
“Between each sale, I keep an eye on the fish. As the mornings are getting hotter, I worry about selling everything before the sun spoils their freshness,” she says.
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