Dying kidneys of Kolkata: How the East Kolkata Wetlands & their fishers fight for survival

The fisheries sector in India lies at an interesting crossroads between the mechanising arms of Industrial Fishing Companies and more artisanal small-scale fisheries (SSF). Traditionally, the fisheries sector has been a successful source of livelihood for backward castes and income groups, providing localised economies not only with nutritional food but also with a source of income.

Globally, small-scale fisheries have been found to provide around half of the fish catches in developing areas while employing 90 per cent of the world’s capture fishers, according to a 2018 report. The SSF especially thrive in inland waterways, which has seen an increase in production in absolute terms, with the sector now contributing around 70 per cent of the world’s total fish production, noted the Department of Fisheries, Government of India.

On the coastal front, small-scale fishers continue to suffer from rapid industrialisation of the fishing sector, such as bottom feeding trawlers and deep sea fishing vessels which irrevocably damage the ecosystem by rototilling the seabed and further deplete resources, observed the World Wide Fund for Nature.

Over time, it has grown more and more difficult for SSFs to compete with capital-intensive companies that have an extremely high percentage stake in the harvest gained from fishery resources. Inland systems, which are mostly dominated by SSFs, also face the threat of modernisation in the form of urban expansion. This has led to toxic runoff composed of cement, paint, glues and even heavy metals being deposited in inland waterbodies.

SSFs also suffer from a lack of data and understanding of real trends and their socio-economic impacts, researchers wrote in a 2015 report. The added constraints of a lack of occupational mobility and access to capital, healthcare, modern technology, education and migration makes this sub-sector particularly vulnerable to occupational risks, which continue to be compounded by the destruction of fish habitats by industrial bottom-trawlers, water pollution, loss of vegetative cover in coastal areas, increasing competition and the high prices of coastal land.

When the Murari Committee on Deep Sea Fishing recommended the industrialisation of the sector in 2014, it was met with opposition from traditional fishers with the Kerala Swatantre Matsya Thozhilali Federation, an SSF association claiming that the sea and the coast were being removed from the traditional fishing community.

The government seems to favour the induction of large-scale fishing vessels owned by industrialists which further threatens small-scale fishers engaged in the sector. There exists a constant push and pull between the traditional and the modernised fishing which has been further exacerbated by external factors such as climate change, illegal fishing and overfishing.

West Bengal occupies the second position in India in terms of total fish production (1.8 million tonnes) and employs around 3.2 million people across coastal and inland fisheries (State Fisheries Association of West Bengal, 2023).

West Bengal also is the only state in India which has had fish cultivated in every kind of waterbody (brackish water, sweet water, sewage water and marine water). Unsurprisingly, about 90 per cent of the sector belongs to SSFs, who continue to face similar issues of competition, uncertainty, risk and climate change.

Large-scale commercial fisheries continue to haunt fish workers, as Diamond Harbour and the Sunderbans face a daunting challenge from trawlers whose bottom-trawling practices irrevocably harm marine ecosystems, turning them into barren wastelands. This, coupled with climate change that has manifested itself in the form of devastating climate extremes, impacts on the fishing communities in recent years. 

A pivotal scheme for fisheries sector, Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana, was introduced by the central government in 2020-21 for improved infrastructure, production and productivity of the vulnerable fishing sector in India. This scheme has been successful in giving livelihood and nutritional support to around 600,000 fishing families during fishing lean season from 2020-21 to 2024-25.

In 2024, the Government of West Bengal has also introduced a Samudra Sathi Scheme, a welfare initiative for financial assistance to fishermen. This scheme provides fishermen with an income support of Rs 5,000 for two months during the annual fishing ban season.

However, the lack of transparency and access to formal micro-credit systems, along with inefficient government schemes that favour large scale fishing businesses, makes it difficult for SSFs to sustain themselves. As a result, the fishermen often take informal loans from local money lenders, hoping to pay off the debt after selling their catch. Unfortunately, this makes them more vulnerable, leaving them in a debt trap.  

Kolkata, the capital of West Bengal, is home to an interesting form of sewage-fed fish cultivation that is both efficient and sustainable — the East Kolkata Wetlands (EKW). This largely artificial wetland area is a Ramsar site covering 125 square kilometres.

For decades, Kolkata’s sewage has been naturally treated by an ecosystem built by fisherfolk, described as an “ecologically subsidised city” in a 1987 report.

The EKW, often referred to as the “kidneys of the city”, functions primarily as a natural sewage treatment facility. The wetlands manage to produce 10,000 tonnes of fish each year, while employing close to 30,000 people.

The fisheries sector in EKW, however, faces a demanding challenge from rapid urbanisation. Constant development in the buffer areas threatens the livelihood of SSFs. Out of the 32 mouzas under EKW, changes in land use patterns were largely in favour of urban settlements constructed in an unorganised manner to handle spillover populations from the city in 12 mouzas, according to a 2013 report.

The EKW has therefore been categorised as being under ‘intense encroachment stress from urban expansion’. This has led to widespread siltation of canals, which are an important source of sewage that fisherfolk use as fish feed. Although the Calcutta High Court banned land conversion in 1992, illegal encroachments continue to mushroom and harm the ecosystem.

A survey by the Society for Creative Opportunities and Participatory Ecosystems (SCOPE) found that water cover at Bhagabanpur Mouza fell from 88 per cent in 2002 to 19 per cent in 2016, a 2019 report showed. This follows a grim pattern of rapid depletion of the bheris and wetlands of the EKW, substantiated by a 2014 Indian Council of Social Science Research survey that found fishponds had shrunk from 264 to 202.

In 2015, researchers found that 90 per cent of fisherfolk considered fishing a productive occupation in the EKW and wished to continue in this livelihood. However, in recent years, individuals have been forced to undergo occupational shifts due to issues of governance and institutional inefficiencies.

The SCOPE survey of 1,622 households in Hatgachha in 2022 found that around half of the population was no longer linked to sewage-based livelihoods, while the other half, who continue to depend on traditional fishing, constantly doubt the survival of the wetlands. Hatgachha lies next to Dhapa Manpur, which was previously the largest mouza in the EKW but has now undergone urban classification after being included in the Bidhannagar Municipality, which has seen large-scale urbanisation over the last couple of decade.

Aquaculture co-operatives in EKW are increasingly apprehensive about the future as the fisheries department has started issuing tenders for awarding licences in recent years. This threatens the sewage-fed fishing culture as it incentivises industries lacking the skills necessary to sustainably manage the EKW.

There is also a marked decline in the quantity and quality of sewage, which has affected fisherfolk’s livelihoods. Many claim that siltation and poor sewage quality continue to worsen conditions, forcing individuals to sell off their fishing ponds to realtors as popular fish varieties like jiyol disappear due to production and institutional issues.

Thus, SSFs have to constantly struggle across both coastal and inland waterways, their vulnerability often seen as a compulsory trade-off for development. Yet, these traditional fisheries — sustainable ventures with low carbon footprints — are among the first to feel the adverse effects of climate change.

EKW, meanwhile, is on the verge of collapse. It not only represents an important form of traditional farming that helps keep food prices low in Kolkata but also acts as a protective natural barrier against droughts. The fisherfolk connected to these lands not only treat the city’s sewage but also form a crucial part of the production chain, providing Kolkata with 10,000 tonnes of fish annually.

The threat of urbanisation and modernisation has pushed this fishing community towards forming co-operatives (both official and unofficial).

This vulnerable section of society needs to be protected through effective governance, stricter laws against encroachment and illegal construction, and widespread education on the importance of the wetlands.

Sweta Sen, assistant professor, Madras School of Economics, Chennai, Tamil Nadu. Anuraag Das Sarma is a master's student at Madras School of Economics. Views expressed are the author’s own and don’t necessarily reflect those of Down To Earth.