Not enough fish in the sea?

ldquoFishing trawlers are at sea for one to five days Irrespective of the time or effort from fishermen these days therersquos no guarantee theyrsquoll return with catch also with rising diesel prices many donrsquot want to risk a triprdquo explains Francis Fernandes owner of Fresh Catch a quaint splitlevel Dadar eatery that boats of seasonal recipes like RawaFried Oysters and Pala Fish Roe that draw seafood aficionados celebrities too from Juhu Powai and Cuffe Parade A fisherman takes a quick nap on his fishing boat near the Bandra coast that lines the Arabian Sea PicShadab Khan Somethingrsquos fishy Though Fernandesrsquo regular suppliers in Mazagaon and Versova have raised seafood prices a bit the difference so far has been absorbed into his profit margin Serving us a largesized Hara Bhara Pomfret Rs 980 Fernandes says ldquoSix months ago Irsquod pay Rs 350 for a mediumsized pomfret now it ranges from Rs 480 to Rs 550 If it continues I39ll have to raise prices toordquo Many neighbouring restaurants already have ldquoIn three months even Bombil the only fish that is available all year sometimes wasnrsquotrdquo Fernandes complains ldquoI wonder what will happen when the rains arrivequot u00a0A Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute CMFRI Report which tallied data up to 2011 showed a 15 per cent drop in Maharashtrarsquos overall fish catch and highlighted that Bombay Duck Bombil and Pomfret declined by 25 per cent sharks and rays by 28 per cent prawns by 35 per cent and Rawas by 42 per cent VD Deshmukh senior scientist in charge at CMFRIrsquos Mumbai office told reporters this was attributed to overfishing and climate change So while the website of Seafood Exporters Association of India announces ldquoDuring the financial year 201112 for the first time in the history of marine product exports the export earnings have crossed US35 billionrdquo Dadarrsquos small seafood eateries like Gomantak Boarding House set up in the 1950s must pay a heavy price Staying afloat Fortysixyearold Sudhir the thirdgeneration of Borkars to run Gomantak Boarding tells us they revised prices upwards two years ago so the Surmai Fry went from Rs 80 to Rs 120 but he says ldquoItrsquos tough to keep prices unchanged with the current shortage since we donrsquot have a fixed seafood supplierrdquo Though they do have regular seafood suppliers at Crawford Market and therefore ldquoget a grace periodrdquo even when prices go up Amit Acharekar owner of Malvan Katta admits the only reason they havenrsquot raised prices since 2011 is because the neighbourhood is flooded with competition ldquoStuffed Pomfret was priced at Rs 200 in 2011 today itrsquos listed at Rs 350rdquo Acharekar reveals ldquoPrawn Masala was for Rs 85 but now we charge Rs 145rdquo Amit Achrekar owner of Malvan Katta fries pomfrets in the eateryrsquos kitchen with his cousin Sujata and maternal uncle Pradip background PicsAnjana Vaswani Borkar has a different ploy ldquoWersquove added mutton and chicken dishes to our menu and have stopped our parcelservice so as to meet the seafood demand of walkin dinersrdquo he shares stressing that ldquoPomfret and Surmai are popular but the supply is very limitedrdquo At Saibini Gomantak a 12yearold Malvani eatery where the Pomfret Masala Rs 150 is a huge draw manager Mohan Gowda says ldquoOur rates have havenrsquot changed for over 15 years So far we have taken the recent cost escalation out of our margins but we canrsquot afford wastagerdquo Jai Hind nearby adopts a similar approach but Harish Pujari the man in charge adds ldquoTo curb wastage we serve fish on Wednesdays and Fridays our busiest daysrdquo Pomfret or Surmai Thalis cost Rs 130 but he admits they serve small pieces as ldquoPomfret which is unavailable at times can cost us Rs 1000 per kg on occasionsrdquo Francis Fernandes owner of Fresh Catch shows off his winner dish the Hara Bhara Pomfret that costs Rs 980 Some more please Despite these challenges business is on the rise Malvan Katta which started five years ago as a tiny eatery now has an AC section with two more rooms being renovated to seat 60 diners The area is dominated by Maharashtrians who favour Malvani food Acharekar estimates ldquoWe have ten or twelve Malvani restaurants of which four or five are very new everyone is doing good businessrdquo Of his own clientele Acharekar says ldquoAlmost 70 per cent order seafood though we offer other meats too Our Pomfret Fry costs Rs 180 but if you were to cook it at home you pay as much Some of our patrons come in for two meals a dayrdquou00a0Clearly though their profit margins have reduced these eateries thrive on large volumes What will they do though when therersquos just not enough fish in the sea Seafood specials gt Crab Butter Garlic Rs 550 and Tawafried Bombil Rs 220 fly off the shelves at Fresh Catch Plot No 16 144C Diamond Court Building PN Kotnis Road off Lady Jamshedjee Road Mahim West Call 32968981 gt Pomfret Curry Rs 20 Crab Masala Rs 125 and Surmai Masala Rs 120 are the most popular dishes at Gomantak Boarding House 301 Mirinda Chawl near Shivaji Mandir NC Kelkar Road Dadar W Call 24305631 24311370 gt Mori Masala Shark only available on Wednesday Friday and Sunday and priced at Rs 124 is numbered among numerous specialities at Malvan Katta Try their Bangda Tikhle Rs 100 and Special Seafood thali Rs 300 Malvan Katta DL Vaidya Road Shivaji Park Dadar W u00a0Call 24216923 32175923 gt Pomfret Masala Rs 150 Prawn Biryani Rs 140 and Crab Masala Rs 160 are Saibini Gomantakrsquos hottest sellers Shop no 4 ground floor Katrada Mansion Gokhale Road Dadar W Call 24328065 24385429u00a0