The sudden announcement of a nationwide lockdown to contain the spread of COVID-19 has left the fishermen community in the lurch. While some opened shops at the fish markets on Tuesday hoping to see customers, but in vain, several others were forced to throw away their catch as they were rotting away, thanks to lack of ice supply.

The government had allowed the fishermen community to open shops at Versova market, but no buyers showed up owing to the movement restriction. There are more than 10,000 registered fishing boats in Maharashtra of which 4,000 to 5,000 are in Mumbai and Mumbai Metropolitan Region alone. A lockdown means the fishermen won't be able to venture into the sea and they fear their losses are running into crores of rupees, impacting thousands of lives.