The fishermen in Arabian Sea ensnared by India-Pakistan rivalry: ‘our families suffer the most’

This story was supported by the Pulitzer Center.

For seven years, Indian fisherman Ravibhai Babubhai Bariya, 30, made his living taking his trawler out into the Arabian Sea and selling his catch in his village in western Gujarat state.

His work brought in an average income of 18,000 Indian rupees (US$220) per month, which his parents relied upon completely.

But one fateful day in 2018, he and his crew of seven were apprehended by Pakistan’s Maritime Security Agency for allegedly engaging in illegal fishing within the country’s waters, and then jailed – an incident so shocking, his ailing father took a turn for the worse and later died of a heart attack.

“Ravi was our sole breadwinner,” said Bhanuben, Bariya’s 65-year-old mother. “After his arrest, managing day-to-day expenses and paying for his father’s treatment became very challenging. Each visit to the hospital would cost us 2,000 Indian rupees (US$24), making it financially difficult for us.”

Every year, fishermen from India and Pakistan venture into the other nation’s maritime boundary lines and end up getting arrested. As they serve out their prison sentences, their relatives are left grappling with economic hardship.

Official records from both countries indicated that as of January 1, there were 184 Indian fishermen in Pakistani custody, while around 81 Pakistani fishermen were held in Indian jails. Like Bariya, many of the Indian fishermen incarcerated in Pakistan come from Gujarat, which boasts India’s longest coastline at 1,600km.

Various reasons prompt fishermen from both countries to enter their neighbour’s waters. The depletion of fish stocks within the Indian portion of the International Maritime Boundary is a major driver, alongside a variety of seasonal