In Krishnarajanagara town in the Mysore district of Karnataka, the fishermen have started to harvest and sell black crabs. Around 40 to 50 families in KR Nagar Taluk, Mysore sells fishes and crabs for a living. In general, when the rainy season starts, the fishermen give up fishing and engage in the crab business along with their families.
They sell black crabs at the side of the road as during this time, the crabs are more in demand than fish. Due to the presence of the Kaveri River in Karnataka, the fishermen often flock to the banks of the river to catch the crabs.
The fishermen’s families wake up early in the morning and head towards the river. There, they move in groups of 4 to 5 in each direction to hunt the crabs. These creatures are often found under the river stones, banks of the river, pots and other places near the water stream.
After catching the crabs, they tie 10 crabs on a string and sell them at a price of Rs 150 to 200 per string at the roadside. Each string consists of 10 crabs. These fishermen usually catch 100 kg of crabs every day and sell them.
The profit from this business acts as the income of the family. In a video, the process through which they tie crabs together to showcase them to their customers on the roadside is shown. They also keep pouring water on the crabs to keep them fresh.
According to the report of Gulf News, there are more than five million marine fisherfolk who live along the coast of India. In Karnataka alone, one million people are dependent on the fisheries business. It also mentioned that around 60 per cent of the small fishermen in Karnataka are below poverty. They earn an average of Rs 100 per day. As per the government data, Bihar state has the largest number of fishermen communities in India which is followed by Uttar Pradesh.
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