‘There’s hardly any fish for small fishers like us’

An Indian fisherman and his family contend with a vanishing livelihood as they struggle with high living costs and debt.

An illustration of a man on a boat made of a paper receipt throwing a net into the ocean.
[Jawahir Al-Naimi and Muaz Kory/Al Jazeera]
[Jawahir Al-Naimi and Muaz Kory/Al Jazeera]

What's your money worth? A series from the front line of the cost of living crisis, where people who have been hit hard share their monthly expenses.

Name: Deepan S

Age: 28 (the median age in India)

Occupation: Fisherman

Lives with: His wife, Menaka (26), who is ninth months pregnant, and their son, Mowshik (2)

Lives in: A 15sq-metre (160sq-foot) house with a single bedroom, a small hall, kitchen and an outdoor toilet, which they own in the fishing village of Pattipulam, 9km (5.6 miles) north of Mahabalipuram, a UNESCO world heritage site for its collection of 7th and 8th century Hindu monuments, in the eastern state of Tamil Nadu, India.

Monthly household income: Deepan, who is currently the household’s sole earner, makes 8,000 to 12,000 Indian rupees ($98 to $146) through fishing and 8,000 rupees ($98) from his second job as a stablehand and other odd jobs.

Total expenses for the month: About 15,300 rupees ($187). Each month, 9,000 rupees ($110) goes towards paying off debt, and the rest, 6,300 rupees ($77), is spent on living costs.

Source: Al Jazeera