![]() ![]() "I truly admire the courage of these women. "Alcohol addiction is a huge problem in these parts and one that authorities are constantly battling," says the forest officer Mahendran. So fishing income earned by the men is squandered - putting pressure on the women to dive for more seaweed to make up for a husband's lost income. "It's made our lives above water as rocky as the seabed we face all the time." But the men tend to squander away hard-earned money on liquor," Pandiammal says. "Both men and women struggle to make a living. They're primarily fishermen – and, the women say, many of them are addicted to alcohol. They had one overriding concern about their lives when they were out of the water: the men in their community. I interviewed nearly 50 seaweed-gathering women. "We tell authorities that it's our right to do so. So that restriction doesn't stop the women, says Pandiammal, who is the head of the local village council. But since the seaweed grows so close to the islands, that's a thin line and not always possible, the women say. The women are allowed to collect seaweed if they don't breach that buffer zone, he says. And any footfall on the island itself could pose a risk to its vegetation, particularly its medicinal plants and wild grass." "There is a buffer area of six to seven meters around each island to protect the coral reefs there. ![]() "The islands are very fragile, eco-sensitive zones," he says. Mahendran, a Forest Range officer in the nearby town of Mandapam who is familiar with the women seaweed divers, says there's a reason these restrictions existed. Seaweed extraction in the protected waters of the reserve was declared illegal, with a jail term of three years for violators. In 1986, the government established the Gulf of Mannar Marine National Park. Then there are the legislative roadblocks. That means a loss of income, but, says Bakyam, age 40, it's part of an unspoken pact: "We constantly watch out for each other." ![]() If there's any kind of accident, the seaweed collectors who travel by boat to their harvest spots must all return so the injured person can be treated. The women also report that they sometimes grow dizzy while diving. Three months ago, a 50-year-old seaweed collector from a nearby village was raped and killed on an isolated beach. The women dive in small groups so they can look out for each other. Other women chime in that they must constantly watch out for poisonous fish and stinging jellyfish. The stonefish that is suspected to have stung Seeniammal is a well-known venomous reef fish with 13 venomous spikes. And injuries are so common when your fingers are exposed." "We've tried gloves before, but they always slip away in the strong currents. "This is how we get ready," says Bhagavathy. The bandages, they've found, are the best way to protect hands from sharp rocks on the seabed when they go underwater to dive for seaweed, which they sell to a local factory. Wearing colorful blouses and saris, they wind thick strips of cloth over each digit and secure the ends with string. ![]() An estimated 5,000 women gather seaweed in the shallow reefs around Pamban island, which they sell to local factories.Įarly on a warm February morning, a group of ten women, ranging in age from 50 to 60, sit on the sandy shores of Akkal Madam beach on India's Pamban Island, carefully bandaging their fingers. Seaweed extracts are used in a booming global food industry. Thangamma, about 80 years old, gathers seaweed off Pananthoppu beach, Pamban island, Tamil Nadu, India. ![]()
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