Beginning August 27, a steep 50% tariff on Indian frozen seafood exports to the United States — the world’s largest seafood market — has sent shockwaves through Mumbai’s Sassoon Dock, one of Maharashtra’s busiest and oldest seafood-exporting hubs.
For generations, the dock has thrived on a bustling trade of prawns and other seafood, sustaining thousands of fishermen, auctioneers, and prawn peelers. But with the sudden tariff escalation — from 10% in early August to 25% on August 7, and now 50% — the industry fears an uncertain future.
“The government must find a solution. Otherwise, exporters will no longer value fishermen,” warned Vasant Bhuchade, president of the Marine Products Auctioneers Association. He added that cheaper auction rates would push fishermen out of prawn-catching, crippling even the women’s prawn-shelling units that depend on steady supplies.
The tariff shock comes at a time when Sassoon Dock is already under stress. The Mumbai Port Authority’s move to lease godowns for other commercial purposes has raised fears of the dock’s gradual decline — a concern repeatedly flagged by local industry representatives.
Exporters argue that they are caught between shrinking margins and the pressure to remain competitive in key markets such as the US and China. The burden is expected to cascade through the supply chain — from exporters to aquaculture farmers, trawler operators, and daily wage workers.
Krishna Pawle, president of the Shiv Bharatiya Port Trust Sena, explained the economic strain: “A trawler trip of 8–10 days costs nearly ₹4 lakh. If prawn prices fall from ₹300 per kilo to ₹225–250 under exporter pressure, fishermen simply won’t venture out. This will cripple fishing activity and cause unemployment.”
Sassoon Dock exports an estimated 30 tonnes of prawns daily for almost 300 days a year, generating significant income for the local economy. But for the 12,000-odd women prawn peelers, the situation looks grim.
“I work 12 hours a day and earn ₹600. This is my only livelihood,” said Jayashree, a prawn sheller for two decades. “If fishermen stop catching prawns, we will lose everything. It’s a chain reaction, and we are at the bottom of it.”
With the prawn trade in peril, stakeholders are urging the government to seek relief measures and protect an industry that has been central to Mumbai’s maritime economy for decades.
