Historic Sassoon's 25k workers fret as wind-up deadline nears

Mumbai's seafood lifeline under threat, 60 warehouses at the historic Sassoon Dock could shut down

- Linah Baliga

It's 4:30am, and Devdas Salian is carefully inspecting the ladyfish neatly laid out on a white wooden board at Sassoon Dock. As head chef at Trishna - the Fort restaurant whose clientele ranges from heads of state to regular, seafood-loving Mumbaiites - this is part of his early morning routine.

With an hour to go before the auctions kick off, Salian is making sure the ladyfish meets his exacting standards. It has to 'Lady Fish Hyderabadi' is the showstopper on today's menu, and he's counting on it to deliver.

But, lately, Salian has been a little on edge. If the Mumbai Port Authority's (MbPA) ultimatum to the dock’s warehouse operators kicks in, it won't just shake things up for him - seafood menus across Mumbai, and possibly even beyond, will have to adapt. Salian, along with hundreds of other restaurateurs, will have to look for fresh catch elsewhere. The big question is: where?

"We cater to a high-profile clientele... Ministers, presidents, consulates and even the cricket teams of England and South Africa are fans of our seafood. I source lobsters, squid and fish worth ₹6 lakh every month from Sassoon Dock. If the godowns shut down, it's going to be difficult to find a new supplier," says Salian.

Sassoon Dock, on the eastern waterfront in Colaba, is the nerve centre of Mumbai's fish trade. One of the oldest docks in Mumbai, it has two jetties, landing points for 150 tonnes of fresh catch hauled in from trawlers every day. The daily turnover is ₹4 crore.