Mumbai: Gill-t edged moment for Bandra native

Nashwin D’Mello with the 21-kg barramundi or jitada

Nashwin D'Mello went out to sea near the Bandra Fort on Saturday evening, carrying his fishing paraphernalia, expecting a good catch. He returned with one of the best catches of his life - a 21-kg Barramundi.

D'Mello said, "I started fishing in the lockdown in 2020. My wife encouraged me." We have our Instagram handle now called, ‘Thoushallhavefish' and D'Mello and friends who also go fishing with him, sell the catch on their Instagram page.

"We have a lot of followers now, we started off helping the local fishing community here, through the power of social media. Lockdown meant restrictions and a dip in buyers. We started displaying the catch on our Instagram page and WhatsApp groups, and the community got buyers, selling on what was a new platform for many. While some fisherfolk are aware about these avenues, they were not very well-versed about how to sell through or leverage the power of these. So we helped some of them out," he explained.

The catch

On Saturday evening, D'Mello was a little away from his Shirley Rajan Road home, near Bandra Fort, fishing, when he felt a tug on the line. "We were actually catching mullets, then I saw some big splashes, every fish feeds differently. I knew this was a big fish. We [the fish and I] grappled for about 20 minutes, and then I started reeling it in. In the water, a 20 kg fish feels like 60 kg," laughed D'Mello. "I consider this my trophy fish. About 1.5 years ago, I had nearly caught a fish that size. It slipped away, and I promised myself I would catch another one. There is that feeling of elation and a surge of adrenaline when you get that big fella on the line."

Like life

In certain ways, said D'Mello philosophically, fishing teaches one about life. "Endless patience, complete focus on fishing, unlike what many people believe, fishing is not an opportunity to let your mind wander. You really need to concentrate on netting that catch. Finally, it also teaches you resilience. You know that joke? ‘I went fishing today, and all I caught was a cold?' You may net zero one day, but you go back to fish again," said D'Mello.

The urban, urbane fisherman, who believes everyone should learn one sustainable skill for survival, is going to start classes for those who want to learn to fish. "I get so many people, some in top tiers of corporate, white collar jobs telling me they want to learn fishing," said D'Mello. "We are going to start classes for fishing freshers soon, so that they learn the sport." D'Mello gave up an airport job, to traverse India on his motorbike. His other dabblings were tattooing and real estate in Goa.

Hiralal Wadkar, veteran fisherman claimed, "a ‘Khazra' like this will fetch approximately Rs 15,000. It is mostly found near stony, rocky outcrops in the sea. It is in demand at swish restaurants."