Between June and July 2026, we spent over a month and a half in Rameshwaram. We visited the Rameshwaram Fish Market often, and the conversations we enjoyed with the women working there, fish vendors and cleaners, meant that we slowly became friends with them. Although the building itself is only seven years old, many of the 55 women who work here have spent decades cleaning fish, developing specialised skills through years of experience.

Many of them hail from settlements along the lone route from the market to Dhanushkodi, travelling around four to seven kilometres by bus or shared autos for work everyday. Dhanushkodi is an 18-kilometre-long stretch at the southeastern end of the Rameshwaram Island, with Palk Bay on one side and the Gulf of Mannar on the other, both meeting at the island’s tip. The Rameshwaram Fish Market is the only market that directly receives fish landed along this stretch, due to its proximity to Dhanushkodi. The catch, mostly from small-scale fishers, is brought to shore within a few hours, making it prized for its freshness and taste. 

In this essay, we delve into the everyday lives and labour of the fish cleaners working at the market. We learn about the different stages of the fish-cleaning process—descaling, gutting, chopping, peeling—each requiring knowledge of particular fish species, the skill of deft and careful use of knives, and the physical labour of sitting in the same position for over six hours each day. While Wednesdays and weekends usually bring in the most customers, the women’s work is shaped by factors beyond the market. Climate change-induced coral bleaching and sedimentation near the island is damaging nearby reef environments, while overfishing for exports and fishmeal production, alongside unpredictable winds and rising ocean temperatures, is changing what is caught and, consequently, what the women clean and eat.