The young man and the sea: 28-year-old missing after duel with marlin fish

Indian Express

19 hours ago

Yerraya C was no Santiago. For one, he was only 28, his years stretching out like the endless expanse of sea he ventured into every day as he set out fishing. But like Santiago, the ageing protagonist of the Ernest Hemingway classic, The Old Man and the Sea, one day, the young fisherman met his marlin. At the end of a grueling battle, the marlin dragged Yerraya into the waters. He has been missing since then.
Marlins are one of the fiercest predatory fish species, with black marlins, the one Yerraya encountered, considered among the fastest.
That day, July 3, Yerraya, his younger brother C Koralaya, 26, and two others, had set out in their fishing boat from Pudimadaka village in Anakapalli district of Andhra Pradesh. 'We set sail around 2 am. By around 9 am, a Kommu Konam (Telugu for marlin) got caught in the net. It was big, must have weighed about 200 kg,' says Koralaya.
While the others suggested that they cut the net, Yerraya insisted that they will be able to haul in the fish. 'After all, he has been fishing since he was 7. He was a big, strong man, so he kept fighting with the fish,' Koralaya says of his elder brother.
The marlin splashed and pulled at the net from the other end, with Yerraya trying hard to draw the line. But his legs got caught in the net and the fish dragged him into the waters.
His fellow fishermen tried rescuing Yerraya. One of them, V Yellaji, swam after Yerraya for about 30 minutes. 'He kept looking for Yerraya under the waters, but couldn't find him,' says Koralaya.
On July 4, the Anakapalli police lodged a missing person's complaint after the Coast Guard searched for an entire day. 'The search operation by the Coast Guard was launched after the fishermen could not find Yerraya. We suspect no foul play in the incident. It was an accident as per our investigation,' said N Ganesh, Inspector of Atchutapuram police station.
'As per the statement given by co-fishermen, it's a marlin attack. The Coast Guard too indicated that it is a Marlin attack,' said P Vijaya, District Fisheries Officer.
'It has been six days and there's no news of him,' says C Devi, Yerraya's elder sister.
Marlin attacks are not uncommon along Andhra Pradesh's northern coast with the fish, weighing 80-200 kg, sometimes getting caught in the nets of unsuspecting fishermen. In February 2022, fisherman Molli Joganna was impaled by a marlin along the Anakapalli coast. As Joganna tried hauling in the catch, the marlin, which had broken free, pierced his stomach with its long, sharp snout. Joganna's body was retrieved from the sea. 'At least his body was found. My brother is missing,' says Devi.
Yerraya family and the other villagers in Pudimadaka say they are not surprised he volunteered to haul in the marlin. 'He loved the sea. He started accompanying our father to the sea when he was seven,' says Bhavani, Yerraya's younger sister.
Marlins, if netted well, are a bonus for the fishermen as the meaty fish sells for Rs 1,000 a kg, almost as much as seerfish. But the fish is also hunted for sport. 'It is considered an adventure to net a marlin and bring it to the shore. Yerraya would always be the first to take on a challenge. No wonder he tried pulling the marlin into the boat,' says Devi.
Venkata Ramana, sarpanch of Pudimadaka village and a fisherman himself, says, 'From what the other fishermen told me, the line got heavy but Yerraya was adamant that he could pull the line and catch the fish, however big it may have been. But then things went out of control. To net a marlin is considered a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.'
According to the AP Traditional Fisher Workers Union, between 2015 and 2025, around 200 fishermen have gone missing in the sea during deep-water fishing. 'There are several cases which have gone unreported too,' says K Varalakshmi of the fisher workers' union.
Devi says there was more to Yerraya than his fishing. He liked boxing, bodybuilding, and adored film star-turned-politician Pawan Kalyan. 'He wanted to be a bouncer or a security guard for Pawan Kalyan. In 2019, he went all the way to Kadapa to see if he can meet someone who knew the star. He didn't succeed, but kept hoping he would work with Pawan Kalyan's security staff some day,' says Devi.
Though Yerraya is yet to be found, at his home in Pudimadaka, relatives have gathered to hold a funeral of sorts. 'No one is searching for him anymore. They say he is buried at sea,' says Devi. 'We have no hope he will return.'