The official records do not recognise the special spots where Indian fishermen have anchored their boats, dried their catch, or prayed for generations. These areas of importance are now being mapped through apps by the fishermen themselves in southern India to prevent industrial encroachments on their ancestral lands and lifestyle. "I had to learn mapping to ensure our livelihoods are not destroyed by the government," says Bharath S. Raji, a fisherman who has relied on the Pulicat Lake in Tamil Nadu for generations. With smartphone in hand, he maps the special sites such as docks, net-drying areas, and local shrines. He identifies the empty spaces in government maps as villages full of life, fearing they may soon disappear with the arrival of the government's new zoning map.

Raji and his fellow fishermen from Gunankuppam have mapped hundreds of special locations that are not officially recognized as landmarks. Their most cherished places are labeled as "wastelands" in industrial proposals that aim to transform the creeks around Gunankuppam. Developments such as ports and power plants threaten the livelihoods of these fishermen due to rapidly progressing industrialization. "Our customs and our livelihood here is older than their [the government's] rules," says 33-year-old Raji, worried about the future of his ancestral fishing grounds.

Assistant director of fisheries in Thiruvallur district, Ajay Anand, acknowledges that the fishermen are discontent with the maps released by the Tamil Nadu coastal zone management authority due to lack of detail. As a result, they took it upon themselves to conduct the survey. "The local fisherfolk used the maps as a guide to fight industrial encroachments," says Anand. The fishing department will cross-check the fishermen's maps independently, and will eventually use them.

Fishing villages around the Ennore peninsula in India balance between traditions and modernization. Amid the wooden boats, fishermen, foundries, thermal power plants, and shipyards, there is a contrasting image of India's ambition towards a high-tech future and the enduring lifestyle of the lagoon's inhabitants. Local fishermen continue to struggle to provide for their families despite the technological developments visible in the horizon, such as the Indian national space station. "Fishermen lose their lives and livelihoods in the process of this development," says Saravanan K., a local environmental activist.

Saravanan uses GIS software to map hundreds of villages, cross-referencing the sites identified by the fishermen. He learned the necessary skills from a friend and YouTube. The fishermen are motivated by their past successes in preventing industrial activities in protected coastal zones. Their efforts even blocked a thermal power station from infringing upon traditional fishing areas. Durai Mahendran, state president of the Tamil Nadu fisherman association, credits local mapping efforts for saving his village from development that would have reshaped the vulnerable coast. "With the right documentation in the form of maps, we can prove our claims on the land," says local fisherman Dayalan D.