MUMBAI: The city's fishing community, glued to television screens since Thursday, when the MV Rak Carrier sank with over 60,000 tonnes of coal and 343 tonnes of oil, became extremely worried on Sunday as news reached them that the ship had started leaking and that an oil slick had been seen on Juhu beach. The fishing season will start next week, but fishermen and environmentalists fear that the catch will be poor because of the rate at which oil is leaking from the Rak Carrier. National Association of Fishermen's state unit president Rajhans Tapke said: "Every time an oil spill takes place along Mumbai's coastline, it is we who suffer the most. Monsoon is a breeding period for fish. A big oil spill will obviously affect them and ultimately our livelihood." He said fishermen did not receive any compensation from the government for the Rs 8-crore loss they suffered last year after an 800-tonne oil spill that resulted from the collision of the MSC Chitra and the M V Khalijia on August 7, 2010. among the worst-affected places were Vashi, Uran, Sewri, the Elephanta Islands, Sasavane and Kihim in the districts of Mumbai, Thane and Raigad. The spill also killed two dolphins , besides birds. Akhil Maharashtra Macchimar Kriti Samiti president Damodar Tandel said: "It seems that Mumbai has become a dumping ground for rogue ships. The authorities do not seem to have learnt any lessons form the past. I will file a case in the Bombay high court over coastal safety and compensation for fishermen." After fishermen, it is environmentalists who are most worried about the Rak spill. Their fear is for mangroves. "Once again, an oil spill has taken place during the mangrove seeding season," said Deepak Apte, a marine biologist with the Bombay Natural History Society (BHNS). "After last year's spill affected mangrove regeneration, we hoped the ecology would recover this year. But this seems wishful thinking now."