In terms of global ranking, in 2008, India was second to China in total fish production; sixth in marine and inland capture fisheries (after China, Peru, Indonesia, USA, Japan); third in inland capture fisheries (after China and Bangladesh) and second in aquaculture (after China).

1. Indian Fisheries Sector

2. •Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ)
1977: Oceanic resources
estimated at 2.02 million sq. km,
comprising 0.86 million sq. km
(42.6 % of the total) on the west
coast, 0.56 million sq. km (27.7%)
on the east coast and 0.60 million
sq. km (29.7%) around the
Andaman and Nicobar Islands .
•The continental shelf area:
530 000 sq. km
71 percent area in Arabian Sea
(west coast) and 29 percent in the
Bay of Bengal (east coast).
•Long coastline of 8 118 km and an
equally large area under
estuaries, backwaters, lagoons,
etc, which is highly amenable for
developing capture as well as
culture fisheries.
India responsible to conserve,
develop and optimally exploit the
marine living resources within this
Area

3. Fisheries Sector Overview
• In terms of global ranking, in 2008, India was second to
China in total fish production; sixth in marine and inland
capture fisheries (after China, Peru, Indonesia, USA, Japan);
third in inland capture fisheries (after China and
Bangladesh) and second in aquaculture (after China).
• With a vast production potential, particularly in inland
fisheries (mainly reservoirs) and aquaculture, the sector
has shown an average growth of about 6 percent over the
Five-Year Plan periods.
• In case of marine fisheries, production has increased from
0.53 mmt in 1950-51 to 3.220 mmt in 2010 -11.
• In the inland sector, the growth has been steady, increasing
from 0.218 mmt during 1950-51 to about 5.068 mmt in
2010-11, with an annual growth rate of 4.21 percent

4. Marine Fisheries
• 3,288 marine fishing villages and 1,511 marine fish landing centres in 9
maritime states and 2 union territories (CMFRI Census 2010)
• Marine fisheries constitute a valuable source of food and employment, and
is a net contributor to the balance of payment.
• The Indian marine waters harbour around 1 707 species of fish, of which
about 200 species are commercially significant.
• The estimated landings from the marine capture fisheries stand at 3.220
mmt (CMFRI, 2010), with a growth rate of 4.62 percent
• The gross value of the marine fish landings at the landing centre level is
estimated at Rs. 19,753 Cr. and at the retail level at Rs.28 ,511 Cr.
(SEETTD, 2011)
• Marine fisheries have progressively increased by nearly six times during the
past 50 years.
• Gujarat has emerged as the leading producer of marine fish in the country
during 2009-2010, followed by Kerala, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu.
• The total marine fisherfolk population was about 4 million comprising in
864,550 families.
• About 38% marine fisherfolk were engaged in active fishing with 85% of
them having full time engagement.
• Nearly 61% of the fishermen families were under BPL category.

5. Inland Fisheries
• The inland capture fisheries resources of the country
comprise a maze of rivers, canals, estuaries, floodplain
lakes, wetlands, lagoons, upland lakes and reservoirs.
• The inland fisheries resources provide full time vocation to
1.24 million inland fishers, and 3.4 mmt of annual fish
production.
• India is the third largest producer of inland fish in the world
(after China and Bangladesh) and the sector plays a great
role in nutritional security and employment potential.
• The sector is also an important source of ancillary jobs for
the rural population, especially in marketing, retailing,
transportation, etc.
• Though fisheries has been recognized as a thrust area in
the successive Five-Year Plans, there has been little
attention to the development of inland fisheries resources.

6. Small Scale Fisheries
• Small-scale fisheries contribute more than half of the world’s
marine and inland fish catch, almost all of which is destined for
direct human consumption. These fisheries employ more than 90
percent of the world’s 45 million fishers and they support another
84 million people employed in jobs associated with fish processing,
distribution and marketing.
• More than 95 percent of small-scale fishers and related workers in
post-harvest sectors live in developing countries.
• Among women, the major fishing-related activities are marketing
(41.8 percent), labour (18.4 percent) and curing/processing (18
percent). Further, as many as 73.6 percent of those engaged in
marketing are women, while 75.7 percent of those in curing and
processing are also women. It is apparent that women dominate
marketing and processing activities in marine fisheries (2005 NMFC)
• In spite of their significant contributions to the global fish food
supplies, small-scale fishing communities live and work in very
difficult conditions

7. Challenges faced by small scale fisheries
Land Based:
• Last decade has seen increasing investment by other sectors on
coast—industries, power, ports & jetties, tourism, real estate,
mining, etc.
• “Ghetoisation” fishing communities forced into increasingly smaller
spaces
• Development of any sector on land adding to constraints in fishing-agrarian
development, urbanisation, industrialisation
• Pollution from land based sources on increase
• Decline in nutrients reaching sea due to dams; disconnect between
sea and estuary due to sand bar
• Severe erosion due to coastal structures
• Silt deposition on near shore fishing grounds
• Coastal degradation and pollution may soon over take over fishing
as reason for depletion of coastal fisheries

8. Challenges faced by small scale fisheries
Resource Based:
• Resource Depletion due to over-fishing as well as unsustainable
fishing practices
• Artisanal fishermen in most areas having to go deeper and finding
new grounds and resources to survive
• Race to fish, continuous increases in scale and investment without
commensurate increase in total catches
• Depletion of coastal waters and cut-throat competition between
units is driving investment and continuous scaling up or change of
fishing methods
• Bulk catching methods—officially banned—like pair trawling and
ring seines have increased in last few years
• Distribution of catch between the different sectors has become
more inequitable

9. Challenges faced by Women in the Sector
• Decreased spaces for fishing leading to at least
temporary relocation- fishermen can move but the
women are house-bound
• Shift from beach based to harbour based landings
promoting larger volumes of transactions
• Centralised and/or harbour based trading/ auction
centres promoting larger players
• Decreasing spaces for small time players, especially
women fish vendors both in market places as well as
trading activities
• Increased structural/organised interventions in pre and
post-harvest activities also decreasing spaces for
women

10. Changes in the Macro- perspective
• Terminal (?) decline of the sector – aspirations of the next
generation not related with artisanal or small scale fishing
• Trans-boundary issues - Hostile and risky environments
• Green Issue- Marine Protected Areas
• Sweet Deals for alternate uses of beach property- leading
to relocation, less engagement with nature- gentleman
fisher
• Over-dependance on technology- dying traditional and
indigenous wisdom
• Alienation of small-scale fishers due to scale of investment
and increasing use of technology
• Licences for foreign trawlers
• Land based development, increasing investments in hard
structures along the coast (a port for every 32 kms of coast
line)

11. Ways forward
Report of the Working Group of the National Planning Commission
recommends:
• Promoting deep sea fishing
• Upgradation and conversion of vessels in keeping with this focus
• Capacity building and training in hygenic post-harvest technologies,
especially in deep sea fishing
• Reducing By-catch
• Promoting Habitat conservation
• Regulations to be in place for access to water and resources
• Promotion of mariculture and coastall aquacullture, sea cage
fisheries
• Building adaptive capacities of the communities in facing challenges
of climate change

12. Ways forward
FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries in 1995
• Fisheries Management Plan
• Legal and Administrative Framework in place
• Ensure Compliance
• Ensure consensus of all stakeholders
• Monitoring and surveillance
• Information
• Research on Conservation and management
Space in Policy making - Voluntary Guidelines for securing sustainable small-scale fisheries in the
context of food security and poverty eradication - as a complement to the 1995 FAO Code of
Conduct
• These Guidelines have the potential of providing a useful tool to create policy spaces for the
small-scale fisheries subsector for reversing its marginalization.
Strengthening Local Traditional Governance
• Strengthen and build community capacity to have greater control over their lives &
livelihoods
 Marketing, credit, insurance
 Manage resources
 Protect their rights
 Need to build up a strong, socially aware community

13. Thank you