NITI Aayog calls for rapid expansion and mordenization of India's fishing fleet

New Delhi, Oct 13 (PTI) NITI Aayog has called for rapid expansion and mordenization of the fishing fleet and expanding market access, to promote the country's blue economy.

The Aayog has also pitched for scaling up operations and strengthening monitoring and surveillance mechanism.

The report titled 'India’s Blue Economy' emphasised on the need of capacity building and research in this field.

It also noted that choice of technique must be carefully aligned with the target species, vessel capabilities, and regulatory frameworks that promote sustainable fishing practices.

To promote fish exports, the report also called for establishing framework and addressing critical infrastructure gaps.

India has an extensive maritime area, with a coastline stretching over 11,098 km across nine coastal states and four union territories.

The country has a long history of marine fishing with a focus traditionally on coastal and inshore resources.

The thriving fisheries sector contributes significantly to the national economy (for instance, in 2023-24, export earnings from fish and fishery products were Rs 60,523 crore, witnessing a 100 per cent increase as against Rs 30,213 crore in 2013-14.

The deep waters beyond the continental shelf, extending beyond the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) boundary of 200 nautical miles, contain select high-value fish stocks, including tuna, billfish, and shrimp species.

The EEZ potential is estimated at 7.16 million tonne, including conventional and non-conventional resources.

According to the report, as of 2023, only four Indian-flagged vessels owned by the Fishery Survey of India (FSI) are available for high-seas fishing.

This is significantly lower compared to countries with the largest number of authorized fishing vessels, such as Sri Lanka (1,883) and Iran (1,216) in the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC) region, it said. PTI BKS ANU