4 min readNew DelhiAug 29, 2025 06:33 PM IST
First published on: Aug 29, 2025 at 06:33 PM IST
The Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying recently released draft rules and guidelines to enable “sustainable” fishing in the Indian Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and the High Seas.
Tapping into the seas
India’s coast stretches 8,118 km, and has 1,457 landing centres and 3,461 fishing villages. India boasts an EEZ of 2 million sq km which has an estimated annual potential of 5.31 million metric tons for “capture fisheries” (harvesting of wild fish and seafood), according to data from the Department of Fisheries.
But a lack of an enabling legal and regulatory framework has meant that this potential has remained untapped. India’s marine fish catch was recorded at 44.95 lakh tonnes in 2023-24 and 44.32 lakh tonnes in 2022-23, ten times less than the estimated potential, Department of Fisheries data show.
Moreover, marine fish production has been uneven in the last two decades with several years seeing a contraction. There is thus significant potential to increase the harvest of marine fish, particularly high-quality tuna and tuna-like species.
“To unlock the untapped potential of the marine sector, our Government will bring in an enabling framework for sustainable harnessing of fisheries from Indian Exclusive Economic Zone and High Seas, with a special focus on the Andaman & Nicobar and Lakshadweep Islands,” Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had said in her Budget speech on February 1.
Regulatory & enabling framework
As per the guidelines, “No Indian-flagged fishing vessel shall engage in fishing or fishing-related activities in the High Seas without a valid LOA (Letter of Authorisation) issued by the Issuing Authority under these guidelines.”
The validity of the LOA shall be for a period of three years from the date of issuance. The guidelines prohibit illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing.
“Indian-flagged fishing vessels shall comply with applicable conservation and management measures of the concerned RFMO (Regional Fisheries Management Organisation), including catch limits, gear restrictions, bycatch mitigation, Fish Aggregation Devices (FADs) management, voyage reporting, etc., to ensure sustainable fishing,” the guidelines state.
The guidelines also envisage programs “to provide training and capacity-building of traditional and small-scale fishers to enhance skills for High Seas fishing and value-chain efficiencies.”
The idea is to maximise India’s marine fisheries potential while also bringing in sustainable practices.
Focus on Andaman, Lakshadweep
The development of fisheries in the Andaman & Nicobar Islands will seek to harness its 6.60 lakh sq km EEZ — roughly a third of the total expanse of the Indian EEZ — with a potential of 1.48 lakh tonnes of fishing annually.
Specifically, a tuna-potential of 60,000 tons has been identified and the development of a “tuna cluster” has been notified by the Centre. In a statement, the ministry said that this will comprise activities such as the establishment of on-board processing and freezing facilities in tuna fishing vessels, licensing for deep-sea tuna fishing vessels, and provision of single window clearances by the Andaman & Nicobar Administration.
Additionally, opportunities in sea cage culture, seaweed, ornamental, and pearl cultivation have been harnessed as part of these initiatives.
In the Lakshadweep Islands, the government aims at harnessing its 4 lakh sq km EEZ — roughly 17% of the Indian EEZ — and lagoon area of 4,200 sq km with a fisheries potential of 1 lakh tonnes, including potential of 4,200 tonnes for tuna fisheries.
Fishermen rowing their boat near Worli Koliwada on. (Express Photo by Nirmal Harindran) 
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