Appraisal of the Exploited Marine Fishery Resources of India

Abstract

The marine fisheries sector in India has witnessed a phenomenal growth during the last five decades both quantitatively and qualitatively. The subsistence fisheries during the early 50’s produced about 0.5 million tonnes annually. Currently, the total production is about 2.7 million tonnes. This increase is the result of improvements in the harvesting methods, increase in the fishing effort and extension of fishing into relatively deeper regions. The increased effort over time and space is the consequence of ever-increasing demand for marine food both from external and internal markets. This phenomenal growth also brought in imbalances in the exploitation across the regions and among the resources. Besides, with production levels for most of the commercially important resources showing signs of approaching saturation levels, inter sectoral conflicts increased due to competition to exploit the common resource. Fleet size and operations underwent quantitative and qualitative change. Traditional boats are being increasingly motorised and the mechanised sector operating with trawlers and gillnetters are resorting to multi-day fishing, thus contributing to increased fishing pressure. The situation thus calls for an appraisal of the status of the resources on a regional and all India basis, taking into consideration the scientific database developed over a period of about half a century to enable formulate suitable strategies of exploitation and management.