**Policy Summary: Alternatives to Bottom Trawling Mechanisms in Indian Fisheries (July 30, 2025)**
The Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry, and Dairying is addressing concerns regarding bottom trawling practices within India's fisheries sector. Recognizing fisheries as a state subject, the Ministry emphasizes that coastal States and Union Territories (UTs) are responsible for issuing fishing licenses and vessel registrations under their respective Marine Fishing Regulation Acts (MFRAs) and the Merchant Shipping Act, 1958, utilizing the ReALCraft web application.
As of July 30, 2025, 259 out of 31,045 registered mechanized fishing vessels using trawl nets are operating drag nets or bottom trawl nets in the Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea. The policy aims to mitigate the non-selectivity of bottom trawling through the use of bycatch reduction devices, particularly Turtle Excluder Devices (TEDs). All nine coastal states (Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, and West Bengal) have amended their MFRAs to mandate TED use for marine turtle conservation, following advisement from the Department of Fisheries (DoF), Government of India (GoI). The UTs of Andaman & Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep prohibit bottom trawling. Implementation of TEDs is supported under the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY) scheme, with 100% financial assistance shared between the central (60%) and state (40%) governments.
Furthermore, the Government of India has prohibited harmful fishing methods like bull or paired trawling and the use of artificial or LED lights within India's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). Maritime States/UTs have been advised to prevent these practices within and beyond territorial waters, issue Government Orders (GOs) prohibiting destructive fishing methods, temporarily suspend or cancel vessel registrations for violations, and inform enforcement agencies like the Coast Guard.
To promote alternative fishing practices, the "Blue Revolution" scheme previously supported deep-sea fishing initiatives. Under the PMMSY, support is now extended for activities such as sea ranching and artificial reef installation to enhance fish stocks and support fisher livelihoods. Mariculture activities, including seaweed cultivation and open sea cage culture, are being promoted to reduce fishing pressure in nearshore waters and sustainably boost marine fisheries production.
This information was provided by Union Minister of State, Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Shri George Kurian, in a written reply in Rajya Sabha on July 30, 2025.
Key Entities Referenced
Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry Dairying: The central ministry responsible for fisheries, animal husbandry, and dairying.
Marine Fishing Regulation Acts MFRAs: State and Union Territory laws regulating marine fishing activities.
Merchant Shipping Act, 1958: A central act used for granting registration to fishing vessels.
Turtle Excluder Device TED: A selective device used in shrimp bottom trawls to reduce bycatch, particularly sea turtles.
Gujarat: A coastal state that has amended its MFRAs to mandate TED use.
Pradhan Mantri Matysa Sampada Yojana PMMSY: A fisheries scheme that supports the implementation of TEDs.
Exclusive Economic Zone EEZ of India: The sea zone prescribed by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea over which India has special rights regarding the exploration and use of marine resources.
Blue Revolution: Integrated Development and Management of Fisheries: A centrally sponsored scheme aimed at promoting integrated development and management of fisheries.
Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying
Alternatives to Bottom-trawling Mechanism
Posted On: 30 JUL 2025 2:55PM by PIB Delhi
‘Fisheries’ is a State Subject. All coastal States and Union Territories (UTs) are issuing fishing licenses under
their respective Marine Fishing Regulation Acts (MFRAs) and granting registration to fishing vessels under
the Merchant Shipping Act, 1958, using the web enabled application called ‘ReALCraft’. As on date, out of
31,045 registered mechanized Fishing vessels operating trawl Nets, 259 are the Fishing Vessels registered as
operating the Drag Nets or Bottom Trawl Nets in Bay of Bengal and Arabian Coast. Bottom Trawling is a
fishing method used only to catch the targeted benthic fishes and catch of Non-target species are reduced by
the use of by-catch reduction devices, which are selective devices, like the Turtle Excluder Device (TED)
used in shrimp Bottom trawls. Department of Fisheries, Government of India (DoF, GoI) had advised all
coastal states and UTs to take necessary steps to review and amend their respective MFRAs to ensure
mandatory use of Turtle Excluder Devices (TEDs) towards marine turtle conservation. All nine coastal states,
namely Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and West
Bengal have amended their MFRAs to mandate TED use. The UTs of Andaman & Nicobar Islands and
Lakshadweep do not permit fishing using bottom trawl. The implementation of TED has been included as one
of the component supported under the Pradhan Mantri Matysa Sampada Yojana (PMMSY) scheme with
100% financial assistance (60% Central + 40% State).
The Government of India has prohibited the harmful fishing methods such as bull or paired trawling and use
of artificial light or LED light for fishing in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of India. All the maritime
States/UTs have also been advised to take necessary steps to prevent pair or bull trawling and use of LED
light for fishing within and beyond the territorial waters. The maritime States/UTs have also been advised to
issue necessary Government Orders (GOs) prohibiting destructive fishing methods including pair/bull
trawling for fishing within their territorial waters, temporarily suspend the registration / license of fishing
vessel(s) violating the GOs, or cancel the registration/license of such fishing vessel(s) on repeated violations,
and to inform Coast Guard and other marine enforcement agencies about such violators, with directions to
prevent operation of those fishing vessels.
A sub-component namely “Assistance for Deep Sea Fishing” and another component of “Conversion of
Trawlers into Resource Specific Deep-Sea Fishing Vessels” were implemented under the Centrally Sponsored
Scheme (CSS) “Blue Revolution: Integrated Development and Management of Fisheries” to provide financial
assistance to traditional fishermen for promotion of resource specific deep-sea fishing in the coastal States and
UTs. The Department of Fisheries, GoI had introduced the components namely, “Support for acquisition of
Deep-Sea Fishing vessels for traditional fishermen” and “Up-gradation of existing fishing vessels for export
competency” under PMMSY, to provide financial assistance to traditional fishermen for promotion of
resource specific deep-sea fishing in all coastal States and UTs.
Under the PMMSY, the Government of India has, for the first time, extended support for activities such as sea
ranching and installation of artificial reefs along the entire coastline of India for enhancing the fish stocks and
supporting livelihood of fishers. The activities such as mariculture including seaweed cultivation and open sea
cage culture are promoted under PMMSY to alleviate the fishing pressure in nearshore waters, and boost
marine fisheries production in sustainable manner. This information was given by Union Minister of State,
Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Shri George Kurian, in a written reply in Rajya Sabha
th
on 30 July, 2025.
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