**Executive Summary**
The Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying reports on the impact of overfishing by large mechanised fishing operations. The report provides state-wise details on mechanical fishing vessels and annual fish catch. The Fifth National Marine Fisheries Census 2025 (MFC 2025) was officially launched on World Fisheries Day, November 21, 2024.
**Key Points / Main Content**
* **Fishing Vessels and Catch:**
* There are 64,414 mechanical fishing vessels in India.
* State-wise vessel numbers are provided.
* Annual fish catch details are provided in an annexure, largely contributed by mechanised vessels.
* **Fish Stock Assessment:**
* ICAR-CMFRI assessed fish stocks, finding them in good health.
* 91.1% of the 135 fish stocks evaluated in 2022 were deemed sustainable.
* **National Marine Fisheries Census 2025 (MFC 2025):**
* Conducted jointly by the Department of Fisheries (DoF, GoI) and ICAR-CMFRI.
* Launched on November 21, 2024.
* **Fishing Ban Implementation:**
* A 61-day uniform fishing ban is implemented annually in the EEZ.
* East Coast: April 15th to June 14th.
* West Coast: June 1st to July 31st.
* Coastal States/UTs implement similar bans in territorial waters.
* **Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY):**
* Covers livelihood and nutritional support for traditional fishers during the fishing ban.
* Includes group accidental insurance for active fishers.
* Supports sea ranching and installation of artificial reefs.
* Promotes mariculture to reduce nearshore fishing pressure.
* Includes a component to develop 100 Coastal Fishermen Villages as Climate-Resilient Coastal Fishermen Villages (CRCFV).
* Introduced the components “Support for acquisition of Deep-Sea Fishing vessels for traditional fishermen” and “Up-gradation of existing fishing vessels for export competency”.
* **Marine Fish Production Statistics:**
* State/UT-wise marine fish production (in lakhs tonnes) data is provided for the years 2020-21 to 2024-25 (provisional).
**Impact Analysis**
**Stakeholder: Fishermen (Traditional and Mechanised)**
* **Impact:** The fishing ban impacts their ability to fish for 61 days annually. PMMSY provides support and insurance.
* **Action Required:** Adhere to the fishing ban dates. Utilize the support and insurance provided by PMMSY.
**Stakeholder: Coastal States and Union Territories**
* **Impact:** Required to implement fishing bans within their territorial waters in line with the EEZ ban. Need to monitor and enforce fishing regulations.
* **Action Required:** Implement and enforce the fishing ban in territorial waters.
**Stakeholder: Department of Fisheries, Government of India (DoF, GoI)**
* **Impact:** Responsible for conducting the National Marine Fisheries Census and implementing the fishing ban.
* **Action Required:** Conduct MFC 2025. Enforce the fishing ban and provide support through PMMSY.
**Stakeholder: ICAR-Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI)**
* **Impact:** Involved in assessing fish stocks and conducting the National Marine Fisheries Census.
* **Action Required:** Continue to assess fish stocks and provide data for sustainable fisheries management. Participate in MFC 2025.
Key Entities Referenced
Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY): A scheme implemented by the Government of India providing support for fisheries activities, including sea ranching and artificial reefs, with components like the CRCFV focusing on resilient coastal fishing villages.
Department of Fisheries (DoF): Department of the Government of India responsible for conducting the National Marine Fisheries Census and implementing fishing regulations.
Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ): Area where a uniform ban on fishing is implemented annually by the Department of Fisheries.
ICAR-Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI): An institute that assesses fish stocks in Indian waters and conducts the National Marine Fisheries Census jointly with the Department of Fisheries.
National Marine Fisheries Census 2025 (MFC 2025): The fifth National Marine Fisheries Census conducted to gather comprehensive data on the marine fisheries sector.
Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying
Impact of overfishing by large mechanised
fishing operations
Posted On: 11 FEB 2026 3:10PM by PIB Delhi
There are total 64,414 mechanical fishing vessels in the country as on date. The State-wise numbers of
mechanical fishing vessels include Andaman & Nicobar Islands (200), Andhra Pradesh (1,521), Daman &
Diu (1,856), Goa (2,822), Gujarat (18,559), Karnataka (4,845), Kerala (3,748), Lakshadweep (17),
Maharashtra (20,062), Odisha (1,730), Puducherry (750), Tamil Nadu (5,029), and West Bengal (3,275).
(b): The total annual fish catch from marine waters over the last five years, year-wise and State-wise
details are provided at Annexure, which is largely contributed by the mechanised fishing vessels.
(c): The ICAR-Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) has recently assessed the status of
fish stocks of major commercial fish species in the Indian waters. As per the studies on fish stocks by
ICAR-CMFRI it is revealed that the stocks are in good health and 91.1% of the 135 fish stocks evaluated
in different regions during 2022 were found sustainable.
(d): The Department of Fisheries, Government of India (DoF, GoI) has been conducting the National
Marine Fisheries Census through the prominent R&D institutes such as ICAR-CMFRI and Fishery Survey
of India (FSI), from time to time, which aims to have the comprehensive, accurate, and timely data of
socio-economic aspects of marine fisheries sector, that are also essential for the sustainable development
and governance of the marine fisheries sector, which supports over a million families in the country. The
fifth National Marine Fisheries Census 2025 (MFC 2025) is conducted jointly by the DoF, GoI, and the
ICAR-CMFRI. This MFC 2025 has been officially launched on the World Fisheries Day on November 21,
2024.
(e): For sustainable fishing practices and enhancement of the fish stocks and sea safety reasons the
uniform ban on fishing for 61 days is implemented annually in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of the
country beyond territorial waters on both the coasts (i.e., 15th April to 14th June in the East Coast, and 1st
June to 31st July in the West Coast). Similarly, the coastal States/UTs are also implementing the fishing
ban within their territorial waters in line with the uniform ban implemented in the EEZ by the DoF, GoI.
The livelihood and nutritional support for socio-economically backward active traditional fishers during
the fishing ban/lean period as well as the group accidental insurance scheme for the active fishers is
covered under the PMMSY.
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 to prevent habitat
destruction, 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.The PMMSY also includes a component “Development of 100 Coastal Fishermen Villages as Climate
Resilient Coastal Fishermen Villages (CRCFV)”, in various States and UTs, to transform them to
economically vibrant fishermen villages by providing support to a basket of activities that includes
infrastructure components and economic activities that aid enhancing the resilience of the villages to
climate change impacts.
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.
The DoF, 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.
*****
Annexure
Impact of overfishing by large mechanised fishing operations.
States/UTs -wise Marine Fish Production (in lakhs Tonnes)S.No. State/UT's 2020-21 2021-22 2022-23 2023-24 2024-25
(Provisional)
1 Andhra Pradesh 5.54 5.94 6.00 6.00 6.51
2 Goa 1.06 1.11 1.34 1.27 1.28
3 Gujarat 6.83 6.88 7.03 7.05 7.64
4 Karnataka 3.47 5.89 7.30 7.28 5.26
5 Kerala 3.92 6.01 6.91 5.81 6.47
6 Maharashtra 3.99 4.33 4.46 4.35 4.64
7 Odisha 1.72 2.01 2.13 2.27 2.39
8 Tamil Nadu 5.48 5.95 5.97 6.37 6.81
9 West Bengal 1.55 1.91 1.89 3.18 3.67
10 A and N Islands 0.43 0.44 0.47 0.49 0.52
11 Daman and Diu & 0.30 0.30 0.29 0.30 0.31
Dadar and Nagar
Haveli
12 Lakshadweep 0.15 0.12 0.11 0.13 0.19
13 Puducherry 0.34 0.39 0.42 0.43 0.43
India 34.76 41.27 44.32 44.94 46.15
This answer was given by Union Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairy Minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh
alias Lalan Singh in reply to a question asked in the Rajya Sabha today.
JP
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