Parliament Question: Deep-Sea Fishing promotion and incentives

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF FISHERIES, ANIMAL HUSBANDRY AND DAIRYING DEPARTMENT OF FISHERIES RAJYA SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2139 TO BE ANSWERED ON 11th MARCH 2026 Deep-Sea Fishing promotion and incentives 2139. Shri Sana Sathish Babu: Will the Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying be pleased to state: (a) the number of fishing vessels issued Access Passes for Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) operations nationwide, State-wise, particularly Andhra Pradesh, as of February, 2026, including EEZ-licensed vessels from Andhra Pradesh, district-wise; (b) the catch value from deep-sea fishing in Andhra Pradesh during last five years and the projected estimates; (c) the details of skill training and capacity-building programmes for adoption of deep-sea fishing technologies, State-wise, and benefits to Andhra Pradesh; and (d) the fiscal incentives/subsidies provided/approved for upgrading mechanised boats to deep-sea/EEZ-compliant vessels in Andhra Pradesh, including number of units sanctioned and total funding over last five years? ANSWER THE MINISTER OF FISHERIES, ANIMAL HUSBANDRY AND DAIRYING (SHRI RAJIV RANJAN SINGH ALIAS LALAN SINGH) (a): The Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India, on 04th November, 2025, has notified the Sustainable Harnessing of Fisheries in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) Rules, 2025 under the Territorial Waters, Continental Shelf, Exclusive Economic Zone and Other Maritime Zones Act, 1976. As per these rules, the access passes are being issued to all mechanized fishing vessels and those motorized fishing boats having overall length of twenty-four meters and above, or motorised fishing vessels exclusively engaged in fishing of tuna and tuna like species, to operate in the EEZ of India. As on 5th March, 2026, there are 707 number of access passes issued based on the applications received at online ReALCraft portal from all coastal States and Union Territories including Andhra Pradesh. The sate-wise details of numbers of fishing vessels issued Access Passes for EEZ operations and the district-wise details of vessels from Andhra Pradesh issued with Access Passes is placed at Annexure-I. (b): As per the estimate of the Expert Committee constituted by Government of India for Revalidation of Potential Yield of Fishery Resources in the Indian Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), the potential yield (PY) of India’s EEZ is 53.1 lakh tons, out of which 3.65 lakh tonnes is the estimated potential for the EEZ along the coast of Andhra Pradesh. During last 5 years (2020-21 to 2024-25), the Marine fish production from Andhra Pradesh including the mariculture and catch from deep sea fishing is varied between 6.51 lakh tonnes in 2024-25 to 5.54 lakh tonnes in 2020-21.(c): Under the component of “Training, Awareness, Exposure and Capacity Building”, in Central sector scheme of Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY), the National Fisheries Development Board (NFDB) is designated as the Nodal agency for implementing the training component. Under this component, an exclusive training for marine fishermen on Deep Sea fishing, and on-board fish handling is conducted by NFBD in collaboration with Central Institute of Fisheries Nautical & Engineering Training (CIFNET) and a total 8040 fishermen have been trained through these programs for enhancing India’s capacity building in Deep Sea fishing including 874 fishers from Andhra Pradesh. Fishery Survey of India (FSI) under Department of Fisheries, Government of India (DoF, GoI) also conducted comprehensive skill training and capacity-building programmes to promote adoption of deep-sea fishing technologies, with special emphasis on deep-sea tuna longlining and sashimi-grade tuna handling. 112 fishers from Andaman & Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep have been trained in 2025-26 onboard FSI survey vessels providing hands-on exposure to monofilament longline operations (setting and hauling), gear configuration, and efficient deck management. It also includes structured modules on deep-sea navigation, use of modern navigational aids (GPS, echo sounders, AIS), watch-keeping practices, and safety at sea, covering life-saving appliances and firefighting equipment. (d): To promote Deep Sea fishing in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), the DoF, GoI had introduced a sub-component namely “Assistance for Deep Sea Fishing” on and another component of “Conversion of Trawlers into Resource Specific Deep-Sea Fishing Vessels” under the Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS) on Blue Revolution. These sub-components were introduced to provide financial assistance to traditional fishermen for promoting deep-sea fishing in the coastal States/UTs including Andhra Pradesh. For traditional fishers of Andhra Pradesh, 12 Deep sea fishing vessels were approved with total project cost of Rs.960.00 lakh and financial assistance of Rs.233.28 lakh released from DoF, GoI under the sub-component of “Assistance for Deep Sea Fishing”, while 57 fishing vessels were approved with total project cost of Rs.855.00 lakh and financial assistance of Rs. 427.50 lakh released from DoF, GoI under the component of “Conversion of Trawlers into Resource Specific Deep-Sea Fishing Vessels” during the implementation of the Blue Revolution Scheme. Subsequently, the DoF, GoI, under its flagship scheme namely, Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY) being implemented with effect from the financial year 2020-21, 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” to provide financial assistance to traditional fishermen for promotion of deep-sea fishing in the coastal States/UTs including Andhra Pradesh. For traditional fishers of Andhra Pradesh, 50 Deep sea fishing vessels were approved with total project cost of Rs.6000 lakh and with financial assistance of Rs. 1526.40 lakh from Government of India under the component of “Support for acquisition of Deep-Sea Fishing vessels for traditional fishermen”. *****Annexure-I Statement referred to in reply to part-(a) of the Rajya Sabha Unstarred Question No. 2139 regarding Deep-Sea Fishing promotion and incentives put in by Shri Sana Sathish Babu, Hon’ble Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha for answer on 11th March, 2026. State-wise details of Access Pass Issued: S. State/UT No of fishing vessels issued Access No. Pass (As on 5th March, 2026) 1 Gujarat 274 2 Maharashtra 2 3 Odisha 47 4 Andhra Pradesh 162 5 Andaman & Nicobar Islands 34 6 Daman & Diu 91 7 Goa 5 8 Karnataka 3 9 Kerala 63 10 Tamil Nadu 2 11 West Bengal 9 12 Puducherry 2 13 Lakshadweep 13 Total 707 District-wise Access Pass Issued in Andhra Pradesh: S. District No of Access Pass No. Issued 1 Kakinada 105 2 Vishakhapatnam 52 3 Konaseema 4 4 Baptala 1 Total 162 *****