The department of fisheries has introduced “support for acquisition of deep-sea fishing vessels for traditional fishermen” and “up-gradation of existing fishing vessels for export competency” under PMMSY.

There are total 64,414 mechanical fishing vessels in the country, the union minister for fisheries, animal husbandry and dairy, Rajiv Ranjan Singh, said in a reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday.

Maharashtra leads with 20,062 mechanical fishing vessels, followed by Gujarat which has 18,559 mechanical fishing vessels.

The details of fishing vessels state-wise is as follows:

• 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
• West Bengal 3,275

The total annual fish catch from marine waters over the last year (2024-25 provisional figures) is 46.15 lakh tonnes. The corresponding figures for the previous year was 44.94 lakh tonnes.

Fish Stocks Sustainable

The minister said that the 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, it is revealed that the stocks are in good health and 91.1 per cent of the 135 fish stocks evaluated in different regions during 2022 were found sustainable.

The department of fisheries has been conducting the national marine fisheries census from time to time through prominent institutes such as CMFRI and the fishery survey of India. The marine fisheries census aims to have a 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 minister said.

The fifth national marine fisheries census 2025 (MFC 2025) is conducted jointly by the department of fisheries and the CMFRI. MFC (2025) was launched on world fisheries day on 21 November 2024.

A uniform ban on fishing for 61 days is implemented annually in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of the country for sustainable fishing practices and enhancement of the fish stocks and sea safety reasons.

This ban, beyond territorial waters on both the coasts is implemented from 15 April to 14 June in the east coast, and from 1 June to 31 July in the west coast. Similarly, the coastal states and union territories are also implementing the fishing ban within their territorial waters in line with the uniform ban implemented in the EEZ by the department of fisheries.

The livelihood and nutritional support for socio-economically backward active traditional fishers during the fishing ban/lean period is covered under the PMMSY, the minister said. There is a coverage for active fishers as well under a group accidental insurance scheme.

Financial Assistance to Traditional Fishermen

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. This is being covered under the PMMSY. 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 a sustainable manner.

The minister said that PMMSY also includes a component “development of 100 coastal fishermen villages as climate resilient coastal fishermen villages”, in various states and union territories. This component aims to transform the fishermen villages into economically vibrant 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 as well.

A sub-component, namely the “assistance for deep sea fishing” and another component of “conversion of trawlers into resource specific deep-sea fishing vessels” have been implemented under the centrally sponsored scheme “blue revolution: integrated development and management of fisheries” to provide financial assistance to traditional fishermen for promotion of resource specific deep-sea fishing.

The department of fisheries has introduced “support for acquisition of deep-sea fishing vessels for traditional fishermen” and “up-gradation of existing fishing vessels for export competency” under PMMSY. These sub-component schemes are aimed at providing financial assistance to traditional fishermen for promotion of resource specific deep-sea fishing in all coastal states and union territories, the minister told the Rajya Sabha.