Marine Fisheries in India: Outlook and Challenges ahead

India is endowed with a wide diversity of water resources, which sustain a large fisheries sector in the country. India has a coastline of 8,118 km with an Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) stretching over 2.02 million sq. km, and a continental shelf covering 0.53 million sq.km. Fisheries have a very important role for food supply, nutritional security and livelihood in India. The sector is one of the important revenue-earning and employment-opportunity sectors, contributing significantly to the economy of the country. Marine fisheries in India are a shared responsibility between the national and state governments. In a legal and constitutional sense, state governments are responsible for waters inside the 12 nautical mile territorial limit (22 km) while the Government of India (GOI) is responsible for waters between 12 nautical miles and the country’s 200 nautical mile (370 km) EEZ. Fisheries represent the best example of the exploitation of living natural resources. One of the most important characteristics of capture fisheries is that the resources are a common property, the access to which is free and open. Irrespective of the type of exploiters: artisanal fishers or large fleet owners, their operation will not be limited until the zero profitability threshold is reached. Hence, there is a need for a manager to intervene and regulate their activity. The general objectives of fisheries management are to achieve nutritional security, maintain sustainability of the resources, and ensure gainful employment and economic benefits. To achieve this, a multidisciplinary approach involving biological, environmental, social, economic and administrative instruments is necessary. The present status of marine fisheries in India and the growing challenges call for early implementation of effective management measures to gradually shift the focus from harvesting increasing volumes of fish to a more holistic approach based on a long-term goal of maximising net economic, social and environment benefits from sustainable fish production