Fishing in India is a major sector within the economy of India contributing 1.07% of its total GDP. The fishing sector in India supports the livelihood of over 28 million people in the country, especially within the marginalized and vulnerable communities. India is the third largest fish producing country in the world accounting for 7.96% of the global production and second largest producer of fish through aquaculture, after China. The total fish production during the 2020-21 is estimated at 14.73 million metric tonnes. According to the National Fisheries Development Board the Fisheries Industry generates an export earnings of Rs 334.41 billion. Centrally sponsored schemes will increase exports by Rs 1 lakh crore in FY25. 65,000 fishermen have been trained under these schemes from 2017 to 2020. Freshwater fishing consists of 55% of total fish production.
According to
the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry, Dairying, fish production increased from 7.52 lakh tonnes in years 1950–51 to 125.90 lakh tonnes in years 2018–19, a 17 times increase. Each year, India celebrates 10, July as the National Fish Farmers day. Koyilandy harbour in Kerala is the largest fishing harbour in Asia. It has the longest breakwater.
India has of marine coastline, 3,827 fishing villages and 1,914 traditional fish landing centers. India's fresh water resources consist of of rivers and canals, 2.9 million hectares of minor and major reservoirs, 2.4 million hectares of ponds and lakes, and about 0.8 million hectares of flood plain wetlands and water bodies. As of 2010, the marine and freshwater resources offered a combined sustainable catch fishing potential of over 4 million metric tonnes of fish. In addition, India's water and natural resources offer a tenfold growth potential in aquaculture (farm fishing) from 2010 harvest levels of 3.9 million metric tonnes of fish, if India were to adopt fishing knowledge, regulatory reforms and sustainability policies.
History
Historical texts like Kautilya's Arthashastra (321–300 B.C.) and King Someswara's Manasollasa (1127 A.D.) refer to fish culture. For centuries, India has had a traditional practice of fish culture in small ponds. Significant advances in productivity were made in the early nineteenth century with the controlled breeding of carp in tanks where river conditions are simulated. Brackishwater farming was done on an old system where man-made impediments in coastal wetlands and salt resistant deep water paddy fields. Moreover, traditional fishing methods have been in practise in central and south India for 2000 years.
Economic benefits
Fishing in India contributed over 1% of India's annual gross domestic product in 2008. Fishing in India employs about 14.5 million people. To harvest the economic benefits from fishing, India has adopted exclusive economic zone, stretching into the Indian Ocean, encompasses more than 2 million square kilometers. In addition to this marine zone, India has about 14,000 km2 of brackish water available for aquaculture, about 16,000 km2 of freshwater lakes, ponds, and swamps; and nearly 64,000 kilometers of rivers and streams. In 1990, there were 1.7 million full-time fishermen, 1.3 million part-time fishermen, and 2.3 million occasional fishermen, many of whom worked as saltmakers, ferrymen, seamen, or operated boats for hire. In the early 1990s, the fishing fleet consisted of 180,000 traditional craft powered by sails or oars, 26,000 motorized traditional craft, and some 34,000 mechanized boats.
Fish production rose from 800,000 tons in FY 1950 to 4.1 million tons in the early 1990s. From 1990 through 2010, Indian fish industry accelerated, reaching a total marine and freshwater fish production to about 8 million metric tons. In 2006, Indian central government initiated a dedicated organization focused on fisheries, under its Ministry of Agriculture. Special efforts have been made to promote extensive and intensive inland fish farming, modernize coastal fisheries, and encourage deep-sea fishing through joint ventures. These efforts led to a more than fourfold increase in coastal fish production from 520,000 tons in FY 1950 to 3.35 million tons in FY 2013. The increase in inland fish production was even more dramatic, increasing almost eightfold from 218,000 tons in FY 1950 to 6.10 million tons in FY 2013. The value of fish and processed fish exports increased from less than 1 percent of the total value of exports in FY 1960 to 3.6 percent in FY 1993. Between 1990 and 2007, fish production in India has grown at a higher rate than food grains, milk, eggs, and other food items. Indian inland waters (rivers, reservoirs, wetlands, lakes and ponds) contribute 62–65% of the total fisheries production.