Fishing in India - Economic Benefits

Economic Benefits

Fishing in India contributed over 1 percent of India's annual gross domestic product in 2008.

Catch fishing in India employs about 14.5 million people. The country's rich marine and inland water resources, fisheries and aquaculture offer an attractive and promising sector for employment, livelihood, and food security. Fish products from India are well received by almost half of world's countries, creating export-driven employment opportunities in India and greater food security for the world. During the past decades the Indian fisheries and aquaculture has witnessed improvements in craft, tackle and farming methods. Creation of required harvest and post-harvest infrastructure has been receiving due attention of the central and state governments. All this has been inducing a steady growth.

To harvest the economic benefits from fishing, India is adopting exclusive economic zone, stretching 200 nautical miles (370 km) into the Indian Ocean, encompasses more than 2 million square kilometers. In the mid-1980s, only about 33 percent of that area was being exploited. The potential annual catch from the area has been estimated at 4.5 million tons. In addition to this marine zone, India has about 14,000 km² of brackish water available for aquaculture, of which only 600 km² were being farmed in the early 1990s; 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, or 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.