New Delhi, Sept. 16 -- On the occasion of India's 80th Independence Day, the Hon'ble Prime Minister of India outlined the importance of a blue economy as one among the seven streams of reform and development (Sapta Dhara). A blue economy encompasses a framework for the sustainable, inclusive, and resilient management of our marine resources. Such an approach is closely aligned with Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 14 of the United Nations, which emphasises the need to conserve and sustainably use the oceans and seas. During India's 2023 G20 Presidency too, world leaders committed themselves to mainstreaming the need to build a resilient blue economy. In fact, a key pillar of India's "Viksit Bharat" vision for 2047 is also the focus on a robust blue economy.
In this context, fisheries and aquaculture have a major role in leveraging the blue economy through the nation's extensive 11,098-km coastline and vast 2.4-million-square-kilometre Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). India is the second-largest fish-producing country in the world. It is, in addition, now also the second-largest nation in aquaculture production. As a result of cumulative investments of Rs 39,272 crore through flagship programmes during the last twelve years, the country has witnessed a 106 per cent increase in national fish production (which stands at a record 198 lakh tonnes in 2024-25). Interestingly, 75 per cent of this production comes from aquaculture powered by shrimp cultivation. The areas of investment include infrastructure development, technology infusion, and fishermen's welfare.
On the other hand, during the last twelve years, our seafood exports have risen by 145 per cent and are valued at Rs 73,890 crore in 2025-26. These largely comprise cultured frozen shrimps exported to the USA. However, during the last year alone, despite the tariffs imposed by the USA, seafood exports have shown resilience, witnessing an increase of approximately Rs 11,000 crore! This has been possible due to aggressive market diversification of seafood exports to countries in the European Union, China, and Southeast Asia, coupled with the signing of Free Trade Agreements (FTAs).
To further leverage the blue economy through fisheries and aquaculture, the following key priority areas are being given a boost.
First, to enhance our seafood exports in high-value tuna and tuna-like species, we need to tap approximately 2.70 lakh tonnes of oceanic resources in our EEZ. The global trade in high-value fish species is worth US$18 billion! Interestingly, almost 50 per cent of the area of India's EEZ falls in the Andaman & Nicobar and Lakshadweep Islands. To unlock the above untapped potential, a sustainable governance framework has been notified for deep-sea fishing by Indian-flagged vessels in the EEZ as well as the High Seas. Fish Farmer Producer Organisations (FFPOs) and Fisheries Cooperatives will be important partners in this endeavour. The notification of the Andaman & Nicobar Islands as a "Tuna Cluster" will also enable entrepreneurs to become partners in its value-chain activities.
Second, reduction in post-harvest losses entails effective harbour management backed by requisite technology infusion. "Integrated and Smart Fish Harbours" have been conceptualised with digitalisation (application of IoT, AI, etc.) to track the traceability of fish catch and its certification, along with low-carbon-footprint initiatives. Four such fish harbours have been approved to be built at Vanakabara (Daman & Diu), Karaikal (Puducherry), Jakhau (Gujarat), and Mayabundar (Andaman & Nicobar Islands). This has been backed by a technical cooperation project with the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) to build the requisite blue-port capacities of all stakeholders.
Moreover, value addition in shrimp/fish processing (ready-to-eat or ready-to-cook) needs to be enhanced from the current 11 per cent to 30 per cent over the next five years. Such seafood export processing units are primarily located in the states of Gujarat, Kerala, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Odisha, and Tamil Nadu. They are being strengthened with modern processing facilities such as breading, battering, filleting, freeze-drying, individual quick freezing, chilling, and canning lines.
Third, initiatives in mariculture (a specialised branch of aquaculture involving the cultivation of marine plants in the ocean or sea) need to be strengthened. In this context, seaweed farming's future potential is multifaceted! It is a carbon sequester and, therefore, an effective instrument in the nation's effort to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2070. Its applications range from being a biostimulant in agriculture to serving as an input in the pharmaceutical, cosmetics, and mining industries. In India, seaweed grows abundantly along the coasts of Tamil Nadu and Gujarat and around the Lakshadweep Islands. This is being supplemented with research and culture demonstrations along the coastline to explore the scope for approximately 90 lakh tonnes of production. Offshore mechanised seaweed cultivation, in addition, holds tremendous potential. The notification of the Lakshadweep Islands as a "Seaweed Cluster" will, therefore, enable entrepreneurs to contribute towards strengthening its value-chain activities.
As diverse global markets open up for our seafood exports, sustainability compliance is increasingly becoming a critical factor. Therefore, the need for sustainable fishing practices has always been emphasised to coastal State governments and Union Territories. These include a uniform ban on fishing during the breeding season, sea ranching, a ban on LED lights/bottom trawling, minimum fish mesh/legal size, an action plan for marine pollution as well as abandoned gear, the use of green fuels, turtle excluder devices, and artificial reefs. Besides, climate-proofing infrastructure in 100 coastal villages has also been taken up for implementation. In fact, a Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) study is a testimony to the effective implementation of the above measures. The study concludes that 91.1 per cent of 135 marine fish stocks assessed for their abundance and level of harvest were found to be healthy in the EEZ.
To make the above pillars of the blue economy bottom-up, capacity building and skilling of approximately fifty lakh fisher families are also a must. International best practices from countries such as China, South Korea, Indonesia, the Maldives, France, Iceland, and Norway have been aggregated. These have enabled the creation of cutting-edge training modules on deep-sea vessel management, fish harbour logistics, and mariculture technologies. These training modules have, in fact, been grounded in convergence with ICAR "Krishi Vigyan Kendras". All the above efforts align with the Viksit Bharat@2047 vision to empower fishermen's families to thrive and contribute to the nation's Blue Revolution.
Views expressed are personal. The writer is Secretary, Department of Fisheries, Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying, GoI
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.