Dinesh Kamath's Editorial 'Fishing is a major industry in India' that was published in Newsband

Fishing is a major industry in India

Marine fisheries wealth in India is enormous. Marine fisheries contribute to an economic wealth valued at about Rs 65,000 crore each year. Marine fisheries wealth in India is estimated at an annual harvestable potential of 4.412 million metric tonnes and an estimated 4 million people depend on fisheries for their livelihoods.

We need to conserve our oceans and use them sustainably. This is preserving life itself. After a heavy downpour in Mumbai last week, nearly 120 tonnes of trash washed ashore on to the Juhu beach. India 7,500-km-long coastline is polluted, thanks to a spurt in population, industrial, agricultural and commercial activities, according to a report by TERI.

We should keep our coastline and oceans clean, especially at a time when jobs are scarce. Fishing in India is a major industry in its coastal states, employing over 14 million people. Fish production in India has increased more than tenfold since its independence in 1947.

India has 7517 kilometers of marine coastline, 3,827 fishing villages, and 1,914 traditional fish landing centers. India's fresh water resources consist of 195,210 kilometers 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.

India's water and natural resources can grow considerably if India adopts fishing knowledge, regulatory reforms, and sustainability policies adopted by China over the last two decades.

Marine and freshwater catch fishing combined with aquaculture fish farming is a rapidly growing industry in India. In 2008 India was the sixth largest producer of marine and freshwater capture fisheries, and the second largest aquaculture farmed fish producer in the world. Fish as food — both from fish farms and catch fisheries — offers India one of the easiest and fastest way to address malnutrition and food security.

Despite rapid growth in total fish production, a fish farmers’ average annual production in India is only 2 tonnes per person, compared to 172 tonnes in Norway, 72 tonnes in Chile, and 6 tonnes per fisherman in China. Higher productivity, knowledge transfer for sustainable fishing, continued growth in fish production with increase in fish exports have the potential for increasing the living standards of Indian fishermen.