Hon’ble Ministers of Fisheries of different countries,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
It gives me immense pleasure to be here with all of you for the International Conference of State Fisheries Ministers. I eagerly look forward to discussing the possible strategies to realize the vast potential we have to augment fish production, thereby making it a viable and rewarding economic activity.
India has been playing an important role in global fisheries as the third largest producer of fish in the world and the second largest producer from aquaculture. In the last six decades, marine fish production in India has increased from 0.5 million tonnes to 3.2 million tonnes. The rate of growth has slowed in the nineties as compared to 1960-1990. Though marine fish production in India did not show consistent decline over the time scale, there are several sustainability concerns that demand immediate as well as long-term solutions.
Potential yield estimates indicate that the annual harvestable potential yield from the Indian Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) is 3.9 million tonnes. As the present production is approaching the potential yield, the country has reached a stage in which further increase in production may have to be viewed with caution. The issues in the sector are excess coastal fishing fleet capacity and overexploitation, unregulated open access fisheries, discards at capture and indiscriminate capture of juveniles, biodiversity loss, pollution and underutilisation of deep sea resources. While natural disasters like cyclones have been a common feature, the tsunami of 2004 added a new dimension to the demands of our preparedness.
Marine fisheries along the 8,000 kilometres coastline of the country including two major island ecosystems provides for direct and indirect livelihood of over 10 million fishers and their families. India is a country with a large number of small scale fishermen harvesting multispecies resources with an array of craft-gear combinations. It is extremely difficult to devise common management strategies that would satisfy the interests of all sections of small scale fishermen as well as sustain fish resources. Fishing closure for 45 to 60 days by mechanized fishing boats is being followed every year all along the coast. In spite of promulgation of Marine Fishing Regulation Act (MFRA) by maritime state governments, licensing of craft, catch declaration, ceiling on number and efficiency of fishing craft, monitoring, control and surveillance of fishing vessels remain as issues. A fisherman in India produces only 3.5 tonnes of fish per year as compared to more than 100 tonnes per year in EU countries. Alternate livelihood in mariculture and sea-related tourism will be able to absorb only a fraction of the fishermen population. Relocating a large number of fishermen with alternate employment is possible only by providing them skills of related kinds, that would be a long-term process.
Conservation and sustainable use of fisheries in the maritime zones of India is being accorded priority. In this direction, apart from emphasising on the implementation of MFRAs, the Marine Fisheries (Regulation and Management) Act, 2009 is being promulgated to regulate fishing activities in the EEZ beyond territorial waters. Several marine species have been listed under endangered species and their fishing prohibited. The programme of diversification and reduction of excess capacity of coastal fishing vessels has been taken up, along with activities of monitoring, control and surveillance (MCS) and vessel monitoring system (VMS) in the pipeline. Keeping the open access of the system in view, a comprehensive fishing vessel registration system is being put in place. Sea safety measures are an integral component of these initiatives.
It has been recognized that Ecosystem-based fisheries management (EBFM) is a better option compared to single-species management. Designation of over 26 Marine Protected Areas, sanctuaries and marine parks to the extent of about 3% of Indian coastline has served as areas banned from fishing, that is proposed to be further enhanced. In a country with about 3,200 marine fishing villages, which are littered at a distance of every two kilometers along the coastline, implementing EBFM is a challenge. Hence, programmes for creation of awareness and sensitisation of fishers all along the coastline have been undertaken. Further, in line with the international instruments, the guidelines for deep sea fishing have been reviewed last year to enhance the efforts in this segment.
Intense efforts are being made to reduce bycatches through incorporation of bycatch reduction devices (BRDs) and turtle excluder devices (TEDs) in the fishing gears and selective fishing gears. With the production from capture fisheries already reaching maximum sustainable levels, it is time to look forward for enhancing the biomass through alternative approaches such as Open sea cage farming, use of fish aggregating devices (FADs), artificial reefs, etc. Candidate species such as seabass, shrimps, oysters, crabs, lobsters, sea cucumbers and seaweeds are important in this context. Productivity enhancement has been successfully demonstrated by installation of FADs in many places along the east coast and sea cage farming is being adopted the traditional fishers in the recent times.
Illegal, Unreported and Unrecorded (IUU) fishing is an issue as in several other countries, as the system of reporting catches by fishermen does not exist, except for deep sea foreign vessels that are licensed to operate with Indian flag within the Indian EEZ. There are large industrial vessels of foreign origin licensed to fish (especially tunas) within Indian for EEZ, permitted for mid-sea transshipment of catches and land catches in foreign ports. Indian Coast Guard monitors their movement within Indian EEZ, but there is a possibility of IUU fishing by these vessels seeking to minimize costs and maximize returns. An effective monitoring, control and surveillance (MCS) mechanism is needed to curb IUU fishing by the LoP vessels (with Letter of Permit) and also poaching by foreign vessels other than the LoP vessels. Further, fishing in the EEZ of neighbouring countries within the region is often reported. This type of IUU fishing is indulged by fishermen operating medium-size vessels.
Actions that have been taken to curb IUU fishing include: Control of fishing capacity and fishing effort up to sustainable levels; Enforcement of the Maritime Zones of India (Regulation of Fishing by Foreign Vessels) Act, 1981; proposal for installation of Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) in fishing boats; MCS to disallow destructive gears; proper monitoring of legal instruments under state level Marine Fishing Regulation Acts; and a proposed Central legislation for regulation of fishing by Indian vessels in the EEZ area under finalization. Regional cooperation is critical for the long-term sustainable protection of fish resources and the marine environment. While India is a signatory to several international conventions such as the United Nations Convention on Law of the Seas (UNCLOS), FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries (CCRF) and Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC), a regular dialogue between countries bordering specific waters such as Indian ocean is imperative for ensuring proper management and equity of fisheries in the region.
Climate change has been found to have a significant impact on all spheres of our life including agriculture, livestock, fisheries, forestry and the general health of the people. Stock assessments and management strategies may have to undergo rapid and major revisions, the extent of which is not known for the present. Located in tropical belt with innate high temperatures and in the path of annual cyclones and storm surges, climate change is one of the major concerns for sustaining Indian fisheries. A related aspect is the disaster management strategies, that call for intense regional cooperation.
There are now proposals to certify fish stocks in different regions, as being proposed by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) and this could become a norm across the countries in the coming years. Product certification is a welcome step for sustaining the resources. However, considering the multispecies nature of resources and harvest by a number of craft and gear combinations overlapping several species, product certification either for species or habitat is however difficult for tropical fisheries.
Our projections for annual fish production by the year 2012 is of the order of 10 million tonnes. The production from aquaculture in the country has been showing an impressive annual growth rate of over 6% and a cumulative growth of 800%, i.e. from 0.37 million tonnes in 1980 to 3.37 million tonnes in 2008. The segments of freshwater aquaculture, coastal aquaculture and mariculture, apart from a portion coldwater fisheries are expected to contribute in significant measures to the fish basket of the country in the coming years. The issues that are being addressed in this area include water management, leasing policy of waters, species diversification, quality seed, provision of adequate feeds, health management, post-harvest processing and transport, quality assurance and certification for both exports and domestic product. Biodiversity management and possible pollution from aquaculture practices are being duly addressed, with registration of shrimp farms, for example, in the country.
I am happy to state that India has one of the robust and innovative institutional mechanism in different aspects of fisheries with regard to research, development, promotion, financing and regulation. The policy framework in the federal structure of administration is continuously revisited and upgraded in tune with the changing requirements, both national and international. The goal is to achieve the prosperity of the fisher, with sustainable fish production with due attention to the health of the environment.
At this Conference, I look forward to getting a glimpse of different approaches to these aspects from all over the world, for achieving sustained growth of the fisheries sector. I am happy to be amidst my colleagues from different countries and take this opportunity to state that India proposes to host the next International Conference of Fisheries Ministers and invite the Hon’ble Ministers to India for the next Conference.
Thank you.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
It gives me immense pleasure to be here with all of you for the International Conference of State Fisheries Ministers. I eagerly look forward to discussing the possible strategies to realize the vast potential we have to augment fish production, thereby making it a viable and rewarding economic activity.
India has been playing an important role in global fisheries as the third largest producer of fish in the world and the second largest producer from aquaculture. In the last six decades, marine fish production in India has increased from 0.5 million tonnes to 3.2 million tonnes. The rate of growth has slowed in the nineties as compared to 1960-1990. Though marine fish production in India did not show consistent decline over the time scale, there are several sustainability concerns that demand immediate as well as long-term solutions.
Potential yield estimates indicate that the annual harvestable potential yield from the Indian Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) is 3.9 million tonnes. As the present production is approaching the potential yield, the country has reached a stage in which further increase in production may have to be viewed with caution. The issues in the sector are excess coastal fishing fleet capacity and overexploitation, unregulated open access fisheries, discards at capture and indiscriminate capture of juveniles, biodiversity loss, pollution and underutilisation of deep sea resources. While natural disasters like cyclones have been a common feature, the tsunami of 2004 added a new dimension to the demands of our preparedness.
Marine fisheries along the 8,000 kilometres coastline of the country including two major island ecosystems provides for direct and indirect livelihood of over 10 million fishers and their families. India is a country with a large number of small scale fishermen harvesting multispecies resources with an array of craft-gear combinations. It is extremely difficult to devise common management strategies that would satisfy the interests of all sections of small scale fishermen as well as sustain fish resources. Fishing closure for 45 to 60 days by mechanized fishing boats is being followed every year all along the coast. In spite of promulgation of Marine Fishing Regulation Act (MFRA) by maritime state governments, licensing of craft, catch declaration, ceiling on number and efficiency of fishing craft, monitoring, control and surveillance of fishing vessels remain as issues. A fisherman in India produces only 3.5 tonnes of fish per year as compared to more than 100 tonnes per year in EU countries. Alternate livelihood in mariculture and sea-related tourism will be able to absorb only a fraction of the fishermen population. Relocating a large number of fishermen with alternate employment is possible only by providing them skills of related kinds, that would be a long-term process.
Conservation and sustainable use of fisheries in the maritime zones of India is being accorded priority. In this direction, apart from emphasising on the implementation of MFRAs, the Marine Fisheries (Regulation and Management) Act, 2009 is being promulgated to regulate fishing activities in the EEZ beyond territorial waters. Several marine species have been listed under endangered species and their fishing prohibited. The programme of diversification and reduction of excess capacity of coastal fishing vessels has been taken up, along with activities of monitoring, control and surveillance (MCS) and vessel monitoring system (VMS) in the pipeline. Keeping the open access of the system in view, a comprehensive fishing vessel registration system is being put in place. Sea safety measures are an integral component of these initiatives.
It has been recognized that Ecosystem-based fisheries management (EBFM) is a better option compared to single-species management. Designation of over 26 Marine Protected Areas, sanctuaries and marine parks to the extent of about 3% of Indian coastline has served as areas banned from fishing, that is proposed to be further enhanced. In a country with about 3,200 marine fishing villages, which are littered at a distance of every two kilometers along the coastline, implementing EBFM is a challenge. Hence, programmes for creation of awareness and sensitisation of fishers all along the coastline have been undertaken. Further, in line with the international instruments, the guidelines for deep sea fishing have been reviewed last year to enhance the efforts in this segment.
Intense efforts are being made to reduce bycatches through incorporation of bycatch reduction devices (BRDs) and turtle excluder devices (TEDs) in the fishing gears and selective fishing gears. With the production from capture fisheries already reaching maximum sustainable levels, it is time to look forward for enhancing the biomass through alternative approaches such as Open sea cage farming, use of fish aggregating devices (FADs), artificial reefs, etc. Candidate species such as seabass, shrimps, oysters, crabs, lobsters, sea cucumbers and seaweeds are important in this context. Productivity enhancement has been successfully demonstrated by installation of FADs in many places along the east coast and sea cage farming is being adopted the traditional fishers in the recent times.
Illegal, Unreported and Unrecorded (IUU) fishing is an issue as in several other countries, as the system of reporting catches by fishermen does not exist, except for deep sea foreign vessels that are licensed to operate with Indian flag within the Indian EEZ. There are large industrial vessels of foreign origin licensed to fish (especially tunas) within Indian for EEZ, permitted for mid-sea transshipment of catches and land catches in foreign ports. Indian Coast Guard monitors their movement within Indian EEZ, but there is a possibility of IUU fishing by these vessels seeking to minimize costs and maximize returns. An effective monitoring, control and surveillance (MCS) mechanism is needed to curb IUU fishing by the LoP vessels (with Letter of Permit) and also poaching by foreign vessels other than the LoP vessels. Further, fishing in the EEZ of neighbouring countries within the region is often reported. This type of IUU fishing is indulged by fishermen operating medium-size vessels.
Actions that have been taken to curb IUU fishing include: Control of fishing capacity and fishing effort up to sustainable levels; Enforcement of the Maritime Zones of India (Regulation of Fishing by Foreign Vessels) Act, 1981; proposal for installation of Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) in fishing boats; MCS to disallow destructive gears; proper monitoring of legal instruments under state level Marine Fishing Regulation Acts; and a proposed Central legislation for regulation of fishing by Indian vessels in the EEZ area under finalization. Regional cooperation is critical for the long-term sustainable protection of fish resources and the marine environment. While India is a signatory to several international conventions such as the United Nations Convention on Law of the Seas (UNCLOS), FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries (CCRF) and Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC), a regular dialogue between countries bordering specific waters such as Indian ocean is imperative for ensuring proper management and equity of fisheries in the region.
Climate change has been found to have a significant impact on all spheres of our life including agriculture, livestock, fisheries, forestry and the general health of the people. Stock assessments and management strategies may have to undergo rapid and major revisions, the extent of which is not known for the present. Located in tropical belt with innate high temperatures and in the path of annual cyclones and storm surges, climate change is one of the major concerns for sustaining Indian fisheries. A related aspect is the disaster management strategies, that call for intense regional cooperation.
There are now proposals to certify fish stocks in different regions, as being proposed by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) and this could become a norm across the countries in the coming years. Product certification is a welcome step for sustaining the resources. However, considering the multispecies nature of resources and harvest by a number of craft and gear combinations overlapping several species, product certification either for species or habitat is however difficult for tropical fisheries.
Our projections for annual fish production by the year 2012 is of the order of 10 million tonnes. The production from aquaculture in the country has been showing an impressive annual growth rate of over 6% and a cumulative growth of 800%, i.e. from 0.37 million tonnes in 1980 to 3.37 million tonnes in 2008. The segments of freshwater aquaculture, coastal aquaculture and mariculture, apart from a portion coldwater fisheries are expected to contribute in significant measures to the fish basket of the country in the coming years. The issues that are being addressed in this area include water management, leasing policy of waters, species diversification, quality seed, provision of adequate feeds, health management, post-harvest processing and transport, quality assurance and certification for both exports and domestic product. Biodiversity management and possible pollution from aquaculture practices are being duly addressed, with registration of shrimp farms, for example, in the country.
I am happy to state that India has one of the robust and innovative institutional mechanism in different aspects of fisheries with regard to research, development, promotion, financing and regulation. The policy framework in the federal structure of administration is continuously revisited and upgraded in tune with the changing requirements, both national and international. The goal is to achieve the prosperity of the fisher, with sustainable fish production with due attention to the health of the environment.
At this Conference, I look forward to getting a glimpse of different approaches to these aspects from all over the world, for achieving sustained growth of the fisheries sector. I am happy to be amidst my colleagues from different countries and take this opportunity to state that India proposes to host the next International Conference of Fisheries Ministers and invite the Hon’ble Ministers to India for the next Conference.
Thank you.
