June 30, 2020
Tamil Nadu had the highest catch, with 0.78 million tonnes, followed by Gujarat at 0.75 million tonnes and Kerala at 0.54 million tonnes
The red toothed triggerfish, caught for feed mills, became the most landed resource with 0.27 million tonnes
Despite 8 cyclonic storms in 2019, the estimated value of marine fish landings across India was US$8.1 billion, a 15.6 per cent increase over 2018
The Indian Government recently approved the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana scheme worth US$2.7 billion to boost the fisheries sector
A report on annual marine fish landings published by the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI), Kochi, showed that India’s marine production registered an increase of 2.1 per cent in 2019 compared to the previous year. Tamil Nadu had the highest catch, with 0.78 million tonnes, followed by Gujarat at 0.75 million tonnes and Kerala at 0.54 million tonnes.
The report recorded an unusual finding – the red toothed triggerfish, a fish that has little demand in domestic markets, became the most landed resource with 0.27 million tonnes, caught for feed mills. The other high landings included ribbon fish (0.22 million tonnes), penaeid prawns (0.2 million tonnes), and non-penaeid prawns (0.18 million tonnes).
Despite eight cyclonic storms lashing the west coast of the country, the estimate of the value of marine fish landings across the country in 2019 was US$8.1 billion, showing a 15.6 per cent increase over the previous year. India is ranked third in world marine fish production, after China and Indonesia.
Fisheries and aquaculture provide livelihoods to more than 20 million at the primary level and twice the number along the value chain. Meanwhile, fish being an affordable and rich source of animal protein is one of the healthiest options to mitigate hunger and malnutrition. This month, the Government of India approved a scheme to boost the potential of the country’s fisheries sector, by launching the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY) scheme.
The scheme aims to bring about a “Blue Revolution” through sustainable development of the fisheries sector in India and has been allocated the highest ever investment of US$2.7 billion for the fisheries sector. PMMSY will be implemented over a period of five years from FY 2020-21 to 2024-25 in all States and Union Territories. The scheme comes as part of the Indian Government’s efforts to drive self-reliance in different sectors of the economy, following a Rs.21-trillion COVID-19 stimulus package.