As climate change accelerates, India’s fishing communities are being pushed into perilous high-seas ventures, often far beyond the country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ). Overfishing, reef destruction, and rising sea temperatures have decimated nearshore fish stocks, forcing many fishermen to journey into distant waters in search of a better catch, where they face mounting dangers and legal risks.
In February 2023, a fishing vessel was struck by a container ship off the southern coast of India, leaving the crew stranded in the open sea until nearby boats rescued them. Incidents like this are becoming more frequent, as fishermen venture hundreds of kilometers beyond the safety of the Indian coast to escape the depleted local waters.
The dangers of such deep-sea expeditions are not limited to collisions. Many fishermen risk crossing international maritime boundaries, leading to the detention of over 2,600 Indian fishers across 10 countries between 2020 and 2022. Border violations, often unintentional, have landed fishers in foreign prisons, with deadly consequences in some cases.
The warming Indian Ocean is also contributing to the problem. Scientists report that sea surface temperatures in the region have risen faster than any other ocean since the 1950s. This increase has resulted in a decline of up to 20% in phytoplankton populations, the base of the marine food chain, reducing the availability of fish. Additionally, the rise in sea temperatures has led to an uptick in tropical cyclones, further endangering fishing operations.
Compounding these issues is the rapid erosion of India’s coastline, with nearly a third of it disappearing due to sand mining, construction projects, and natural factors. Experts have also identified overfishing as a significant driver behind the collapse of marine fish stocks, particularly along India’s southwest coast.
In response to dwindling nearshore fish populations, some fishing communities in Tamil Nadu have embraced deep-sea fishing as a solution. Venturing up to 1,300 kilometres offshore, they aim to catch species like tuna, ray, shark, and billfish, often staying at sea for weeks at a time. This practice is encouraged by the Indian government, which promotes deep-sea fishing through the National Fisheries Policy to tap under-exploited marine resources.
However, the transition to deep-sea fishing comes with its own set of challenges. In addition to the physical dangers, fishers also face legal hurdles when crossing international waters. Despite new regulations requiring permits for fishing beyond India’s EEZ, many continue to fish in contested waters, leading to arrests and even fatalities.
Efforts to rebuild fisheries closer to shore include India’s Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) Notification and state-level regulations aimed at conserving sensitive coastal ecosystems. However, experts argue that more needs to be done to address the root causes of the crisis, including climate change and overfishing. Proposals such as no-take marine protected areas, which prohibit fishing in certain regions to allow fish stocks to recover, are gaining traction as potential solutions.
In the meantime, technological advances like the advisories sent out by the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services, which direct fishermen to productive fishing grounds, are helping some. Yet the long-term recovery of India’s coastal fisheries remains uncertain, and many fishermen are left navigating increasingly dangerous waters in search of their livelihood.
