Union Minister of State for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry, and Dairying, L Murugan, highlighted the crucial role of research and design in upgrading fishing vessels to tap into the potential of deep-sea fishing sustainably.
During a technical session at the Global Fisheries Conference India 2023, Murugan stressed the global demand for tuna fish and India’s capacity to increase tuna fishing. However, he emphasized the necessity for technological advancements in this sector. The government is actively supporting traditional fishermen, offering up to 60% financial assistance to convert their vessels into deep-sea fishing boats. Additionally, loan facilities are available to facilitate this transformation.
Murugan underscored the importance of modern fishing vessels equipped with in-built processing facilities to meet international quality standards for deep-sea fishing. Acknowledging the current lack of capabilities among traditional fishermen, he assured that the government is committed to bridging this gap.
In a separate technical session, Simon Feunge-Smith, a senior fishery officer at the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the UN, discussed the 37% increase in per capita fish consumption worldwide over the last 25 years. He called for increased blue finance to drive innovations and developments in aquaculture, considering the critical threats posed by climate change and the growing demand for food and nutritional security.
Feunge-Smith highlighted that Asia contributes 89% of global aquaculture production, amounting to 82 million tonnes, providing jobs for 20.5 million people in the primary sector.
Deep-sea fishing, conducted beyond the 12 nautical mile limit of territorial waters, is within the exclusive economic zone of 200 nautical miles from the shore.
World Bank consultant Arthur Neiland emphasized the untapped potential of yellowfin and skipjack tunas in India’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ), estimating a harvest potential of 179,000 tonnes. However, the actual harvest is only 25,259 tonnes, indicating a utilization rate of merely 12%. Neiland called for public and private sector investment in deep-sea fishing, citing potential economic, social, and environmental benefits. Leveraging India’s institutional expertise in fisheries science, management, processing, and infrastructure was also highlighted as beneficial for the development of deep-sea fishing plans.
