India Emerges as World’s Second-Largest Fish Producer with Nearly 8% Global Share.
National
In 2023–24, India emerged as the world’s second-largest fish producer, accounting for approximately 8% of total global fish production. This impressive achievement is rooted in robust growth across inland fisheries and aquaculture, driven by government initiatives like the Blue Revolution (Neel Kranti Mission) and the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY). The fisheries sector now plays a vital role in food security, export earnings, rural livelihoods, and national GDP.
- India’s fish production nearly doubled over a decade—from 95.79 lakh tonnes in 2013–14 to 184.02 lakh tonnes in 2023–24, reflecting an addition of 88.23 lakh tonnes. Within this, inland and aquaculture production surged by 77.71 lakh tonnes, while marine production expanded from 5.02 lakh to 10.52 lakh tonnes.
- According to FAO’s State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture (SOFIA) 2024, India contributes about 8% of global aquatic animal production, ranking second only to China, and leads in inland fish production globally. The sector employs around 30 million people, mostly in rural and coastal communities, and contributes roughly 1.07% of national GDP, and over 6.7% to agricultural GDP or Gross Value Added (GVA).
- Exports also soared: in 2023–24, India exported 17.81 lakh metric tonnes of marine products, earning around ₹60,524 crore, up dramatically from ₹609.95 crore in 2003–04.
Main Point :- (i) Government schemes underpinning this growth include the Blue Revolution, launched in FY 2015–16 with an initial allocation of ₹3,000 crore, and PMMSY (2020–25), an umbrella mission with ₹20,050 crore funding aimed at doubling fish farmers’ incomes, modernizing infrastructure, and boosting exports via PM-MKSSY (Pradhan Mantri Matsya Kisan Samridhi Sah-Yojana).
(ii) Infrastructure development under these schemes includes funding through the Fisheries and Aquaculture Infrastructure Development Fund (FIDF) (₹7,522 crore approved), creation of Integrated Aquaparks (11 approved at ₹682.6 crore), and installation of 937 artificial reefs across coastal states at ₹291.37 crore.
(iii) India’s leadership in fisheries is supported by institutions like the National Fisheries Development Board (NFDB) and Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI), which coordinate data collection, stock assessments, resource mapping, and promote sustainable practices as part of India’s Blue Transformation agenda.
____________________________
