Go, fish: India's blue economy surges amid call for sustainable practices

Production and exports have risen in recent years, creating employment for millions

Ashoka’s two millennia old pillar edicts include directives on fish which are "to be fully protected during breeding" and other instructions against their "careless slaughter".

The Ocean 20 Dialogue starting May 21 in Mumbai seeks to support sustainable fishing, too. The event on the use of ocean resources is part of the Group of 20 (G20) talks, and will also look at financing sustainability in the blue economy. That economy has no one definition, but fishing is a key component of it. India’s fish production has grown in recent years and the surge is inland, shows an analysis of government data as seen in chart 1 (click image for interactive chart).

 

The increased production has helped exports and brought in more dollars. Exports of fish and fish products crossed $7 billion in 2021-22, compared to $3.5 billion ten years ago (chart 2).


 

India’s biggest markets are the United States of America and China, with the latter driving growth. The US accounted for around 18 per cent of India’s marine product exports by value in 2011-12. It increased to nearly 43 per cent by 2021-22.

India accounted for 8.2 per cent of global fish production as of 2020, compared to 7.3 per cent in 2017.

Ten states account for the bulk of fish production but their output varies. Andhra Pradesh has a far higher production relative to its fishing population than other states. Bihar, where unemployment is high, has significantly more people engaged in fishing relative to the state’s production of fish (chart 3).

It may have to do with the nature of the states. Bihar is landlocked though it has access to inland fishing. Other institutional factors may also play a role in the productivity of individual states. Constraints such as Bihar's access to feed and other inputs, and lack of market connectivity have been noted in the past.

How well such institutional constraints are addressed while dealing with the international push for sustainable practices may determine whether India can maintain the growth in fishing. At least 28 million people in India are dependent on fish for livelihood, according to the latest government numbers.

This is nearly three times the population of Sweden.