Fishing in India Fishing in India is a major industry in its coastal states, employing over 14 million people.

Fish production in India has increased more than tenfold since its independence in 1947. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, fish output in India doubled between 1990 and 2010.[1] India has 8,118 kilometers of marine coastline, 3,827 fishing villages, and 1,914 traditional fish landing centers. India's fresh water resources consist of 195,210 kilometers of rivers andcanals, 2.9 million hectares of minor and major reservoirs, 2.4 million hectares of ponds andlakes, and about 0.8 million hectares of flood plain wetlands and water bodies.[2] As of 2010, the marine and freshwater resources offered a combined sustainable catch fishing potential of over 4 million metric tonnes of fish. In addition, India's water and natural resources offer a tenfold growth potential in aquaculture (farm fishing) from 2010 harvest levels of 3.9 million metric tonnes of fish, if India were to adopt fishing knowledge, regulatory reforms, andsustainability policies adopted by China over the last two decades. The marine fish harvested in India consist of about 65 commercially important species/groups. Pelagic and midwater species contributed about 52% of the total marine fish in 2004. India is a major supplier of fish in the world. In 2006 the country exported over 600,000 metric tonnes of fish, to some 90 countries, earning over $1.8 billion.[3] Shrimps are one of the major varieties exported. The giant tiger prawn (Penaeus monodon) is the dominant species chosen for aquaculture, followed by the Indian white prawn (Fenneropenaeus indicus). Shrimp production from coastal aquaculture during 2004 stood at approximately

120,000 tonnes. Farmed shrimp accounted for about 60% of shrimp exported from the country. Marine and freshwater catch fishing combined with aquaculture fish farming is a rapidly growing industry in India. In 2008 India was the sixth largest producer of marine and freshwater capture fisheries, and the second largest aquaculture farmed fish producer in the world.[4] Fish as foodboth from fish farms and catch fisheriesoffers India one of the easiest and fastest way to address malnutrition and food security. Despite rapid growth in total fish production, a fish farmers average annual production in India is only 2 metric tonnes per person, compared to 172 tonnes in Norway, 72 tonnes inChile, and 6 tonnes per fisherman in China.[4] Higher productivity, knowledge transfer for sustainable fishing, continued growth in fish production with increase in fish exports have the potential for increasing the living standards of Indian fishermen. As of 2010, fish harvest distribution was difficult within India because of poor rural road infrastructure, lack of cold storage and absence of organized retail in most parts of the country.

Growth It rose from only 800,000 tons in FY 1950 to 4.1 million tons in the early 1990s. From 1990 through 2010, Indian fish industry growth has accelerated, reaching a total marine and freshwater fish production to about 8 million metric tons. Special efforts have been made to promote extensive and intensive inland fish farming, modernize coastal fisheries, and encourage deep-sea fishing through joint ventures. These efforts led to a more than fourfold increase in coastal fish production from 520,000 tons in FY 1950 to 2.4 million tons in FY 1990. The increase in inland fish production was even more dramatic, increasing

almost eightfold from 218,000 tons in FY 1950 to 1.7 million tons in FY 1990. The value of fish and processed fish exports increased from less than 1 percent of the total value of exports in FY 1960 to 3.6 percent in FY 1993. Between 1990 to 2007, fish production in India has grown at a higher rate than food grains,milk, eggs, and other food items. Economic benefits Fishing in India contributed over 1 percent of India's annual gross domestic product in 2008. Catch fishing in India employs about 14.5 million people. The country's rich marine and inland water resources, fisheries and aquaculture offer an attractive and promising sector for employment, livelihood, and food security. Fish products from India are well received by almost half of world's countries, creating export-driven employment opportunities in India and greater food security for the world. During the past decades the Indian fisheries and aquaculture has witnessed improvements in craft, tackle and farming methods. Creation of required harvest and post-harvest infrastructure has been receiving due attention of the central and state governments. All this has been inducing a steady growth.[2] To harvest the economic benefits from fishing, India is adopting exclusive economic zone, stretching 200 nautical miles (370 km) into the Indian Ocean, encompasses more than 2 million square kilometers. In the mid-1980s, only about 33 percent of that area was being exploited. The potential annual catch from the area has been estimated at 4.5 million tons. In addition to this marine zone, India has about 14,000 km of brackish water available for aquaculture, of which only 600 km were being farmed in the early 1990s; about 16,000 km of freshwater lakes, ponds, and swamps; and nearly 64,000 kilometers of rivers andstreams.

Fishery
Introduction Generally, a fishery is an entity engaged in raising or harvesting fish which is determined by some authority to be a fishery. According to the FAO, a fishery is typically defined in terms of the "people involved, species or type of fish, area of water or seabed, method of fishing, class of boats, purpose of the activities or a combination of the foregoing features". The definition often includes a combination of fish and fishers in a region, the latter fishing for similar species with similar gear types. A fishery may involve the capture of wild fish or raising fish through fish farmingor aquaculture. Directly or indirectly, the livelihood of over 500 million people in developing countries depends on fisheries and aquaculture.Overfishing, including the taking of fish beyond sustainable levels, is reducingfish stocks and employment in many world regions. If fisheries are poorly managed, environmental impacts go unchecked. Unsustainable fishing practices put seafood resources and fishing livelihoods at risk the United Nations FAO estimates that 11 of the world's 15 major fishing areas, and 69 percent of the world's major fish species, are in decline and in need of urgent management.

Conclusion It has been Concluded that most fisheries are wild fisheries, but farmed fisheries are increasing. Farming can occur in coastal areas, such as with oyster farms, but more typically occur inland, in lakes, ponds, tanks and other enclosures. There are species fisheries worldwide for finfish, mollusks, crustaceans and echinoderms, and by extension, aquatic plants such askelp. However, a very small number of species support the majority of the worlds fisheries. Some of these species are herring, cod,anchovy, tuna, flounder, mullet, squid, shrimp, salmon, crab, lobster, oyster and scallops. All except these last four provided a worldwide catch of well over a million tonnes in 1999, with herring and sardines together providing a harvest of over 22 million metric tons in 1999. Many other species are harvested in smaller numbers.