Lok Sabha Question No. 2810 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-03-18
Subject: Coastal Development
Ministry: FISHERIES, ANIMAL HUSBANDRY AND DAIRYING
Asked by: Shri Manickam Tagore B, Shri Vijayakumar Alias Vijay Vasanth

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF FISHERIES, ANIMAL HUSBANDRY AND DAIRYING DEPARTMENT OF FISHERIES

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION No. 2810 TO BE ANSWERED ON 18 th  March 2025

## Coastal Development

## 2810. Shri Manickam Tagore B: Shri Vijayakumar Alias Vijay Vasanth:

Will the MINISTER OF FISHERIES, ANIMAL HUSBANDRY AND DAIRYING be pleased to state:

- a)  the  measures taken to mitigate habitat destruction caused by coastal development, pollution, and destructive fishing practices; be pleased (b) whether the Government working with State Governments and environmental agencies to protect and restore critical fish habitats: (c) if so, the impacts of climate change on fisheries such as rising sea temperatures and altered ocean currents and initiatives are in place to help fishermen adapt to changing fish distributions and ensure the long-term viability of the sector, (d) the steps taken to curb illegal, unreported and unregulated IUU fishing and extent to which the Government collaborating with international bodies and coastal states to combat this issue and the penalties are in place for those engaged in IUU fishing: (e) whether the fisheries sector is often subjected to market fluctuations that affect the price stability for fishers; (f) the steps taken by the Government to address the issue of price instability and ensure
2. fair and predictable income for fishermen?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR FISHERIES, ANIMAL HUSBANDRY AND DAIRYING (SHRI GEORGE KURIAN)

(a): The 'National Policy on Marine Fisheries, 2017 notified by the Government of India, provides guiding principles of conservation and optimum utilization of fisheries resources. The policy also highlights marine environment and pollution issues including micro-plastic and ghost nets. The policy supports regulatory mechanisms to control pollutants from land and sea-based sources, which can be effectively controlled and the ecosystems monitored for pollution related aspects. To combat marine plastic pollution, particularly from fishing and maritime sectors, the Department of Fisheries, Government of India has been actively engaged in the global efforts like Glolitter Partnership Project and Reglitter Project both of which are jointly implemented by the International Maritime Organization (IMO), Food, and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (UN-FAO).

These projects focus on preventing and reducing  Marine Plastic Litter (MPL) from seabased sources, with an emphasis on addressing abandoned, lost, or discarded fishing gear (ALDFG) and wastes from ships. As a Lead Partnering Country (LPC) in the Glolitter Project, Department of Fisheries, Government of India has published its National Action Plan (NAP), which outlines strategic measures to reduce Marine Plastic Litter from Seabased Sources. To address the issues of destructive fishing, the Government of India has banned fishing methods such as pair or bull trawling and the use of LED or artificial lights for fishing in the EEZ area.

(b) and (c): To ensure long-term viability of the sector and to address the issues related to climate change, protection and restoration of critical habitat, the Department of Fisheries, Government of India is working closely with the State Governments and environmental agencies. These efforts include establishment of artificial reefs along the entire coastline of  India,  conduct  of  sea  ranching,  promotion  of  seaweed  farming,  implementation  of uniform fishing ban for 61 days during the major fish breeding period and installation of Turtle  Excluder  Devices  (TEDs)  in  trawl  nets  for  conservation  of  turtles,  etc.  Further, advisories are issued to States/UTs to take measures to prevent juvenile fishing such as implementation of mesh size regulations and minimum legal size of fish under their Marine Fishing Regulation Acts (MFRAs) to ensure sustainable and responsible fishing practices. In addition, to enhance the economic resilience of coastal communities impacted by the climate change, the Department of Fisheries, Government of India under the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY) has identified 100 coastal fishermen villages situated close to the coastline as Climate Resilient Coastal Fishermen Villages (CRCFV). The  activities  in  the  identified  coastal  fishermen  villages  are  need-based  facilities, including common facilities like fish drying yards, fish processing centers, fish markets, fishing jetties, ice plants, cold storages, and emergency rescue facilities. The Government is  promoting  climate  resilient  livelihoods  like  aquaculture,  especially  the  mariculture  of seaweed,  food  and  ornamental  fishes,  bivalves  etc  through  the  schemes  of  the Department  of  Fisheries  in  a  large  way.  Additionally,  the  ICAR-Fisheries  Research Institutes  have  been  contributing  to  enhance  inland  and  marine  aquaculture  through ongoing research, technology development, and capacity-building with funding support of the Government of India.

(d): The regulatory framework such as Maritime Zones of India (Regulation of fishing by foreign  vessels)  Act,  1981  and  the  Marine  Fishing  Regulation  Acts  of  all  maritime States/Union Territories have provisions to prevent certain forms of Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated  (IUU)  fishing  by  foreign  vessels  and  Indian  vessels  respectively.  Further, implementation of ReALCraft, a web-based portal for registration and licensing of fishing vessels, issuance of biometric identity cards to marine fishers and vessel communication and  support  system  supported  under  the  Pradhan  Mantri  Matsya  Sampada  Yojana (PMMSY) also help in prevention of IUU fishing. In addition, the Fishery Survey of India (FSI) is conducting awareness programs in coastal fishing villages across the country to educate fishers about the FAO-CCRF (Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries) and need for prevention of IUU fishing. The Department of Fisheries, Government of India, is also collaborating with the international bodies, like the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC),  which  works  to  prevent,  deter  and  eliminate  IUU  fishing  in  the  Indian  Ocean region.

(e) and (f): To address the issue of price instability and ensure fair and predictable income for  fishermen,  PMMSY  has  supported  27189  units  of  fish  transportation  facilities (refrigerated vehicles, insulated vehicles, two wheelers/ three wheelers), 21 state-of-theart wholesale fish markets, 202 fish retail markets, 6694 fish kiosks and 5 E-platforms for e-trading and e-marketing of fish and fisheries products in all the States/UTs across the country with a total outlay of Rs. 1654.51 crore. To provide real-time and accurate price information  to  fishers  and  fish  farmers  and  to  help  them  to  negotiate  better  price,  the Department through the National Fisheries Development Board (NFDB) has launched the 'Fish Market  Price  Information  System'  (FMPIS)  during  2018-19  to  capture  and disseminate fish market prices of commercially important marine and inland fishes from 111  wholesale  and  retail  fish  markets  in  29  States/UTs.  Further,  the  Department  of Fisheries signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Open Network for Digital Commerce  (ONDC)  with  an  objective  to  provide  a  digital  platform  and  empower  all stakeholders  including  traditional  fishermen,  fish  farmers'  producer  organizations  and entrepreneurs in the fisheries sector to buy and sell their products through e-marketplace.

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