India has a coastline of 8,118 km and an Exclusive Economic Zone of 2.02 million sq. km, which harbours 2,275 species of teleosts, 174 species of elasmobranchs, 3,400 species of molluscs, 2,783 species of crustaceans, 936 species of seaweeds, 14 species of seagrasses, 765 species of echinoderms and 486 sponges. Of these ~1000 species contribute to commercial fisheries and are harvested by nearly 30 fishing craft-gear combinations operating in various regions of the Indian seas. In 2022, the landing centre value of marine fisheries of mainland India was estimated at `58,247 crores, providing livelihood and nutritional security to over 28 million stakeholders.
