India: Rights for fishermen over marine resources

Data on fishermen population in the country has been compiled in consultation with States/UTs Department of Fisheries and such data reveals that there are a total of 2,80,63,538 fishermen in the country. The state-wise details of the fishermen population are furnished as Annexure-I.

All the coastal State/Union Territories have already enacted their Marine Fishing Regulation Acts (MFRAs) / Marine Fishing Regulations to govern fishing activities within 12 nautical miles of territorial waters. The coastal States/UTs through these MFRAs have earmarked the zones/sea areas reserved for fishing only by the traditional fishermen using non-motorized and motorized fishing boats, wherein mechanized fishing vessels are not allowed to fish, e.g., Gujarat has reserved the area up to 9 nautical miles from the shore, Goa has reserved the area up to 2.7 nautical miles from the coast-line; Karnataka has reserved the area up to 3.23 nautical miles from the shore or up to 4 fathoms (whichever is farther) for traditional crafts; Tamil Nadu and Odisha have reserved the areas up to 5 nautical miles for traditional non-mechanized boats, and Andhra Pradesh has reserved the area upto 4.3 nautical miles from the shore for traditional crafts.

This information was given by the Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying Shri Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lalan Singh, in a written reply in Rajya Sabha on 11^th December 2024.