Handbook on Fisheries Statistics 2020

The total fish production in India for the year 2019-20 stands at 141.64 lakh tonnes. This is roughly a 40 per cent increase from the year 2015-16 when production was around 107.6 lakh tonnes.

The handbook found that India’s total marine fish production - fishing carried out in the ocean or saltwater regions - during the year 2019-20 was 37.27 lakh tonnes. Gujarat led with 7.01 lakh tonnes of marine fish produce, followed by Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh with 5.83 and 5.64 lakh tonnes, respectively.

India’s total inland fish production - fishing carried out in rivers or lakes in the country - in the year 2019-20 stood at 104.37 lakh tons with Andhra Pradesh ranking the highest with 36.1 lakh tonnes of inland fish produce. West Bengal and Bihar followed with 16.19 and 6.41 lakh tonnes, respectively.

The value of exported fish and fish products increased from around 30,420 crores in the year 2015-16 to more than 46,662 crores in 2019-20. The quantity of the exports also rose during that time from 9.46 lakh tonnes to 12.9 lakh tonnes.

Citing data from the Marine Products Export Development Authority, Government of India, Kochi, the handbook states that frozen shrimp comprised 51 per cent (652,253 metric tons) of the exports in 2019-20, a seven percent increase from the previous year’s exports of shrimp. On the other hand, frozen fish accounted for 312,348 metric tons in 2010-11 and declined to 223,318 metric tons in 2019-20.

As per the handbook, the total expenditure towards the development of the fisheries sector in 2019-20 amounted to Rs. 64,025.86 lakh. In the previous year, the fisheries sector had contributed Rs. 212,915 crores (gross value added) to the Indian economy.

Tripura recorded the highest per capita per year consumption of fish in 2019-20 at 29.29 kilograms. It was followed by Kerala (19.41 kilograms), Manipur (14.1 kilograms), and Odisha (13.79 kilograms).

In the year 2019-20, out of the 121.79 lakh tonnes of total fish catch, 91.43 lakh tonnes were sent for sale in the market, 16.81 lakh tonnes were frozen, 5.2 lakh tonnes were cured and 0.36 lakh tonnes went for canning.

Females constituted 44 per cent of the total fishermen population (fish farmers, fish workers and fishers) in India. This amounts to 12.3 million of the overall 28 million fishermen in the country. The share of female fishermen in the overall fishermen population was slightly higher in marine fisheries (47 per cent) than in inland fisheries (44 per cent).

As per the handbook, the highest population of fishermen was found in Bihar (six million) followed by Uttar Pradesh (3.9 million), West Bengal (3.2 million) and Assam (2.5 million).

Focus and Factoids by Naomi Fargose.