Status, prospects and management of small pelagic fisheries in India

Abstract

The annual small pelagic fish production increased from 0.30 million mt during 1950-54 to 1.24 million mt during 1996 along the Indian coast. The 4 fold increase was possible due to several technological advancements. The potenrial yield from the pelagic resources of the EEZ is estimated to be 2.2 million mt. As there is no further scope for increasing the production from the inshore waters, there is need to bring the outer shelf and oceanic waters into increasing levels of exploitation