The history of fisheries research in India goes back to the early 19th century,
when dried or preserved material was sent to the Museums of Natural History in
England and other European countries for identification and cataloguing (Silas,
2003). Some of the earliest scientific observations on fisheries in pre-independent
India were the works of Francis Hamilton-Buchanan (1822) and Francis Day,
whose initial work on ‘The Fishes of Malabar’ (1865), was followed by a
monograph on ‘The Fishes of India’ (1875-78); and two more volumes on ‘Fishes’
in ‘The Fauna of British India, including Ceylon and Burma’ (1889).
The enactment of Indian Fisheries Act of 1897 was a major landmark in the
development of fisheries in pre-independent India. In the latter half of 19th century,
emphasis on coastal and deep-water surveys in the Bay of Bengal and Andaman
Sea led to possession of valuable information on new deepwater fauna of fishes
and crustaceans, hydrology and plankton. The initial work by the Zoological
Survey of India on fisheries and marine biology through eminent leadership of its
Directors, viz. Nelsen Annandale, Stanley Kemp, Seymour Sewell, Baini Prasad
and S. L. Hora during first half of the 20th century led to generation of several
first hand information on the taxonomy, bionomics, eco-biology, hydrology, and
fish and fisheries of upland lakes, rivers and coastal waters. The emphasis shifted
from coastal and deep-water surveys in the Bay of Bengal and Andaman Sea to
upland lakes, rivers and coastal waters in the beginning of the 20th century. With
the establishment of the Bureau of Fisheries in 1907, the Madras Presidency
became the pioneer for fisheries development in India. Establishment of the Marine
Biological Station at Krusadai Island in 1924 and subsequently at West Hill and
Ennore led to organized research programmes on pearl and chank fisheries in the
Gulf of Mannar
