Fiscal reforms for fisheries in India - A case study^[40]

by
Yugraj Singh Yadava^[41]

1. Introduction

The fisheries sector occupies a very important place in the socio-economic development of India. The sector has been recognized as a powerful income and employment generator as it stimulates growth of a number of subsidiary industries and is a source of cheap and nutritious food. At the same time it is an instrument of livelihood for a large section of economically backward population of the country. More than 6.0 million fishermen and fish farmers in the country depend on fisheries and aquaculture for their livelihood. The fisheries sector has also been one of the major contributors of foreign exchange earnings through export.

The main objectives of fisheries and aquaculture development programmes of the Government of India during the Tenth Five-Year Plan (2002-2007) have been towards optimization of production and productivity, augmentation of export of marine products, generation of employment and welfare of fisherfolk communities and their socio-economic status. The detailed objectives are as follows:

• Enhancing the production of fish and the productivity of fishermen, fisherwomen, fish farmers and the fishing industry.

• Generating employment and higher income in fisheries sector.

• Improving the socio-economic conditions of traditional fisherfolk and fish farmers.

• Augmenting the export of marine, brackish and freshwater fin and shell-fishes and other aquatic species.

• Increasing the per capita availability and consumption of fish to about 11 kg per annum.

• Adopting an integrated approach to marine and inland fisheries and aquaculture taking into account the needs for responsible and sustainable fisheries and aquaculture, and

• Conservation of aquatic resources and genetic diversity.

2. Overview of the fisheries sector

After the declaration of the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) in 1977, the area available to India is 2.02 million km², comprising 0.86 million km² on the west coast, 0.56 million km² on the east coast and 0.60 million km² around the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. With the absolute right on the EEZ, India has also acquired the responsibility to conserve, protect, develop and optimally exploit the marine living resources up to 200 nautical miles of the coastline.

The harvestable potential of marine fishery resource in the EEZ has been estimated at about 3 921 million tonnes^[42] (Table 1). An estimation of the depth-wise potential shows that about 58 percent of the resources are available in 0-50 metre depth, 35 percent in 50-200 metre depth and 7 percent in depths beyond 200 metre. The length of the coastline, continental shelf area, landing centres and fishing villages are shown in Table 2.The marine fishing fleet comprises about 0.226 million traditional craft (including about 44 578 motorized traditional craft). In addition there are 53 684 mechanized craft and about 80 large fishing vessels of 21 metre overall length (OAL) and more (Table 3). As seen by the number of traditional craft and small-mechanized vessels, the major fishing activities are still concentrated in the areas within 0 to 70 - 80 metre depth zone. Trawling by larger vessels is confined to the northeast coast (Bay of Bengal). As compared to the west coast, concentration of traditional craft (Including motorized) is more on the east coast (about 57 percent of the total). In the case of mechanized vessels, the trend is reverse. The scale of mechanization is also reflected in the total fish landings of the two coasts.

Fish production and trend

Total fish production in the country increased from 0.752 million tonnes in 1950-1951 to 6.186 million tonnes during 2002-2003 of which 2 980 million tonnes were from the marine sector and the remaining from inland fisheries. The average annual growth rate in fish production during the period 1990-1991 to 2002-2003 was 4.45 percent. During 2002-2003, the marine and inland sectors recorded a growth of 5.07 percent and 2.46 percent respectively (Table 4).

The growth in marine fish production over the recent years has been rather slow (an average of 2.20 percent during the period 1991-1992 to 2002-2003) as compared to the inland fisheries (average of 6.55 percent during the corresponding period) (Table 4). Penaeid shrimps, which dominate the export front, are at their optimum exploitation levels, whereas tuna and cephalopods are the two least exploited fisheries owning to limited operational range of the majority of the present fishing fleets. Several other species in the continental shelf are exploited only up to 50 m depth. An overview of Plan-wise (1950-1951 to 1997-2002) development and thrust areas is given in Annex.

3. Institutional set up and exploitation of fisheries

Entry 57 of List 1 of Seventh Schedule of the Constitution specifies Fishing and Fisheries beyond Territorial Waters as Union Subject, whereas Entry 21 of List II speaks of Fisheries as a State Subject. Reading both the Entries together, it follows that control and regulation of fishing and fisheries within territorial waters is the exclusive province of the State, whereas beyond the territorial waters, it is the exclusive domain of the Union. The Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India as per its allocated business helps the coastal States and Union Territories (UTs) in developing the fisheries within the territorial waters, besides attending to the requirements of the sector in the EEZ. Therefore, management of fishery resources in the country, including exploitation in the EEZ requires harmonization in terms of policy and legal framework supporting fisheries sector and also a close coordination between the Centre and the States.

Marine capture fisheries constitute a source of valuable food and employment, and a net contributor to the balance of payment. The marine fisheries production has progressively increased by nearly six times during the past 50 years. The major fish production comes from the coastal resources, which contribute on an average 50 percent of the total fish production (including freshwater fish production). In the 3 651 fishing villages situated along the 8 118 km coastline about 1 million are employed, full-time, in marine capture fisheries. However, there are clear signals, which suggest that the resources in the inshore waters are being fully exploited, and the scope for increasing the production from the present level is limited.

Overview of the key issues in marine fisheries

The most important characteristic of marine capture fisheries is that the resources are a common property, the access to which is free and open. The sustained increase in the demand for seafood and the commensurate rise in prices have increasingly encouraged the induction of more manpower and fishing vessels with improved catching efficiency into the traditional as well as the new fishing grounds over the years. The growth of the fleets shows that the artisanal fleet (including the motorized) increased by about 110 percent from the 1960s to the 1990s and the mechanized fleet by about 570 percent during the same period (CMFRI, 1997).^[43] Coastal fisheries in India remained in a pre-developed phase till 1962 (pre-mechanization period; with the annual average production during 1950-1962 being <0.8 million tonnes), a prolonged growth phase till 1988 (intensive mechanization phase; annual production during 1963-1988 being 0.8 to 1.8 million of tonnes); followed by the fully exploited coastal areas (annual production being 1.8 to 2.8 million tonnest/year). Fishing effort increased steadily throughout the three phases of development, more so in the fully exploited phase. Marine fishing activity in India is an example of uncontrolled fisheries in the initial phase and inefficiently managed fisheries in the subsequent phases.

Increase in fishing intensity

The active fishers’ population increased from 234 478 in 1961-1962 to about one million in 1996-1997 (Devaraj et. al., 1997)^[44]. The increase in the number of active fishers’ population implies less fishing area per fisher. The number of active fishers per unit area in the inshore fishing grounds extending to a depth of 50 m increased from 1.3/km in 1961-1962 to 4.4/km in 1996-1997). In an open access system, crowding of fishers leads to competition and increased conflicts between them, resulting in an overall depletion of the resources.

After the progressive mechanization of the fishing fleets, the number of smaller mechanized craft of OAL 8 to 10 m are being gradually replaced by larger ones (OAL: 13 to 15

m), thereby considerably increasing the sea endurance, fish hold capacity and fishing efficiency of the vessels. Trawlers have become the mainstay of the fishing sector (50 percent of the total catches are from the trawlers).

Inappropriate exploitation patterns

Marine fisheries operations remained essentially an inshore activity till about the mid-1980s. Though fishing subsequently extended to the offshore areas, only about 20 percent of the total landings were from the offshore areas. It is estimated that 80 percent of the total fishing effort is employed in the inshore area, which causes enormous fishing pressure on the coastal fish stocks. Increasing competition between different fishing fleets as to who should have access to coastal fisheries resources and thereby benefit directly from the use of these resources is leading to conflicts and confrontations. These conflicts are also being increasingly witnessed between fishermen of adjoining coastal States.

Deep-sea fishing

Despite the tremendous growth in India’s marine fisheries during the past 50 years and the declaration of the EEZ in 1977, there has never been commercial deep-sea fishing worth mentioning. The Government of India chartered foreign vessels in the early 1980s and entered into joint venture arrangements with large industrial houses in the early 1990s for exploiting the deep-sea fisheries. The schemes were terminated a few years after commencement as the local fishers stiffly resisted them. Considering the annual potential of 3.9 million of tonnes (Table 1) and the present production of about 2.9 million of tonnes, which is largely from the coastal waters there is scope for increasing the annual production by 1.2 million of tonnes from the deep sea.

However, the fishable potential in unit area is considerably low in depths beyond 50 m (0.9 tonnes/km²) compared to that in the inshore waters (12.2 tonnes/km²). Also, the deep-sea fishing requires larger vessels (OAL > 17 m) with sophisticated fishing technologies involving high establishment and maintenance costs. It is estimated that 0.5 million of tonnes or about 40 percent of the unexploited stocks in the deep sea are the tunas, which undertake transoceanic migration. Realising the nature of distribution of the resources in the EEZ as well the high cost of exploiting them and the technology capability that is required, regional cooperation appears to be the most viable option for achieving the optimum potential benefits of the deep-sea.

Fisheries infrastructure

Infrastructure has been created for post-harvest facilities such as processing and marketing of fish and fish products. However, major efforts in this direction have been aimed at creation of landing and berthing facilities for fishing vessels in the major ports, minor ports and other places along the coastline. Plan programmes of the Ministry of Agriculture for infrastructure creation were initiated during the mid-1960s and since then six major fishery harbours (Table 5), 48 minor fishery harbours and 138 fish landing centres (FLCs) have been sanctioned (Table 6), of which six major, 30 minor and 130 FLCs have been set up so far.

Exports of marine products

There has been a significant increase, both in quantum and value of export of marine products, which crossed the 1 billion US $ mark in 1994-1995. Though shrimps account for about 28 percent in terms of volume and about 66 percent in terms of value, there has been diversification also and the country is now exporting frozen squid, cuttle fish/fillets, etc. in large quantities. India now exports marine products to about 70 countries but major buyers are USA, Japan and the European Union (EU).

Due to the thrust on export of marine products, the post-harvest facilities in this sector have come up at a much faster pace and largely comprise freezing and canning plants. It is estimated that there are about 378 freezing and 13 canning plants. About 52 processors have also set up Individual Quick Freezing Plants to export seafood in value-added form.

Structural changes in marine fisheries economy

Competition among fisherman for increasing catch continuously promotes structural changes in the coastal economy. Fishermen households along the coastal belt increased from about 0.35 million in 1980 to 0.5 million in 1997. Fishermen population in the coastal villages increased from 2 million in 1980 to 3 million in 1997 (Table 7). Average fishermen households per village declined from 146 to 137 and the active fishermen per village increased from 193 to 282 during 1980-1997. Similarly, when the total marine fish production increased from 1.5 million tonnes in 1980 to 2.3 million tonnes in 1997, the annual per capita production per active fishermen declined from 3 250 kg to 2 240 kg during the same period.

The manpower employed in India in active marine fishing (harvesting operation) alone is currently estimated at 1 025 million. The pre- and post-harvest operations in marine fisheries including the internal and external marketing provide employment to another 1.2 million people. On an average, a quantity of 5 kg marine fish produced, gives employment to about 2 persons, one in the harvesting and another in the post-harvest sector (Table 8).

The manpower employed in active fishing in the mechanized sector is estimated at 0.2 million people, which includes the 0.15 million fishermen engaged in the trawl fisheries alone and the remaining 0.05 million in gill-netters, dolnetters, purse seiners and others such as sona boats, and deep-sea fishing vessels. The motorized sector employs 0.17 million people in active fishing where 66 percent are engaged in the operation of ring-seines, mini-trawls and gillnets. The motorized dugout canoes, catamarans and plywood boats provide employment to about 58 000 persons in active fishing. The non-mechanized sector provides the maximum employment to 0.655 million people where 0.27 million people are engaged in catamarans, 0.2 million in plank-built boats and the rest in dugout canoes, masula boats and others (Tables 8 and 9).

Socio-economic status of fishermen

Fisheries is all pervading in the lives of more than 6.5 million fisherfolk (1992 census). It is one community which loves its vocation. Fishing villages all along the coastal waters in India are almost similar in their backwardness and underdevelopment. A study on the socio-economic profile of some traditional fishing villages (category I) and predominantly mechanized fishing villages (category II) show some disturbing trends. Housing is one of the most important yardsticks to measure the socio-economic status of any community. About 80 percent of the fisherfolk in traditional villages and 50 percent in mechanized fishing villages are living in huts. The overall literacy rate works out to 29 percent in category I and 33 percent in category II villages. With regard to the occupational pattern, owner operators are more (45 per cent) in category I villages and wage earners more (50 percent) in category II villages. People engaged in fishery related activities are comparatively more in category I villages. In category II villages 70 percent households are in debt and the average outstanding debt per indebted household works out to Rs 60 000 for category II villages as against Rs 12 000 for category I villages. About 55 percent of the credit requirements of fishermen in category I villages are supplied by moneylenders. In category II villages, banks advance a maximum of about 57 percent of the credit requirements. With regard to the annual household expenditure pattern, 80 percent household expenditure of fisherfolk families in category I villages and 67 percent in category II villages are on account of purchase of food items. In all fishing villages fishermen spent very meagre amount towards health care and education. Analysis of the ownership pattern of the means of production revealed that about 40 percent of fisherfolk households in traditional fishing villages do not possess any fishing equipment.

Marine fisheries provide substantial employment to human resource both in the production and post-harvest sectors. The labour force employed in marine fishery sector has shown a steady increase over the past two decades. Although the total marine fish landings have increased, the catch per unit of operation and the per capita production of labour steadily declined over the years. In spite of the decline in per capita production, different types of fishing units are sustaining due to the increase in price levels of almost all the varieties of marine fish.

Per capita investment, production, earnings and wages

During (1997), there were about 0.18 million non-mechanized craft, 45 000 motorized craft, 54 000 mechanized boats and 180 large fishing vessels engaged in marine fishing in the Indian seas. Intensive mechanization in the marine sector has led to increase in production but in the process marginalized the traditional sector. Mechanized sector landed hardly 30 percent of the total catch in 1974, which rose to 40 percent in 1980, and to about 72 percent in 1996 (Sathiadhas, 1997 a, b)^[45]. While the annual per capita production of active fishermen in the non-mechanized sector declined from 2 590 kg in 1980 to 420 kg in 1996-1997, it increased from 5 260 to 8 130 kg in the mechanized sector. The annual average per capita production of active fishermen in the motorized sector was 2 390 kg during 1996. Presently, about 59 percent of the production in the artisanal sector is contributed by motorized units, the non-mechanized units contributing only 9 percent. The annual average production of a mechanized unit works out to 33 tonnes, motorized unit 13 tonnes and non-mechanized unit 1.7 tonnes.

Role of women in post-harvest operations

Even though women are not involved in active fishing in marine fisheries, they contribute substantially to the pre- and post-harvest operations. About 25 percent of the labour force in the pre-harvest activities, 60 percent in the export marketing and 40 percent in the internal marketing is women. Altogether, about 0.5 million women are employed in pre- and post-harvest operations in the marine fisheries sector, out of the total work force of 1.2 million persons.

Marine fish marketing

The infrastructure for marine fish marketing in India is still principally oriented towards the export market. The Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad conducted studies on marine and inland fish marketing in India during mid-1980s. Inherently disorganized marketing structure, lack of adequate infrastructure, deterioration and waste of such highly perishable commodity during transportation, dominance of middlemen and sufferings of small fish farmers and fishers were the highlights of the studies.

The fishermen’s share in the consumer rupee is the best index to measure the efficiency of the fish marketing system. Marketing studies at the all-India level indicate that the fishermen’s share in the consumer’s rupee ranges from 30 percent to 60 percent for different species/groups of marine fish and marketing cost, including transportation range from 6 percent to 13 percent of the consumer’s rupee. The wholesalers receive 5 percent to 32 percent and the retailers from 14 percent to 47 percent of the consumer’s rupee for different species/groups of marine fish. In certain production-cum-consuming areas, the role of the middlemen traders has put both fishermen and consumers to the greatest disadvantage. A new beginning is now being made by the fishermen to group themselves into associations, which will take up not only fishing, but also selling the catches directly to the consumer so as to benefit themselves and the consumers by gradual elimination of the middlemen traders.

In the domestic marketing system, marine fish sales used to be mostly confined to the coastal and adjoining regions in the past. Currently, about 50 percent of fish is consumed fresh in and around the producing centres, 43 per cent in the demand centres located up to a distance of 200 km from the coast and only 5 per cent goes to the centres located beyond 200 km. There is enormous scope for improving the distribution process through enhanced private investment in the preservation, processing and transportation sectors of the domestic marketing system under the liberalized economic policies. The quantity of about 30 percent of the total landings, which are processed after they become unsuitable for fresh consumption, suggests good scope for market development of value-added products for domestic consumption.

Funding and budgetary support to fisheries

The fact that fishery sector has been recognized as a thrust area within the agriculture sector can be gauged from the successive Plan outlays. From Rs 51.3^[46] million in the First Five-Year Plan (1951-56), the total outlay has increased to Rs 20 697.8 million in the Ninth Plan (both Central and States/UTs). The outlays earmarked for the fisheries sector during successive Plan Periods have not been commensurate with the higher growth rate of about 6 percent recorded by the sector. Tables 10-11 give a comparative account of the outlays earmarked for fisheries sector from the First Five-Year Plan to the Tenth Plan. The outlays include grants to the States/UTs as well.

4. Fisheries management systems

Increase in the marine fish production in India is largely due to: (i) the introduction of mechanized fishing vessels and synthetic gear materials and the development of infrastructure for preservation, processing and storage in the 1950s; (ii) expansion of trawl fleet and indigenous boat construction in the 1960s; (iii) introduction of purse seining, diversification of fishing, development of fishing harbours and expansion of export trade in the 1970s; (iv) motorization of traditional fishing craft, introduction of ring seines and increase in the number and efficiency of craft and gear in the 1980s; and (v) substantial growth in the number and efficiency of trawlers and motorized craft, and change in the export trade from resource-based to food-engineering-based industry in the 1990s. Thus, the marine fisheries sector, which began as a subsistence operation by employing exclusively traditional craft during the pre-independence days, has today attained the status of a capital-intensive industry.

Marine fisheries laws and regulations

For sustainable development of marine resources, the constitution was amended in 1976, and the Parliament enacted the Territorial Sea, Continental Shelf, EEZ and other Maritime Zones Act, 1976, establishing a 200 nautical mile EEZ from 15 January 1997. Besides, the Government has also enacted the following legislation for the judicious exploration, exploitation, conservation and management of marine living resources.

1. Marine Products Export Development Authority Act, 1972.

2. The Wild life Protection Act, 1972 and various central legislations on environmental protection.

3. Indian Coast Guard Act, 1978.

4. The Maritime Zones of India (Regulation of Fishing by Foreign Fishing Vessels) Act, 1981.

Under the enabling provisions of the Indian Fisheries Act, 1897, various States and UTs have introduced their fishery regulations for regulating inland fisheries. For regulation of fisheries in the territorial waters, all the coastal States and the UT of Lakshadweep have enacted their Marine Fishing regulation Act (MFRA). These Acts are based on a model bill provided by the Union Government in 1979.

Monitoring, control and surveillance

Monitoring, Control and Surveillance (MCS) problems in the country include the vast size of the EEZ (2.02 million km²), the long coastline (8 118 km), larger fishing fleet of different categories, participation of foreign-flagged vessels^[47] and regional jurisdictional demarcations. Coastal State and UT Governments undertake control of domestic vessels operating largely within the territorial waters. Central Government is responsible for issuing licences to deep-sea vessels and to foreign-flag vessels. Licences carry restrictions on fishing methods; types of gear, area, and depth and cod end mesh size. Other regulatory measures include closed seasons and closed areas.

To effectively manage the vast fisheries resource and also the fishing fleet, a mechanism for MCS needs to be in place. The MCS should also incorporate the requirements of a VMS, especially aimed at the fishing vessels above 20 metre OAL.

The MFRA enacted by the coastal State Governments and the Maritime Zones of India (Regulation of Foreign Fishing Vessels). Act, 1981 of the Government of India provides for prohibition of fishing vessels (the latter Act restricted to foreign fishing vessels) in the areas earmarked for the traditional and small-motorized fishing crafts. For monitoring the fishing activities to be carried out in different assigned fishing zones by respective fleets, 30 patrol boats are provided to the fisheries department of the maritime States. The Coast Guard undertakes surveillance beyond the territorial waters. The resources monitoring surveys conducted by the Fishery Survey of India (FSI), Mumbai are being linked with the management measures to be evolved and applied for sustainable development of marine fisheries. However, at present there is no law to regulate the Indian owned fishing vessels operating in waters beyond the territorial limits.

5. Fiscal reforms and policy trends in environmental management and sustainable development

The complexity of factors involved in the regulation of fisheries, domestic and international, is often underestimated. Fishing is still largely an activity to harvest wild stocks of highly ambulatory animals. These animals cannot be fenced in a limited area or with marked ownership. This makes fisheries of open water a “common property resource” with its related problems. Therefore, regulatory measures need to be blended with other environmental protection and fiscal measures such as: a) limited access, b) leasing and auctioning, including resource rent c) closed seasons and closed areas, d) licensing of gear, e) gear restrictions, and f) other fiscal reforms.

Fisheries management vs. fisheries exploitation

The issues pertaining to marine fisheries in India are not unique to the country, but common to the most tropical developing countries and need to be addressed through proper policy support. Some of them directly aim at food security, environmental sustainability, economy and livelihood of the marginal fisherfolk. The State Governments as well as the Central Government through different Ministries, which unfortunately play varied roles, govern the fisheries sector in India. Therefore, the need for an integrated national policy on marine fisheries becomes immediately obvious, particularly in the present context of overexploitation in the shallow coastal waters, under utilization in the offshore/oceanic zone, sectoral conflicts, economic waste, under employment and protein food contribution to the nutritional basket of the country.

Recent trends in both artisanal and small-scale fisheries in the country have been disturbing and indicate the need for implementation of sound management programmes. In fact, such management for the coastal marine fisheries is long overdue. The catches and earnings of fisherfolk have been declining. Resource scarcity and the dearth of new income opportunities have combined to make life difficult for small-scale fisherfolk. In the trawl fishery, on the other hand, average sizes of species have been falling and the species composition is changing, indicating the need for a pragmatic approach and good management. To sustain this production and to ensure that the major fisheries do not suffer any irreparable damage, improved management measures, based on community participatory approach are needed without further loss of time.

Responsible fishing

The obvious need for sustaining marine fisheries production is to regularize the fishing effort, particularly in the inshore, traditional fishing grounds. At present, there is no effective licensing system to limit the entry of new or existing fishing vessels into the coastal fisheries of India. There is no licensing of the artisanal craft and consequently, the concept of responsible fishing is totally lacking. Licensing and responsible fishing could be extended to cover the entire fishing industry, including the artisanal sector to help monitor fishing effort and optimization of inputs. Implementation of these measures demands a stakeholder endorsed policy, complimentary rules and regulations and a strong political will.

Temporal and spatial fishing restrictions

Given the fisheries situation that exists in India, temporal restrictions, i.e. seasonal closure of fishing appears to be an option, which could be effectively implemented. At present, the maritime State Governments in the east and west coasts independently decide on the seasonal closure of fishing (also known as monsoon ban) on a year-to-year basis prior to or during the southwest monsoon for about 30 to 145 days in a year (Table 12). Efforts are on way to implement this ban during a uniform period, coast-wise, through inter-state discussions.

To prevent the conflicts between artisanal and mechanized fishing vessels in sharing the inshore waters, the maritime State Governments have banned the mechanized vessels from operating in the inshore areas (for a distance of 5 to 10 km from the shore - Table 13). However, the regulations relating to the demarcation of fishing areas have inherent weaknesses. First, there is no surveillance to monitor the areas of different types of craft and hence encroachment by the mechanized vessels in the areas demarcated for the artisanal craft continues for more than a decade after the promulgation of the Acts. Second, demarcation of the fishing areas is meant for protection of the interest of the artisanal fishers. If the Acts were strictly implemented, the fishers of the mechanized craft would be at a disadvantage, as they would be denied the opportunity to exploit the richer fishing grounds in the inshore waters. It may, therefore, be necessary to reconsider the present regulations based on the feedback from various sectors so that all the stakeholders are benefited.

Management of open access in marine fisheries

The open access nature of marine fisheries is one of the major reasons for depletion, economic waste and conflict among user groups. Without adequate control over access these consequences will become increasingly sever and further impede the sustainable management of fishery and the resource. With an open access, no catch limits have been set on efforts or the catch. However, to optimize the fishing fleet size, a National-Level Review Committee was constituted by the Government of India in 1997 to study the size of the marine fishing fleet in India vis-à-vis the harvestable potential and give recommendations on the fishing efforts that need to be deployed. The Committee concluded, after discussions with experts and with coastal States and the UTs that the mechanized fishing fleet, in the size range of 8 to 15 m OAL, has attained optimum strength and no fresh entry should be allowed. However, 700 new-generation resource-specific vessels of about 18 m OAL, including trawlers and gillnetters-cum-longliners, could be added to the fleet to tap resources in the EEZ beyond 50 m depth zone. This step also vindicates the recommendation of the Committee on Deep-Sea Fishing set up by the Union Government in mid-1990s.^[48]

Licensing of fishing boats

At present, the respective coastal State/UT Government licenses the mechanized fishing vessels alone. The system of licensing needs to be extended to motorized and non-motorized craft as well. Licensing will be helpful to maintain an inventory of all categories of fishing vessels. New vessel may be permitted to be acquired only as a replacement of a vessel of equal size and capacity. The priority of licensing should be shifted from a means of mere revenue earning to a system of regulating the number and type of fishing vessels. Licensing will also enable better implementation of sea safety norms in the small-scale fishing vessels.

Another management option that has been considered for this area is to encourage small trawlers to diversify into fishing activities that can be practiced further offshore, in order to reduce overcrowding in coastal waters and reduce the pressure on the fish stocks. However, few fishermen are equipped for such ventures, and there is a need to provide support to this category as also technical information on the availability of resources or the best fishing methods with which to target them.

Harnessing of offshore resource

Realizing the potential for increasing the production from the outer continental shelf, the Government of India took several initiatives. Permission was given under a policy programme, for acquisition of vessels on lease or through joint venture. But this programme went into a rough weather with all the fisheries associations protesting against the policy and objecting to the operation of deep-sea vessels in the Indian EEZ. Consequentially, the Government of India constituted a Committee (Murari Committee) to review the 1991 Deep-Sea Fishing Policy. This Committee recommended, among others, the cancellation of all the licences issued under the Policy. The Government considered the recommendation and finally scrapped the 1991 Policy.

Sustainable exploitation of offshore resources in the EEZ will have to be reconsidered in terms of not only the resources available, but also in terms of infrastructure. To avoid overcapitalization and ensure a cautious growth of the infrastructure and investments, a rationalized approach will be essential in determining the number and size of fishing vessels, their resource-specific gear as well as technology to be made available either indigenously or through foreign collaborations. The development of deep-sea fishery industry is of concern to the entire marine fishery sector because it would have considerable impact on the management of near-shore fisheries, shore-based infrastructure utilization and post-harvest activities, both for domestic marketing and export. Similarly, up-gradation of the small-mechanized sector should be given high priority to facilitate their entry into the deep-sea sector.

In the absence of compliance by the fishermen to operate in the areas allotted to them, encroachment by the larger mechanized vessels in the areas demarcated for the artisanal craft continues. The Central Government has now proposed to introduce a vessel monitoring system (VMS), which is expected to resolve the problem. Similarly, the Central Government should also consider providing a fresh model bill to the States/UTs to enable them to revive their Marine Fishing Regulation Act (MFRA) on the basis of their present requirements and also global initiatives to which India is a signatory.

Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries and other global initiatives

A national-level Workshop organized by the Chennai-based Bay of Bengal Programme (BOBP) in September 2000 brought together for the first time senior fisheries administrators and scientists to discuss the modalities for implementation of the Code in India. The Action Plan, which emerged from the two-day Workshop, is placed at Table 14. The Government of India has also set up a permanent committee in the Ministry of Agriculture to monitor implementation of the provisions of the Code.

India needs to adopt global fishery and related conventions and agreements (e.g. Straddling Stocks Agreement, Compliance Agreement) to which it has been a signatory. In fact, being the largest maritime country in the region, India also needs to set the example. Because of the large marine fisheries resource available to the country, the straddling and migratory nature of many valuable stocks like tuna and emerging issues in sustainable management of the resources, it is also important to take the lead to set up and participate in regional fisheries bodies, which will help to widen the use of the national research and technical expertize in the region. The fishery policies have thus far kept it as an insular nation. This may have had good reason in earlier times, but it can be counter-productive in the future global scenario.

Fiscal reforms

The use of fiscal reforms in India has been restricted to rent from the processing sector, i.e. levy on exports of marine products; landing and berthing fee collected from mechanized fishing vessels in some of the fishing harbours and fish landing centres (FLCs) and rent through licensing of deep-sea fishing vessels through joint venture, charter and leasing arrangements.

While the levy on export continues, the rent through licensing has ceased after the government in 1997 rescinded the 1991 policy on deep-sea fishing. As regards the landing and berthing fee, there is no uniform pattern and the rent collected from most of the harbours and FLCs is very meager. Further, the non- payment of rent is very common and there is no mechanism in place to penalize the defaulter. As a result, very little rent accrues from the users of the landing and berthing facilities. Due to political compulsions, it is also becoming difficult for the management bodies to rationalize the fee to enable its re-use for regular maintenance and upkeep of the harbours and the FLCs.

It is seen that fiscal instruments can be a useful management tool to restrain/optimize fishing effort as well a source of revenue to the government, which can be ploughed back to the fisheries sector to supplement the meagre share it often receives from the Plan allocations. To sustain the marine fisheries, the Government of India would have to introduce a set of fiscal reforms in the fisheries sector, which inter alia should include a system of limiting access and charging fee for the access.

6. Conclusion

The pace of economic development of India’s coastal belt is not commensurate with other region and the overall socio-economic status of fishermen is comparatively lower than other backward sectors of our economy. Overcapitalization of the small-scale mechanized sector and marginalization of artisanal fishermen, low per capita earnings, lack of alternate and supplementary job opportunities, seasonal migration and absence of mobility of labour to other sectors and high rate of illiteracy and indebtedness are some of the major problems faced by the huge population depending on the fisheries sector. The multi-species, open access marine fishery further aggravates the problem and also creates conflicts among the fishermen over the area of operation of different categories of fishing vessels and in sharing of the benefits. A comprehensive long-term policy for fisheries development in terms of resource exploration and exploitation, conservation and regulation, leasing and application of rent on resource utilization, domestic and export marketing, mariculture and coastal aquaculture activities and human resource utilization and management need to be evolved and implemented in a phased manner for the balanced and sustainable development of marine fishery sector of the country.

Table 1: Potential resources available, level of exploitation and the available potential for exploitation depth-wise within the Indian EEZ (in million tonnes)

Source: Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India.

Table 2: Length of the coastline, continental shelf, landing centres and habitation - Coastal States and Union Territories

Source: Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India.

Table 3: Fishing Craft - Coastal States and Union Territories, 1999

Source: Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Ministry of Agriculture,
Government of India and the State Governments/Union Territory Administrations.

* Total includes 810 FRP Catamarans and 135 Beach Landing Craft.

Table 4: Fish production and average annual growth rate, India - 1950-2003

Note: The growth rates presented for the periods prior to 1979 are the average annual compound growth rates.

Source:

(i) CMFRI, Kochi for the period up to 1970-71.
(ii) State Governments/Union Territory Administrations after 1970-1971.

Table 5: Fishing harbours at major ports

• Figures in brackets indicate the revised cost; C - Completed/Commissioned; UC - Under construction; DSV - Deep Sea Vessels; MFV-Motorized Fishing Vessels; TL-Total length of landing + berthing + outfitting + repair quay/wharf (in meters).

  Source: Planning Commission, 2001.

Table 6: Number of minor fishing harbours and fish landing centres commissioned/under construction by States/UTs

Table 7: Socio-economic profile of marine fishermen In India

Source: Sathiadhas et al. (See footnote ⁴⁵, 1997b).

Table 8: Manpower in harvest and post-harvest in marine fisheries

Source: Sathiadhas et al. (See footnote ⁴⁵).

Table 9: Structural changes in fishing fleet, active fishermen and production

Source: Sathiadhas et al. (See footnote⁴⁵).

Table 10: Outlays and expenditure for fisheries development over plans (in million Rs)

@ Figures given under Central sector include those of Centrally sponsored schemes.

Note: Figures for Seventh Plan include the figures for Fishery Survey of India and Trawler Development Fund, which were transferred to the Ministry of Food Processing Industries.

Source: Planning Commission, 2001.

Table 11: Fisheries plan allocation (central/centrally sponsored schemes) During the Tenth Five-year Plan (2002-2007)

Source: Planning Commission, Government of India.
* This does not include the allocations made for the States/Uts.

Table 12: Seasonal closure of operation of mechanized fishing vessels during 1997

* Only for long cruise trawlers.

Table13: Demarcation of fishing area for craft of different capacities

Table 14: Action plan emerged from the two-day national workshop on the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries, 29-30 September 2000 Chennai

Annex
Developmental thrust and expenditure during the various Five-Year Plan periods
(in million Rs)

The period 1966 - 1969, 1979 - 1980 and 1990 - 1992 were considered as Annual Plans; * Expenditure figures yet to be firmed up.