As Earth Gets Hotter, India’s Fisheries Sector Faces Challenges

Research shows that certain varieties of fish might become scarce in the coming decades, and that fishing in some parts of the country is more vulnerable to climate change than others. How can India ensure marine ecosystems and fisheries remain healthy enough to provide critical food, nutrition, and ecosystem services? While there is uncertainty, we put together a picture by looking at current trends, future projections, and likely climate impacts.

India is the world’s second-largest fish-producing nation, contributing around 8% of global fish produce. The country is bestowed with varied potential fisheries and aquaculture resources in the form of reservoirs (3.2 million hectares), floodplain wetlands (5.64 lakh ha), ponds and tanks (2.4 million ha), brackish water (1.2 million ha), saline/alkaline affected areas (2.47 lakh ha), rivers and canals (1.95 lakh km), and a coastline (8,118 km), with an estimated potential of fish production of 22.31 million tonnes.

Fish production in India went from 9.6 million tonnes in 2013-14 to 17.5 million tonnes in 2022-23. The sector grew at an annual rate of 9%, the highest growth rate in agriculture and allied sectors.

India has 3,288 marine fishing villages and 1,511 marine fish landing centers spread along the coastline, a 2017 research paper stated. The full-time, part-time and fishery-dependent fisher population is about 4 million. There is a fishing village every 2 km and a landing centre every 4.3 km, on average, along the coastal mainland of India.

Currently, the Indian government has various schemes for the fisheries sector including a centrally sponsored scheme, Blue Revolution, for integrated development and management of fisheries, a Fisheries and Aquaculture Infrastructure Development Fund for providing concessional finance, Kisan Credit Cards to fishers and fish farmers, and the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana to bring about ecologically healthy, economically viable, and socially inclusive development of the sector. Together, these schemes have an outlay of thousands of crores.

IndiaSpend wrote to the Union Ministry of Fisheries on what steps India has taken to safeguard its fisheries sector from climate change. This story will be updated when we receive a response.

How does climate change affect fisheries?

Climate change is disrupting the physical and chemical processes that marine and coastal ecosystems rely on. The ocean is becoming more acidic, impeding the ability of corals and shell-forming organisms to build the skeletons and shells that they depend on for life. Oceanographic patterns and ocean circulation are also changing--all over the world, ocean currents play a critical role in marine ecosystems, circulating heat, regulating weather and climate, and distributing nutrients. This cycle could be drastically altered due to climate change.

According to scientists, “increasing sea surface temperature results in migration of many economically harvestable fish stock to relatively cooler waters, leading to a shift in fish distribution thus affecting the fish catch.” Also, rising temperature is causing a decline in dissolved oxygen levels in inland water bodies. This can make aquatic species susceptible to diseases due to weakened immune systems.

Rising temperatures could mean that some species look for cooler water by shifting towards the poles or seek out deeper water. Indian mackerel (Rastrelliger kanagurta), for instance, is shifting to higher latitudes and deeper water. Mackerel accounts for the highest total landings by species nationally and in 2023, made up nearly 10% of all marine fish landed in the country. Even though Indian mackerel is a highly adaptive and flexible species that is widely distributed and is well-suited to withstand potential climate impacts, its exploitation rate due to high economic value makes it sought after and vulnerable. A study projecting future catches on the southwestern Indian coast found that potential catches of Indian mackerel will decrease in the period of 2020-2100 under current climate change projections.

In another example, ocean temperature changes could also impact the spawning time and duration of fish species. Studies have shown that threadfin bream (Nemipterus japonicus) shift their spawning season to months when ocean temperatures are suitable. As climate change causes ocean temperatures to rise, this could change their spawning patterns and ability to reproduce, and in turn, the ability of fishers to harvest them.

An analysis on the vulnerability of the Indian oil sardine (Sardinella longiceps) to climate impacts found that the species is medium or highly vulnerable in the northeast, northwest, and southeast regions of India, while having low vulnerability in the southwest due to the highly productive waters.

Bombay duck (Harpodon nehereus) is found in India’s northern coastal waters in both the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal. The species is highly important to small-scale fisheries in these regions and in particular, to the poorest populations. Research has shown that Bombay duck has a low adaptive capacity and is highly vulnerable to climate impacts. A study on the potential impact of climate change and fisheries management interventions in Northeast India found that, under a ‘business as usual’ scenario, harvests of Bombay duck will fall.

Grinson George, Director of Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI), explained what his institute has been observing over the years.

“If we see the long-term time series data, we find that there is a change in the marine structure and function of the ecosystem,” George said. “90% of our fish stock is healthy, which means it is being harvested sustainably at the moment. What we witness is, there are changes in the structure and function. Some species which were not even in India’s top 10 fish species are coming up and some are slipping down in the ranks or are no longer in the top 10. For example, Indian oil sardine used to be the most harvested species but is no longer even in the top 10.”

If the impact of climate change is not mitigated, it could result in a decrease in production and value of coastal fisheries, and a fall in the economic returns from fishing operations, a 2017 research paper had warned.

“The changes will affect not only the fish trade of the country, but even more importantly, the food security in a country where fish is one of the major contributors of animal protein intake,” it noted.

Marooned at Sea

The impact of climate change is already being felt by fishers, small and large. Increasing cyclones, impact of marine heatwaves, impact of coastal erosion, sea level rise, rising costs of operation, lack of safeguards, insurance, and markets all plague the sector in India despite the slew of government schemes. Add to that the vagaries of weather, which will only increase in the future as climate change makes each passing season more unpredictable.

Olencio Simoes, general secretary, National Fishworkers’ Forum, agreed with the assessment.

“Ocean temperature is rising. When it gets hot, fish migrates. We have already seen multiple fish species getting extinct. Tiger prawns and sardines were so much in abundance in Goa once upon a time that they were used as manure for coconut trees. Now tiger prawns are very expensive and sardines have become hard to find in Goa’s markets,” said Simoes.

“The loss is for the community and the consumers. Initially, we used to catch 100 baskets in one voyage. Today, we are catching 10 baskets, but the cost is almost the same. Of course, overexploitation is also one reason but cyclones are increasing and there is bad weather warning for fishermen every other day, which reduces fishing days,” said Simoes.

Simoes said that there needs to be a Fisheries Rights Act along the lines of the Forest Rights Act to protect fisherfolk, their livelihoods and marine resources.

If India wants its fisheries sector to become climate resilient, one approach could be through improving fisheries management, which research has shown can offset many of the negative impacts of climate change. Some ways in which effective fisheries management could be done are:

• Protect and restore critical marine and coastal ecosystems: healthy marine and coastal ecosystems provide habitat for fish to feed and reproduce, and protect coastal communities from coastal erosion, storm surges, flooding and other natural disasters.

(Pooja Dash, intern with IndiaSpend, contributed to this report)

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