Introduction
India is the second largest fish producing nation in the world. It accounts for 8% of the total global fish production. The industry created 58 lakh employment opportunities, as of December 2024.
The marine resources of India constitutes a coastline of 11,098 km, an Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of 2 million sq. km, and a continental shelf area of 0.53 sq. km. The inland resources include 0.27 million km of rivers and canals, 2.36 million hectares of ponds and tanks, 3.54 million hectares of reservoirs, and 1.2 million hectares of floodplain lakes.
India’s fish production has grown by 104% from 96 lakh tonnes in FY14 to 195 lakh tonnes in FY25. Inland fisheries have expanded by 142% for the same period from 61 lakh tonnes to 147.37 lakh tonnes.
A tremendous increase of 77.71 lakh tons was achieved in Inland and Aquaculture fish production from FY14 to FY24 as against the 26.78 lakh tons achieved from FY04 to FY14. India mainly has eight major fish-producing states: Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, and West Bengal.
Export Trend
In FY26 (April-July 2025), the country exported marine products worth US$ 2.59 billion as compared to US$ 2.20 billion in same period last year.
In FY25, the country exported marine products worth US$ 7.40 billion as 0.45% YoY growth as compared to US$ 7.37 billion in FY24.
India mainly exports frozen shrimps, fish, cuttlefish, squids, dried items, and live and chilled items. Out of these, frozen shrimp is the largest exported marine product contributing to more than 40% of the total quantity and about 66.12% of the total export value. In the period FY24, frozen fish, cuttlefish, and squid accounted for 21.42%, 3.05%, and 5.25% of the total export value of marine products, respectively. This was a change from the previous period, FY23, where they represented 21.23%, 3.16%, and 5.49% of the total quantity exported.
During FY24 the country exported marine products worth US$ 7.38 billion, compared to US$ 8.09 billion for the same period last year. In FY25 (April-January) the country exported marine products worth US$ 6.21 billion)
Major Export Markets
India exports fish and fish products primarily to the following regions - the USA, China, Japan, Vietnam, Thailand, and Belgium.
In FY26 (April-July 2025), with an import of US$ 966 million, the USA remained the largest importer of Indian seafood both in terms of value and volume. China stood in second position with imports worth US$ 402 million, followed by the Vietnam with US$ 192 million worth of imports.
Government Initiatives
India-UK Free Trade Agreement
India and the UK have signed a Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) granting India 100% duty-free access for most seafood products, removing tariffs of up to 21.5% on items such as shrimp, lobster, squid, and value-added marine goods. In FY25, India exported US$ 7.38 billion worth of seafood (1.78 million tonnes), but its share in the UK’s US$ 5.4 billion seafood import market was only 2.25%, with exports of US$ 104 million. The new duty-free access is expected to boost India’s marine exports to the UK by about 70%, strengthening export competitiveness and supporting coastal communities and value-added processing.
Union Budget 2025-26
The Union Budget 2025-26 proposed the highest ever total annual budgetary support of US$ 305 million for the fisheries sector.
Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY)
The PMMSY was introduced in 2020 with an earmarked investment of US$ 2.53 billion, to increase the productivity, production capacity, and area under cultivation and to increase the exports of marine products in India. The Central Government's share in PMMSY is US$ 1.12 billion, the State's share is US$ 617 million, and the beneficiaries' share is US$ 729 million. The objective of the scheme is to increase fish production to 22 million MT by 2024-25, enhance aquaculture productivity to 5 tons per hectare and increase the GVA contribution of the fisheries sector to 9% by 2024-25.
Fisheries and Aquaculture Infrastructure Development Fund (FIDF)
In 2018-19, the Department of Fisheries, Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying formed a fund called the Department of Fisheries, Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying (FIDF) to meet the infrastructure requirement of the fisheries sector. The total fund size is US$ 951 million. The objective of the fund is to provide concessional finance to eligible entities like State Governments/Union Territories and State entities for developing the identified fisheries infrastructure through loaning entities namely - National Cooperatives Development Corporation (NCDC), National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD), and all scheduled banks.
Government Body
The Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA)
The MPEDA was formed in 1972 for the development of the seafood industry in India and to realize its full export potential. The focus of MPEDA is on market promotion, capturing fisheries, research and development, quality control, infrastructure processing and value addition. The authority also advises the central government to set new standards for fishing vessels, storage premises, processing plants and conveyances.
Department of Fisheries (DoF)
The DoF was formed in 2019 by dividing the fisheries division from the now known as the Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries. The department's roles are developing the fish industry, promoting fisheries and the welfare of fishermen, statistics, regulations, and carrying out surveys. The department is responsible for matters relating to the formulation of policy and schemes relating to the development of inland, marine, and coastal fisheries and various fishery Institutes.
RELATED SITES
MPEDA House, P.B.No.4272, Panampilly Avenue,
Panampilly Nagar P.O.,
Kochi - 682 036
Kerala
India
Tel.:+91-484-2311901
Fax:+91-484-2313361
Email: Email:ho@mpeda.gov.in
Website: https://mpeda.gov.in
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