The real crisis in India's marine fisheries

Question (10 marks, ~150 words):

India claims to have 'avoided overfishing', yet coastal fishers report decades of decline. Critically examine the sustainability of India's marine fisheries and suggest a credible blue-economy way forward. (10 marks, 150 words)

India's ocean-fisheries prognosis, citing CMFRI, claims 91.1% of 135 stocks were sustainable in 2022. But the assessment rests largely on landing data rather than direct at-sea stock assessments, and the FAO judges major stocks 'fully exploited' with serious overcapacity. The real crisis lies inshore: about 64,414 mechanised trawlers plough the seabed with weak entry controls, while dams, mangrove loss and pollution starve nursery grounds — and coastal communities report three decades of falling catches. Rules such as the 5-nautical-mile exclusion zone and the two-month breeding ban exist within the 12-NM territorial sea and 200-NM EEZ, but coastal States lack the capacity to enforce them, as the Palk Bay conflict shows. A credible blue economy requires direct stock surveys, caps on trawling, real enforcement, control of land-based pollution, and genuine co-management with fishers — protecting both stocks and small-scale livelihoods rather than celebrating aggregate output.