New Delhi, April 3 – The government announced on Friday that India's fisheries sector has become a significant contributor to food security, employment, and export earnings, thanks to a record investment of ₹39,272 crore since 2015.
According to the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, the sector supports nearly 30 million fishers and fish farmers at the primary level, and almost twice as many across the entire value chain.
India is now the second-largest aquaculture producer globally, accounting for approximately 8 per cent of world fish output, it said.
Moreover, domestic fish production has increased from 141.64 lakh tonnes in 2019-20 to 197.75 lakh tonnes in 2024-25, representing an average annual growth of around 7 per cent.
Seafood exports have more than doubled over the past decade, rising from ₹30,213 crore in 2013-14 to ₹62,408 crore in 2024-25, largely driven by shrimp exports valued at ₹43,334 crore.
India now ships over 350 varieties of seafood products to nearly 130 global markets, with the United States accounting for 36.42 per cent of the total export value in 2024-25, followed by China, the European Union, Southeast Asia, Japan, and the Middle East.
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The share of value-added products in the export basket has increased from 2.5 per cent to 11 per cent, amounting to $742 million.
Meanwhile, to reduce dependence on a few commodities, the government is promoting high-value species such as tuna, seabass, cobia, mud crab, tiger shrimp, and seaweed under the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY), alongside investments in cold-chain networks, modern fishing harbours, and digital traceability systems.
India secured a comparability finding from US authorities in 2025 under the Marine Mammal Protection Act, ensuring uninterrupted seafood exports to its largest market.
The government stated that large-scale deployment of Turtle Excluder Devices on shrimp trawlers is also progressing across coastal states.
On the regulatory front, the Sanitary Import Permit system has been fully digitized and integrated with the National Single Window System, cutting approval time from 30 days to 72 hours.
Over the next five years, the government aims to expand value-added exports, build inland export hubs, and deepen India's presence in markets including the UK, EU, ASEAN, and West Asia.
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