64
Government of India, under the “Blue Revolution Mission-2016” for the period
from 2015–16 to 2019–20 proposes to achieve full production capacity and increase
the fish productivity from the aquatic resources and aquaculture in both inland and
marine sectors.
3.1 Marine Fishing Sector in India
The total number of fishing vessels in the world in 2014 is estimated at about
4.6 million. The fleet in Asia was the largest, consisting of 3.5 million vessels and
accounting for 75% of the global fleet, followed by Africa (15%), Latin America
and the Caribbean (6%). Globally, 64% of fishing vessels were engine-powered in
2014, of which 80% were in Asia. In 2014, about 85% of the world’s motorized
fishing vessels were less than 12 m in length overall (LOA).
The total number of vessels in India has also increased significantly over the
years. The number of non-motorized vessels, which was the most predominant during the 1960s, has reduced to a little less than half in 2010. An exponential increase
in the number of motorized and mechanized fishing vessels was seen during the
same period. The mechanized vessels have now overtaken the total number of other
vessels classes in India (MOA & CMFRI 2012) (Fig. 1).
The total number of mechanized and motorized vessels are higher by a factor of
3.8 than that is considered optimum (Kurup and Devraj 2000 (Fig. 2). The problem
of increase in the number of vessels is often confounded with the trend of increasing
the engine power of the vessels in the recent times. The engine power of the vessels
in the mechanized category in states like Kerala, have increased by 80–120% (Renju
1950
0
20ϫ10 3
40ϫ10 3
60ϫ10 3
80ϫ10 3
100ϫ10 3
120ϫ10 3
Non-motorized
Motorized
Mechanized
140ϫ10 3
160ϫ10 3
1960
1970
1980
1990
2000
2010
Fig. 1 Changes in the different categories of vessels in India (Source: MoA and CMFRI 2012)
C. N. Ravishankar and V. R. Madhu
Government of India, under the “Blue Revolution Mission-2016” for the period
from 2015–16 to 2019–20 proposes to achieve full production capacity and increase
the fish productivity from the aquatic resources and aquaculture in both inland and
marine sectors.
3.1 Marine Fishing Sector in India
The total number of fishing vessels in the world in 2014 is estimated at about
4.6 million. The fleet in Asia was the largest, consisting of 3.5 million vessels and
accounting for 75% of the global fleet, followed by Africa (15%), Latin America
and the Caribbean (6%). Globally, 64% of fishing vessels were engine-powered in
2014, of which 80% were in Asia. In 2014, about 85% of the world’s motorized
fishing vessels were less than 12 m in length overall (LOA).
The total number of vessels in India has also increased significantly over the
years. The number of non-motorized vessels, which was the most predominant during the 1960s, has reduced to a little less than half in 2010. An exponential increase
in the number of motorized and mechanized fishing vessels was seen during the
same period. The mechanized vessels have now overtaken the total number of other
vessels classes in India (MOA & CMFRI 2012) (Fig. 1).
The total number of mechanized and motorized vessels are higher by a factor of
3.8 than that is considered optimum (Kurup and Devraj 2000 (Fig. 2). The problem
of increase in the number of vessels is often confounded with the trend of increasing
the engine power of the vessels in the recent times. The engine power of the vessels
in the mechanized category in states like Kerala, have increased by 80–120% (Renju
1950
0
20ϫ10 3
40ϫ10 3
60ϫ10 3
80ϫ10 3
100ϫ10 3
120ϫ10 3
Non-motorized
Motorized
Mechanized
140ϫ10 3
160ϫ10 3
1960
1970
1980
1990
2000
2010
Fig. 1 Changes in the different categories of vessels in India (Source: MoA and CMFRI 2012)
C. N. Ravishankar and V. R. Madhu