Sustainable Harnessing of Fisheries in the High Seas
Why in News?
On 9 July 2026, the Department of Fisheries, Government of India organised the national launch of the Letter of Authorisation (LoA) for Sustainable Harnessing of Fisheries in the High Seas at Bhubaneswar, Odisha.
What is the Letter of Authorisation (LoA) Framework?
- The program was officially launched by Vice President C.P. Radhakrishnan. Alongside this, the Odisha Deep Sea Fishing Mission Document (2026–2036) was unveiled to expand the state's Blue Economy.
- Mandatory Permit: The LoA is a mandatory, vessel-specific, and non-transferable electronic permit required for Indian-flagged vessels to fish in the high seas.
- Legal Backing: It operationalizes the guidelines notified under the Guidelines for Sustainable Harnessing of Fisheries in the High Seas, 2025.
- Digital Transparency: It is fully integrated into the Real Craft Fishing Vessel Registration Portal, offering tracking, minimal compliance costs, and zero procedural bottlenecks.
Key Objectives & Scope
- Untapped Exploration: India possesses an Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of 2.4 million sq. km and an 11,000+ km coastline, but its deep-sea and high-seas resources remain largely underutilized.
- Preventing Overexploitation: Nearshore coastal waters face severe ecological stress and overfishing. Diverting fleets to the high seas balances marine resource extraction.
- Targeting High-Value Species: The shift aims to capture lucrative species like tuna, which have historically been caught by competing foreign fleets in the Indian Ocean.
- Global Compliance: Authorized vessels must strictly abide by rules set by relevant Regional Fisheries Management Organisations (RFMOs).
- Banned Practices: To preserve biodiversity, the framework bans destructive practices including LED light fishing, pair trawling, bull trawling, and the use of chemical explosives.
- Sustainable Safeguards: Imposes strict restrictions on juvenile fish catch, gear dimensions, and mandatory real-time voyage reporting.
Socio-Economic Priorities & "Community-Led" Models
- Priority Allocation: The framework prioritizes Fishermen Cooperative Societies and Fish Farmer Producer Organisations (FFPOs) over massive commercial corporates to safeguard small-scale fishers.
- Mother-and-Child Vessel Model: Promotes mid-sea trans-shipment operations monitored by the Reserve Bank of India to streamline logistics for deep-sea fleets.
- Duty-Free Benefits: Under recent union budgets, fish caught by Indian-flagged vessels in the EEZ and High Seas are entirely duty-free.
- Foreign Port Benefits: Catches landed directly at foreign ports by Indian vessels are legally recognized as exports, avoiding multiple domestic tax cycles.
- Export Expansion: Aims to push seafood exports past current record figures (~₹73,891 crore) by introducing rigorous traceability standards ("pond to plate") to access high-paying western markets.
Odisha Deep Sea Fishing Mission (2026–2036)
- 10-Year Timeline: A state-specific blueprint launched in parallel to elevate Odisha as a major deep-sea seafood hub.
- Financial Backing: Built upon over ₹1,301 crore approved under the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY).
- Infrastructure Upgrades: Focuses on developing specialized deep-sea ports, advanced cold-chain processing units, and high-tech sea-cage farming.
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