Marine fisheries data collection methods in India – an update

The marine fishery data collection in India is accomplished by two methods a). land-based sampling (by Fisheries Departments of State Governments/Union Territories (UT) and the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute, CMFRI) and b) sea-based exploratory surveys (by Fishery Survey of India, FSI). The CMFRI along with the Fisheries Departments of the coastal States/UTs undertakes regular sampling and estimation of the fish landings from designated landing points throughout the coastline. Besides estimating the fishery landings, studies on biological and socio-economic attributes of fisheries are also carried out by the institute on a regular basis. The Fishery Survey of India (FSI) operates eleven research/survey vessels for collecting the sea truth data on the fish abundance, biology, oceanographic parameters etc. Time series data on landings and effort are used to arrive at estimates on Maximum Sustainable Yield (MSY). For potential yield estimations of highly migratory large pelagics, a proxy of the MSY estimations by Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC), after incorporating correction factors including productivity and results of fishery independent surveys are used. The methodologies adopted by these different agencies for data collection and reporting are detailed in the present paper.