Species prioritization for marine fish stock assessments in India

Gopalakrishnan, A and Kizhakudan, Shoba Joe and Jayasankar, J and Ganga, U and Muktha, M and Varghese, Eldho and Sasikumar, Geetha and Dash, Gyanaranjan and Kumar, Rajan and Chellappan, Anulekshmi and Bhendekar, S N and Sukumaran, Sandhya (2024) Species prioritization for marine fish stock assessments in India. Marine Fisheries Information Service; Technical and Extension Series (259). pp. 7-13.

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Abstract

Stock assessments of fish stocks are critical for framing effective management measures of fishery resources to ensure sustainability. While species-wise national assessments have been done in the past, India has not had a prioritized list of species/resources to be assessed regularly to provide an index of the health of the country’s fishery resources. In a first of its kind for the country, a marine fish stock status (MFSS) report was published recently (CMFRI, 2023). The MFSS report indicated the sustainability status of 70 important species, encompassing 135 stocks (region-based management units) spread across 5 different coastal regions of India, viz., north-east (NE), north-west (NW), south-east (SE), south-west (SW) and Lakshadweep islands, under the prevalent fisheries management regime of the country. The assessments of the 49 finfish and 21 shellfish species were carried out using globally accepted methodologies and sustainability indicators. The study indicated that 91% of the stocks evaluated were healthy and optimally exploited, whereas the remaining 9% were found to be overfished. The report also highlighted concerns on select species and actions needed to sustain the marine fisheries sector.

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