Status, trends, and biological insights of tropical tuna fisheries in Indian waters

Rajesh, K M and Abdussamad, E M and Manas, H M and Abdul Azeez, P and Veera Venthan, K R and Ghosh, Shubhadeep and Koya, Mohammed and Surya, S and Nakhawa, A D and Chellappan, Anulekshmi and Margaret Muthu Rathinam, A and Roul, Subal Kumar and Thomas, Sujitha and Purushottama, G B and Kizhakudan, Shoba Joe and Jayasankar, J and George, Grinson (2025) Status, trends, and biological insights of tropical tuna fisheries in Indian waters. In: Working Party on Tropical Tunas (WPTT).

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Abstract

Tropical tunas, especially skipjack (Katsuwonus pelamis) and yellowfin (Thunnus albacares), are vital to India’s oceanic and coastal fisheries, supporting thousands of fishers, contributing significantly to seafood exports, and playing an important ecological role in the Indian Ocean. An analysis of tropical tuna landings along the Indian coast from 2007 to 2024 revealed annual landings ranging from 16,125 tonnes in 2007 to 57,191 tonnes in 2019, with an average of 30,329 tonnes. During this period, tropical tunas accounted for 24.2% to 54.8% of total tuna landings in India, with an average contribution of 34.2%. The fishery is primarily supported by mechanized (69.5%) and motorized (29.0%) fishing units, with a negligible contribution from non-mechanized units (1.5%), all operating within India’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). Gillnetters are the dominant gear, responsible for more than half of the tropical tuna landings along the Indian coast. Among the tropical tuna species, T. albacares contributed between 44.6% and 78.7% (average 55.2%), while K. pelamis accounted for 20.9% to 55.4% (average 44.5%) of the total tropical tuna landings during the 2007–2024 period.

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