Aimed at boosting India’s inland fishery, diverse stakeholders, including fishery scientists, policymakers, industry players, and community leaders, have decided to seek global sustainability recognition for Chilka Lake.

A joint initiative was launched to enter the global sustainability certification process for the Lake’s mud crab fishery, a vital economic and ecologically important resource.

The move aims to achieve the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) ’s globally recognised sustainability certification, elevating the market value of this fishery in exports while protecting stocks, the wider ecosystem, and local livelihoods depending on the resource.

Certification programme

The Chilika mud crab is India’s first inland fishery to be earmarked for the MSC’s sustainability programme. The MSC is an international fisheries sustainability and eco-labelling programme that recognises and rewards sustainable fishing practices. The certification process for a dozen of marine fish species from the country is in the final stage.

This joint initiative involves the ICAR-Central Inland Fisheries Research Institute (CIFRI) in Barrakpore, the Chilka Development Authority (CDA), and the Sustainable Seafood Network of India (SSNI).

A stakeholder workshop at CIFRI identified the areas of collaboration, prerequisites, and research focus for this landmark achievement. Experts highlighted that this move would help safeguard the rich biodiversity and the livelihoods dependent on Chilika Lake, India’s largest coastal lagoon and a UNESCO-recognized biodiversity hotspot. They stressed the urgent need for a collaborative effort to tackle significant threats facing inland and marine ecosystems in the region, particularly overfishing and pollution.

Preserving ecological balance

Basanta Kumar Das, Director of CIFRI, said sustainable fisheries management is crucial for preserving Chilika Lake’s ecological balance and ensuring the livelihoods of communities dependent on it. Climate change, declining fish diversity and catch, destructive fishing, pollution, and habitat destruction are some of the threats faced by the inland fisheries sector.

MSC’s sustainability certification would ensure both ecological and economic benefits, said Sunil Mohamed, former Principal Scientist at ICAR-Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute and Chair of SSNI. Global certification will help achieve better market access and premium prices for the resource in the export trades. The process ensures sustainable fish stocks, minimising environmental impacts and effective management. Achieving the eco-labeling tag would make Chilika Lake fishery competitive in global fisheries trade. Currently India’s share of global fisheries exports is 4 per cent and it is growing, he said. 

The meeting identified a road map for the certification process and proposed strategies for enhancing community involvement and implementing this joint endeavour. Fishery scientists suggested developing and deploying effective restoration and mitigation strategies to address environmental challenges.

Published on June 12, 2025