India is working on maximising the net revenue from fisheries through “value conservation, value capture and value creation”, Jatindra Nath Swain, Fisheries Secretary, has said.

This will not only ensure better economics, but also contribute to ecological sustainability. He was speaking after inaugurating a five-day international symposium on innovations in fishing technologies for sustainable and resilient fisheries, here on Monday.

The government is also committed to maintaining a balance between improving the fishing performance and minimising its negative impact, he said. “Policies and legal provisions are primarily focused on low-impact fishing. Pressure of fish stocks in near-shore waters has forced us to explore resources in the high seas,” Swain said.

Appropriate technologies are crucial to maintaining sustainability in the marine fisheries sector, he said, adding that improved gear management practices would help protect and promote the interest of the small-scale fisheries sector, reduce by-catch, manage ghost fishing and mitigate climate change. Assimilation of the latest technologies for fuel efficiency, like in the case of dual-fuel hybrid fishing vessels would bring down fishing costs. The choice of fishing technology plays a crucial role in determining the outcome of the fishing, he added.

“The country is moving towards the Blue Economy approach, focusing on diversifying ocean uses and conserving ecosystem health. However, technological and policy innovations such as deep-sea fishing, mariculture, sea ranching and deployment of artificial reefs are necessary to achieve this,” the Secretary said.

The symposium is being organised by the Bay of Bengal Programme Inter-Governmental Organisation (BOBP-IGO), the National Fisheries Development Board (NFDB), the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and national fisheries institutions on the occasion of the 23rd annual meeting of the International Council for Exploration of the Sea (ICES) - FAO Joint Working Group on Fishing Technology and Fish Behaviour (ICES-FAO WGFTFB).

Attended by around 250 participants from 30 countries, the five-day event will witness 80+ technical sessions on themes such as active fishing gear, passive fishing gear and ghost fishing nets.

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