Advisor to NITI Aayog Ashok Jain has called for reviewing some of the existing subsidies in marine fisheries sector as a primary step to effectively manage marine resources.

The impacts of various types of subsidies should be analysed prior to formulating a sustainable marine ecosystem management, he said at the opening session of a two-day national workshop on inclusive management of marine ecosystems at the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute on Tuesday.

The subsidies which are leading to overfishing or illegal fishing should be eliminated for the sustainable development of marine fisheries, he added. Pointing out the dangers of unintended catch through fishing, he urged experts to further reduce by-catch.

Referring to the delay in implementing the latest technologies by the state governments, he said NITI Aayog would send directions regarding this to the States directly.

“India is committed to implement the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) set by the United Nations. We have to look into the possibilities of sustainable marine tourism towards achieving the SDG-14, which is related to the ocean resources”, he said adding that community participation should be ensured for conserving the mangrove resources.

A Gopalakrishnan, Director of CMFRI stressed the need for sustainably managing marine resources. Globally, the market value of marine and coastal resources and industries is estimated at $ 3 trillion per year which is 5 per cent of global GDP.

The workshop is being jointly organised by the NITI Aayog, CMFRI and the WWF-India with an aim to formulating an action plan in tune with the SDG-14 of the UN.

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