Key Details
The Department of Fisheries has launched the development phase of a separate National Plan of Action for inland small-scale fisheries. A Bhopal workshop set priorities for preparing it; the plan itself has not yet been finalised or implemented.
Partners: The Department is leading the work with the Bay of Bengal Programme Inter-Governmental Organisation (BOBP-IGO), within the framework of UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) guidance.
Waters covered: Rivers, canals, reservoirs, lakes, floodplain wetlands, tanks and cold-water systems.
Proposed scope: Fishing rights, resource management, decent work, gender equality, value chains, post-harvest trade, disaster risk and climate change.
Next step: Fishing communities and other stakeholders are to be consulted before the planned public launch next month.
Sector context: Inland fisheries account for approximately three-fourths of India’s 19.7 million tonnes of annual fish production, according to the Fisheries Secretary. The government’s 30-million-tonne target for the next five years applies to total fish production, not specifically to this proposed plan.
Fishing Rights and Freshwater Health Belong in the Same Plan
The proposed action plan treats inland fishing as more than a question of increasing catch. It brings together fishers’ access to resources, the management of those resources and the conditions under which people earn a living. That is significant across waters as different as a seasonal floodplain, a large reservoir and a cold-water fishery: each supports livelihoods but presents different management challenges.
The government also wants the plan to cover work beyond catching fish. Processing, trade and stronger value chains could improve returns for fishing households, while attention to gender can bring into view people whose work may be concentrated after the catch.
Climate and Water Quality Shape Livelihood Prospects
The Fisheries Secretary identified climate change and deteriorating water quality, including declining oxygen levels, as concerns for inland fisheries. These pressures can affect both fish stocks and the reliability of fishing incomes. The proposed plan therefore links livelihood improvement with climate resilience and sustainable freshwater management.
Fishing communities are expected to be consulted before the document is finalised. Their experience will be particularly relevant to identifying how risks, access arrangements and income opportunities differ across inland waters.
Policy Relevance
A national plan could provide a shared direction while allowing state fisheries authorities to respond to local conditions. The important policy choices concern who may fish in different water bodies, how resources are maintained, and whether improvements in processing and market access raise returns for small-scale fishers and others working along the value chain.
The plan remains at the development stage. Its eventual significance will rest on the rights, responsibilities and practical measures it sets out — not on the government’s wider fish-production target alone.
Relevant Question for Policy Stakeholders: How can the plan improve small-scale fishers’ secure access and incomes while setting workable rules to protect the different freshwater systems on which those livelihoods depend?
Follow the Full Press Release Here: India Moves to Development Phase of National Action Plan for Inland Small-Scale Fisheries