Key Details
The National Statistical Office’s Methodological Approach for Compilation of Experimental Monetary Asset Accounts of Marine Fish Resources adapts OECD guidance to Indian data conditions. It proposes a species-level accounting chain:
Stage | Proposed Approach |
|---|---|
Select stocks | Prioritise commercially, economically or ecologically important marine species |
Assess condition | Use historical landing trends as a proxy for whether stocks are exploited, overexploited, rebuilding or collapsed |
Estimate asset life | Assign a period over which each stock is expected to continue generating economic benefits |
Calculate resource rent | Isolate the economic return attributable to the fish resource after production and capital costs |
Value the asset | Discount expected future resource rents to their present value |
Record change | Reflect depletion, regeneration and revaluation between opening and closing stock values |
The proposed accounts would complement conventional production statistics by asking whether current fishing activity is maintaining or eroding the underlying natural asset.
Marine Output Does Not Reveal Changes in Natural Wealth
India produced an estimated 19.77 million tonnes of fish in 2024–25, of which 4.61 million tonnes came from the marine sector. Fisheries contributed an estimated ₹1.76 lakh crore, or 1.09%, to national gross value added in 2023–24.
These figures measure economic activity during a year. They do not show whether commercially important fish stocks can sustain similar production in the future.
The proposed asset accounts would record:
depletion when deterioration in stock condition reduces expected asset life;
regeneration when a demonstrated recovery increases future productive capacity; and
revaluation when the asset’s monetary value changes for other reasons.
Landing Data Will Initially Substitute for Stock Assessments
The preferred way to assess sustainability is through scientific estimates of biomass and Maximum Sustainable Yield, supported by consistent data on fishing effort. Such information is not regularly available for every marine species in India.
MoSPI therefore proposes using species-wise landing data for the preceding ten years as an initial proxy. Current landings would be compared with historical peaks to classify each stock.
Under the illustrative approach:
Exploited stocks may receive a default asset life of 25 years.
Overexploited or rebuilding stocks may be assigned 10 years.
Collapsed stocks may be assigned five years.
These are accounting assumptions, not biological forecasts. A fall in landings could reflect depleted stocks, but it may also arise from changes in fishing effort, weather, regulation, prices or fleet behaviour.
How Would a Fish Stock Be Valued?
India does not have a market in freely tradable individual fishing quotas from which the value of marine stocks can be inferred. The paper therefore proposes the Net Present Value approach.
First, the account would estimate the stock’s resource rent—the income attributable to the natural resource after deducting labour, operating expenses, depreciation and a normal return on fishing vessels and other capital. Expected future resource rents would then be projected over the stock’s estimated asset life and discounted at a proposed 2% real rate.
The result would represent the estimated present value of the future economic benefits generated by that fish stock.
Data Gaps Could Materially Affect the Estimates
The concept paper identifies several constraints:
CMFRI landing data follow the calendar year, while national economic data follow the financial year.
Continuous biological assessments and standardised catch-per-unit-effort data are unavailable across all species.
Economic variables are largely available for fisheries as an aggregate, rather than for individual marine species.
Comparable species-level price and cost data remain incomplete.
Species classifications used by the National Fisheries Development Board, CMFRI and Department of Fisheries require reconciliation.
Until better monetary data are available, the paper proposes allocating aggregate resource rent among species according to their share in landing volumes. This assumes that physical volume is a reasonable proxy for economic contribution, even though species prices can differ considerably.
What Is a Marine Fish Asset Account?
It is a statistical record of the physical condition and estimated economic value of commercially usable fish stocksat the beginning and end of an accounting period. Unlike annual catch statistics, it seeks to show whether the resource that supports future fishing income is being maintained, depleted or regenerated.
Policy Relevance
A credible marine asset account could change the information available for fisheries policy:
From annual production to long-term capacity: Rising catches would no longer automatically imply improving sector performance if the value or expected life of the underlying stock is declining.
From aggregate policy to species-level intervention: Accounts could help identify stocks requiring fishing restrictions, rebuilding plans or closer scientific monitoring.
From environmental loss to economic depletion: Expressing stock deterioration in monetary terms could make the cost of overfishing more visible in economic planning.
The immediate priority, though, is to strengthen the foundations of the account: regular biomass assessments, standardised fishing-effort data, species-level prices and costs, and compatible datasets across fisheries institutions. Experimental monetary values should not substitute for scientific stock assessments.
Follow the Full Concept Paper Here: Methodological Approach for Compilation of
Experimental Monetary Asset Accounts of Marine Fish Resources