6 months ago
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The Union Government notified connected Saturday (November 8, 2025) the rules for ‘Sustainable Harnessing of Fisheries successful the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ)’ by prioritising fishermen cooperative societies and food husbandman shaper organisations (FFPOs) for undertaking deep-sea sportfishing operations and managing technologically precocious vessels.
“The EEZ Rules volition not lone facilitate deep-sea sportfishing but volition besides lend to enhancing seafood exports by emphasizing worth addition, traceability, and certification,” the Union Fisheries Ministry said successful a release.
The rules person defined the “operator” arsenic an idiosyncratic oregon endeavor oregon FFPOs oregon fisheries cooperatives (including multi-State cooperatives) that power the cognition oregon absorption of a sportfishing vessel, oregon who has assumed the work for its operation. The rules adhd that the Central authorities volition instrumentality steps to supply grooming and capacity-building of accepted and small-scale fishers, including fisheries cooperatives, self-help groups and FFPOs to heighten skills for heavy oversea sportfishing and value-chain efficiencies.
The Ministry said the inaugural is expected to unfastened caller horizons for the country’s marine fisheries assemblage done the instauration of modern infrastructure and the instauration of the mother-and-child vas concept, allowing mid-sea transshipment nether an effectual monitoring mechanics of the Reserve Bank of India regulations. “In land regions of the Andaman & Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep, which unneurotic relationship for 49% of India’s EEZ area, the usage of parent and kid vessels volition springiness boost to the export of high-quality fish,” the Ministry said.
The rules should specify juvenile and amerciable fishing, and guarantee that a due drawback certification is provided by the Marine Products Export Development Authority, a spokesperson for the Seafood Exporters Association of India said. “We request to person a due drawback certification and the state indispensable beforehand sustainable sportfishing practices to assistance america get caller markets,” the spokesperson said.
The rules prescribe that the applications for drawback certificate and wellness certificate shall beryllium submitted done designated online portals of the respective agencies, which shall beryllium duly integrated with the ‘ReALCRaft’ portal for verification and processing of vessel- and catch-related information.
The Centre said the EEZ rules instrumentality a steadfast basal against harmful sportfishing practices specified arsenic LED airy fishing, brace trawling, and bull trawling to support the marine ecosystem and guarantee equitable sportfishing opportunities. “To conserve biodiversity, a minimum ineligible size for food taxon volition besides beryllium prescribed and Fisheries Management Plans volition beryllium developed successful consultation with stakeholders, including State governments, to reconstruct declining food stocks. Mariculture practices specified arsenic sea-cage farming and seaweed cultivation volition besides beryllium promoted arsenic alternate livelihoods successful bid to trim sportfishing unit successful nearshore areas portion expanding accumulation without compromising biology integrity,” it said.
