Coastal Aquaculture and Mariculture

Unit 3 - Indian Ocean capture fisheries

3.2. Fisheries potential

The warmth of the Indian Ocean keeps phytoplankton production low, except along the northern fringe and in a few scattered spots elsewhere; life in the ocean is thus limited. Fishing is confined to subsistence levels. Its fish are of great and growing importance to the bordering countries for domestic consumption and export. Fishing fleets from Russia, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan also exploit the Indian Ocean, mainly for shrimp and tuna. Endangered marine species include the dugong, seals, turtles, and whales. Oil and ship pollution threatens the Arabian Sea, Persian Gulf, and Red Sea.
A number of estimates of the potential yield of the Indian Ocean based on primary productivity, exploratory fishing, surface area or shelf area and so forth have been made. A convenient estimate to use is that of Shomura, who estimated the potential yield to be about fourteen million metric tonnes, plus several hundred of thousands of tonnes of squids. From the stand point of the resource base growth rates of both 5 and feasible for both demersal and sholaling pelagic fishes. It is felt that the present yield can be increased substantially with existing technology.
Fish production
Indian Ocean has been divided into Eastern Indian Ocean (No. 57) and Western Indian Ocean (No. 51) by FAO for statistical purposes. The landing from Indian Ocean fisheries was just 1.8 mt in 1964 and increased to 2.6 million mt in 1970, 3.6 mt in 1978, 5.6 mt in 1988 and reached a production of 9.47 million tonnes, contributing 11.32 % to the total world marine capture fisheries production in 2005. Its production varied between 84, 87,579 mt in 1998 and 94,73,411 mt 2005. Eastern Indian Ocean production is always more than the Western Indian Ocean.

(Souce: FAO )*Figures in parantheses indicate % in relation to total

Principal fish producers in Indian Ocean
Indonesia is the leading country in marine capture fisheries production in the Indian Ocean region. This is followed by India. The major catch of the countries bordering the Indian Ocean is primarily coastal and restricted to relatively shallow areas. Many of the resources are under exploited and still in the stage of virgin stock. Hence, intensive exploitation should be carried out to boost the production of fisheries resources in this oceanic province. However, in major maritime states of India such as Kerala, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Tamilnadu, Karachi in Pakistan and the west coast of Thailand, some of the resources have reached the MSY and hence at most care is to be taken to sustain the resources.