India Plans to Issue Krill Fishing Permits for Antarctic Waters
India has launched a set of reforms aimed at strengthening its fisheries sector. Last week, Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired a meeting with key stakeholders in the industry as India prepares to focus more on deep-sea fishing and increase seafood exports.
“We attach great importance to this area and have worked extensively to improve infrastructure relating to the sector and also ensure greater access to credit as well as markets for our fishermen,” said Modi.
Government data shows that India’s fish production has surged by 82 percent in the last decade, reaching 17.4 million tons in 2022-23 from 9.5 million tons in 2013-2014. This saw India become the third biggest fish producer in the world, with aquaculture representing the largest share of the growth.
However, with the focus now on boosting deep-sea fishing, India is planning to venture into commercial krill fishing in the Antarctic Ocean. Two Mumbai-based fishing firms have reportedly announced plans to launch krill harvesting. Krill is a tiny crustacean that makes up the base of the food chain in the Southern Ocean.
According to a report by the Times of India (TOI), the firms may attempt krill fishing this summer in the Antarctic (between December and February). “Till now, we did not venture into fishing there because it requires a huge investment. We have asked the companies to talk to those in other countries involved in fishing in the Southern Ocean. We will give them permits and also the Indian flag for their vessels,” M Ravichandran, secretary, Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) told TOI.
As a member of the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR), the international body in charge of conserving marine life in Antarctic waters, India has fishing rights in Southern Ocean. But until now, India has not been utilizing its fishing quotas in the region. India currently imports krill oil from Norway for use as a feed in aquaculture farms. In fact, the rising demand for krill as an aquaculture feed has led to a significant growth in commercial krill fishing in the last few years. Commercial fishing for krill reached a record 498,000 tons in 2023, with Norway and China leading in the harvest.
CCAMLR has set a krill fishing limit at 620,000 metric tons per year. However, some scientists and conservationists are worried that catches are steadily rising towards the limit, especially as more countries become interested in krill fishing. Some of CCAMLR’s members (including China and Russia) are opposed to the creation of new Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in Antarctica, which could be a win for biodiversity in the region.