National Report on Deep-Sea and Distant-Water Fishery Resources of the Indian EEZ

Why in News?

The Centre for Marine Living Resources and Ecology (CMLRE) under the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) has released the “National Report on Deep-Sea and Distant-Water Fishery Resources of the Indian EEZ” during its Silver Jubilee celebrations. The report provides a comprehensive assessment of India’s deep-sea fishery resources and marine ecosystems to support the sustainable development of the Blue Economy.

Key Points

The report brings together nearly four decades of oceanographic research and three decades of systematic surveys conducted across India’s 2.37 million sq km Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).

It assesses fishery resources while also highlighting the importance of marine biodiversity conservation and sustainable resource management.

The report examines the mesopelagic or “twilight zone”, located between 200 and 1,000 metres below the ocean surface. It supports species such as lanternfishes, deep-sea shrimps and cephalopods.

The vertical migration of organisms in the mesopelagic zone contributes to the ocean’s biological carbon pump, which plays an important role in global carbon cycling and climate regulation.

The report also assesses demersal resources along the continental slope beyond 200 metres, including deep-sea shrimps, perches, scombroids, flatfishes and eels.

It provides information on distant-water species such as tunas, billfishes, sharks, oceanic squids and Antarctic krill.

The publication identifies several ecologically important marine areas and biodiversity hotspots, including Kollam Bank, Angria Bank, the deep-sea slope off Mangaluru, the terrace off Thiruvananthapuram, and waters surrounding the Lakshadweep and Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

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