#23 India Budget 2025: Tuna fisheries on fragile islands, rising aquaculture, building ships, all for export
Barely ten minutes into the Union Budget 2025-26 speech, India’s Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman highlighted two different points related to the fisheries sector – one, that India is the second largest in the world in fish production and aquaculture, and second, that the Indian government intends to ‘unlock the untapped potential of the marine sector by enabling sustainable harvesting of fisheries from the EEZ (Exclusive Economic Zone) and high seas with a special focus on the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep.’
The Union Budget of 2025-26 has allocated 2703.67 crore to the fisheries sector, with an aim to focus on developing the infra for export-oriented tuna fisheries in the island territories of Andaman & Nicobar and Lakshadweep, for enhancing the export-oriented scope of aquaculture, and creating more infrastructure such as fishing harbours, fish landing centers and market linkages for more export-oriented fisheries.
ISLAND TERRITORIES TO BECOME A HUB FOR EXPORT-ORIENTED TUNA FISHERIES
Tuna is a salt-water pelagic fish found in warm waters. It is fished commercially, extensively as a food fish. Out of the seven commercially viable species, four – yellowfin, skipjack, bigeye and neritic are found in abundance in the deep waters of the Indian Ocean, which is the second largest region for tuna production, contributing 21 percent to global output.
The government is keen to make the Andaman & Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep into a tuna cluster and seaweed cluster. Processing and freezing facilities in tuna fishing vessels, licensing deep-sea fishing vessels, setting up end-to-end value chains are just some of the things that are up in the anvil.
Traditionally, tuna in the Andamans is caught by line fishing, and in Lakshadweep, by and pole-and-line fishing. These are some of the oldest and sustainable methods of fishing. Tuna is also mostly consumed locally. Fishers fear that this steady corporatization of tuna fisheries might create havoc to the existing ecosystem.
The Andaman & Nicobar Islands have also been in the news for the Great Nicobar Island Project, a giant infra project at the southern tip of the Great Nicobar Island. It is a 75000 crore project that aims to completely change the face of the island by building a transshipment terminal, an airport, a solar power plant and a number of commercial industries and tourism zones. Environmentalists are concerned that this project could wipe out an important ecosystem and the great Nicobarese tribe.
AQUACULTURE GETS A BOOST
Under the central sector scheme Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana, aquaculture has been given a lot of impetus. In the new budget, there is a plan to increase the number of cages, RAS (Recirculating aquaculture system) and biofloc units to 500, provide training to 80,000 individuals and increase the area for aquaculture by 10,000 hectares. In August 2023, the Coastal Aquaculture Authority (Amendment) Bill 2023 was passed, diluting the Act to allow for ease of doing business in aquaculture, much to the concern of environmentalists.
In the Union Budget 2025, the government has increased the Kisan Credit Card (KCC) lending limit from Rs 3 lakh to Rs 5 lakh to enhance credit accessibility for fishers, farmers, processors and other fisheries’ stakeholders. This move aims at streamlining the flow of financial resources ensuring that necessary funds are easily accessible for fulfilling working capital requirements of the sector. In the fisheries sector, according to this Hindu Businessline article, the key beneficiaries of these initiatives include agribusiness and aquaculture firms like Godrej Agrovet, Apex Frozen Foods, and Avanti Feeds. Not necessarily individual fishers and farmers.
Fish hydrolysate, essentially ground up fish in liquid phase, is an important component of fish fertilizer, used to make aqua feed. The budget has reduced its import duty from 15 percent to 5 percent in a bid to lower production costs, increase revenue and profit margins for farmers, thereby improving and increasing exports.
Similarly, the Union Budget has proposed to reduce basic custom duty on frozen fish paste reduce Basic Custom Duty (BCD) on frozen fish paste (surimi) from 30 percent to 5 percent for the manufacturing of and export of value-added seafood products like imitation crab meat sticks and more.
Let's not forget that in March 2024, three international media and research outfits had published reports highlighting the horrific abuse and unsanitary working and living conditions at several facilities of shrimp processing plants in parts of southern India, particularly Andhra Pradesh. The report, published by Corporate Accountability Lab, a Chicago-based legal clinic that fights against corporate abuse, was a result of three-year long investigation that primarily documented accounts of gender-based violence and discrimination, excessively long working hours, abusive and dangerous working conditions, debt bondage, restriction of movement, underpayment of wages, harmful groundwater contamination and much more.
PUSHING THE MARITIME SECTOR
A corpus of Rs 25,000 crore for the long-term financing of the maritime industry has been set up under the Maritime Development Fund. The fund will have up to 49 per cent contribution by the government, and the balance will be mobilised from ports and the private sector. The Finance Minister stated that the Shipbuilding Financial Assistance Policy will be revamped to address cost disadvantages. The Union Budget proposed to facilitate ‘Shipbuilding Clusters’ in order to increase the range, categories and capacity of ships. This includes additional infrastructure facilities to develop the entire ecosystem. The budget also proposed to continue the exemption of Basic Customs Duty on raw materials, components, consumables or parts for the manufacture of ships for another ten years.
Gujarat and Tamil Nadu are two upcoming maritime and shipbuilding clusters. Gujarat also held its first maritime cluster meet in Gandhinagar recently. Incidentally, the Gujarat government recently demolished a number of structures from the seven islands of Beyt Dwarka. The structures mostly belonged to Muslim fishers. The National Platform of Small Scale Fishworkers condemned the demolitions in this letter of protest.
https://x.com/sanghaviharsh/status/1881575245544562763?mx=2
The budget, unsurprisingly, promises the moon and the stars in the palm of the hand. It promises exponential growth of the country through more production, more infrastructure, more extraction. It seeks to conquer the waves of the sea. The sea shall see.
RECOMMENDED READS
Budget 2025-26: Highlights and major announcements: https://frontline.thehindu.com/news/india-budget-2025-key-announcements-tax-relief-agriculture-healthcare-reforms/article69167699.ece
Budget 2025-26: India’s marine sector push sparks mixed reactions by KA Shaji: https://www.downtoearth.org.in/environment/budget-2025-26-indias-marine-sector-push-sparks-mixed-reactions
On the Great Nicobar island, why the future is fearful by Vaishnavi Rathore: https://scroll.in/article/1075116/on-the-great-nicobar-island-why-the-future-is-fearful