ABSTRACT
Fishing has grown into an industry with global relevance providing livelihood to 39.4 million fishers involved in capture fishery and contributing towards 16.7% of globally consumed animal protein. Marine fisheries around the world remain seriously threatened by overfishing, overcapacity and range of environmental problems. Marine capture fisheries play a significant role in meeting the nutritional requirements of the population and achieving the Millennium Development Goals. The development of marine fisheries has undergone transformation from traditional fishing methods to mechanized fishing all along the Indian coast during the last four decades. Overfishing and irresponsible fishing practices have long been recognized as leading causes that have reduced aquatic biodiversity, along with other causes such as pollution, habitat destruction and fragmentation, non-native species invasions and climate change. Measures to be adopted include avoiding overfishing and not having too many boats chasing too few fish.
