- Why in news
- On 20 August 2026, the Ministry of Earth Sciences released the National Report on Deep-Sea and Distant-Water Fishery Resources of the Indian EEZ at CMLRE's Silver Jubilee celebrations in Kochi.
- What it is
- CMLRE is a centre under the Ministry of Earth Sciences, based in Kochi, that studies marine living resources and ecology. Its Marine Living Resources Programme runs survey cruises, mainly on the research vessel FORV Sagar Sampada. The new report pulls these surveys into one national assessment of deep-sea and open-ocean fishery resources.
- Publisher
- The report was released by the Ministry of Earth Sciences during the Silver Jubilee of CMLRE, Kochi.
- Area covered
- It covers India's EEZ of 2.37 million sq km, using three decades of systematic surveys.
- Survey base
- It draws on over 400 cruises since the early 1990s under the Marine Living Resources Programme, using FORV Sagar Sampada.
- Twilight zone
- The mesopelagic layer lies at 200 to 1,000 m. Lanternfish migration there drives the biological carbon pump.
- Hotspots named
- Areas highlighted include Kollam Bank, Angria Bank, the Off-Mangalore deep-sea slope, and the Lakshadweep and Andaman-Nicobar Islands.
- Global links
- The report ties to SDG 14 and the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development.
Don’t confuse with EEZ vs territorial waters: Territorial waters extend 12 nautical miles from the coast. The EEZ extends up to 200 nautical miles, where India has rights over resources.
Don’t confuse with CMLRE vs NIO: CMLRE (Kochi) is a MoES centre for marine living resources. The National Institute of Oceanography (Goa) is a separate CSIR institute.
Reports and indices: 14 Prelims questions since 2013; they test who publishes a report and what it measures.
Why it matters
- Gives a science base for marine spatial planning and for a sustainable Blue Economy.
- Mapping underexploited deep-sea stocks can add to food security and fishers' incomes.
Problems
- Deep-sea fishing needs costly vessels and technology that small fishers lack.
- Slow-growing deep-sea species are easily overfished, and little is known of their ecosystems.
Way forward
- Set science-based catch limits and protect nursery areas before expanding deep-sea fishing.
- Use eDNA, satellites and AI for regular stock monitoring.
Put in your answer
Blue Economy in Vision 2047: The report supports Vision 2047, which treats the Blue Economy as a core pillar of growth.
Biological carbon pump: Nightly vertical migration of mesopelagic life moves carbon to the deep sea, aiding climate regulation. Useful in a climate-ocean answer.
- 2014Mains GS1 · Q24Critically evaluate ocean resources that can meet world resource crisis.
- 2023Mains GS1 · Q14Comment on India's coastline resource potential and natural hazard preparedness.
- 2019Mains GS1 · Q17Impacts of ocean currents and water masses on marine life.
- 2022Prelims Q85Statements on UNCLOS territorial sea, innocent passage, and EEZ limits.
UPSC’s own questions that come close to this issue, from our Prelims and Mains banks.
No practice question for this one; the card may still help an answer. Why: Report on EEZ fishery resources; reports are 14 of 327 Prelims questions and background facts are thin, so no question.
Worth revising until Prelims 2028: most news questions come within two years of the event.