- Why in news
- On 9 July 2026 in Bhubaneswar, the Vice President is to launch the Letter of Authorisation (LoA) for high seas fishing and the Odisha Deep Sea Fishing Mission Document. The release was posted on 8 July 2026.
- What it is
- The Letter of Authorisation is a mandatory permit under the 2025 Guidelines for Sustainable Harnessing of Fisheries in the High Seas by Indian-Flagged Fishing Vessels. It lets eligible Indian-flagged vessels fish beyond India's EEZ under set conservation rules. The process is online and linked to the ReALCraft portal.
- Nature of the LoA
- It is vessel-specific and non-transferable, and linked to the ReALCraft Fishing Vessel Registration Portal.
- Compliance duty
- LoA vessels must follow RFMO measures such as catch limits, gear rules, bycatch mitigation, FAD management and voyage reporting.
- Who gets it first
- Fisheries cooperatives, including National Cooperative Exports Limited (NCEL), and vessel owners are to receive LoAs.
- Budget origin
- Union Budget 2025-26 announced an enabling framework for fisheries from the EEZ and high seas, focusing on Andaman & Nicobar and Lakshadweep, which hold nearly 49% of India's EEZ.
- EEZ limit
- A country's EEZ extends up to 200 nautical miles from its baseline under UNCLOS; waters beyond are the high seas.
Don’t confuse with EEZ vs high seas: The EEZ is within 200 nautical miles, where the coastal state has sovereign rights over resources. The high seas lie beyond national jurisdiction, so fishing there is governed by RFMO rules and flag-state authorisation.
Don’t confuse with Odisha Deep Sea Fishing Mission vs LoA: The Odisha Mission (2026–2036) is a state Blue Economy programme. The LoA is a central permit for vessels fishing beyond the EEZ.
Schemes: 52 Prelims questions since 2013, 10 in Prelims 2026 alone. They test features, the period and who funds it. In Mains, 33 news-triggered questions, mostly GS3.
Why it matters
- Opens high-value tuna and tuna-like resources beyond the EEZ, where most fishing is limited to 40–50 nautical miles from the coast.
- Backing cooperatives and FFPOs can raise fisher incomes and seafood exports.
Problems
- Small fishers lack deep-sea vessels, capital and training, so large operators may gain more.
- Compliance with RFMO catch limits and tracking rules, and the risk of overfishing, need strong monitoring.
Way forward
- Give cooperatives credit and vessel-upgrade support, with training in deep-sea operations.
- Strengthen vessel tracking and reporting so fishing stays within RFMO norms.
Put in your answer
Seafood exports: India exported seafood worth about ₹73,890 crore in FY 2025-26.
- 2022Mains GS1 · Q14Forces influencing ocean currents and their role in the world's fishing industry.
- 2014Mains GS1 · Q24Critically evaluate oceanic resources that can be harnessed to meet world resource crisis.
- 2018Mains GS1 · Q15Define blue revolution; explain problems and strategies for pisciculture development in India.
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: Lasting fisheries-policy topic on high seas access; the release is a launch notice with few testable facts, so no question.
Worth revising until Prelims 2028: most news questions come within two years of the event.