IUU fishing endangers the Indian Ocean’s ecosystems, economy, and security, driving India to strengthen national policies, regional partnerships, and maritime awareness to protect livelihoods and the Blue Economy
The Indian Ocean Region (IOR) faces a range of traditional and non-traditional security threats, including climate change, piracy, smuggling, and terrorism. Yet a quieter threat persists in largely unregulated and unchecked maritime spaces: illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing. While there is no single internationally agreed-upon definition of IUU fishing, stakeholders such as the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) have developed key conceptual frameworks. The FAO’s definition is used by the Pacific Island Countries (PIC) in their National Plan of Action to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate IUU Fishing (NPOA-IUU). It outlines the legal conditions required for conducting fishing activities, specifies scenarios that qualify as ‘unreported,’ and details regulatory requirements for operations in certain areas.
The Western Indian Ocean (WIO) is renowned for its biodiversity and economic value, contributing about 4.8 percent of the global fish catch. However, this ecological repository also makes the Indian Ocean particularly vulnerable to IUU fishing and other security threats. Consequently, IUU fishing has evolved from being merely an environmental concern into a transnational security issue with serious ecological and economic implications for littoral states, making it an increasingly important pillar of India’s maritime security engagement in the IOR.
The impacts of IUU fishing extend across food security, the Blue Economy, maritime security, and environmental degradation. In India, over 28 million people depend on marine fisheries for their livelihoods and nutritional security. With illegal and unreported fishing accounting for between 16 and 34 percent of the total Indian Ocean catch, IUU fishing places a significant strain on food security and the stability of marine ecosystems.
India’s efforts to counter IUU fishing are evident in both its international cooperation and national policy frameworks.
According to India’s Ministry of Earth Sciences, the ‘Blue Economy’ is a subset of the national economy with the potential to drive development by leveraging India’s long coastline and expansive Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). However, IUU fishing poses a persistent threat to littoral countries, and sustainable fishing remains a core goal of the Blue Economy, as outlined in the Jakarta Declaration. This practice directly harms ocean ecosystems and the livelihoods of coastal fishing communities.
The absence of comprehensive monitoring systems has led to an interconnection between IUU fishing and other illegal activities, as vessels involved are sometimes used for drug and human trafficking. In response, New Delhi has been strengthening measures to safeguard its EEZ and ensure a secure and stable Indian Ocean.
India’s efforts to counter IUU fishing are evident in both its international cooperation and national policy frameworks. Its push for action within the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) is reflected in dialogues on IUU fishing hosted in Goa in 2022 and 2024. India’s Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA) initiatives include establishing regional maritime security centres and broader programmes such as SAGAR. In 2018, the Indian government set up the Information Fusion Centre – Indian Ocean Region (IFC-IOR), hosted by the Indian Navy, which serves as a repository of maritime data and actively monitors IUU fishing.
Domestically, India has a National Policy on Marine Fisheries (2017) and continues to strengthen its response mechanisms. The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) is responsible for law enforcement against IUU fishing under Extraordinary Gazette Notification S.R.O. 16(E) of 2019. In July 2023, the Union Fisheries Minister outlined key measures to address IUU fishing in India’s EEZ, including authorising the ICG under the Maritime Zones of India Act, 1981, implementing online vessel registration portals, and supporting vessel tracking and communication under the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY).
However, India’s efforts are continually challenged by extra-regional maritime actors such as China, whose grey-zone activities and distant-water fishing fleets exacerbate IUU fishing and destabilise the Indian Ocean Region.
China’s Distant Water Fishing Fleet (DWF) is among the largest, extending the country’s reach into international waters through destructive fishing methods. China is not only the world’s largest producer of fish but also accounts for over 35 percent of global aquatic food consumption. The country has been consistently flagged as a major perpetrator of IUU fishing, with over 60 percent of its vessels engaged in such activities worldwide.
Although addressing IUU fishing is driven by ecological and security imperatives, it also offers India an opportunity to leverage the issue to build strategic coalitions in the Indian Ocean region.
The exploitation of the Indian Ocean by countries such as China stems from substantial gaps in regional jurisdiction. Although the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC) and the Southern Indian Ocean Fisheries Agreement (SIOFA) provide leadership in maritime governance, critical gaps persist in both the spatial areas covered and the species groups managed by the relevant Regional Fisheries Management Organizations (RFMOs).
Reports indicate that the expansion of Chinese vessels from 2015 to 2019 demonstrates deliberate exploitation of these RFMO jurisdictional gaps. Illegal fishing by Chinese vessels in the Indian EEZ off Maharashtra in 2019, together with their growing presence in the Indian Ocean since 2022, underscores the urgent need for robust measures to counter the threat of IUU fishing in the region.
Although addressing IUU fishing is driven by ecological and security imperatives, it also offers India an opportunity to leverage the issue to build strategic coalitions in the Indian Ocean region. India should approach maritime awareness through an ‘IUU frame,’ placing it at the core of regional governance frameworks to guide policy and actionable measures against IUU fishing. Thus, while illegal fishing represents a non-traditional security challenge, it simultaneously presents strategic opportunities, enabling India to advance Maritime Domain Awareness, capacity building, and regional jurisdiction.
Sayantan Haldar is an Associate Fellow, Maritime Studies, with the Strategic Studies Programme at the Observer Research Foundation.
Shloak Gupta is a former intern at Observer Research Foundation.
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Sayantan Haldar is an Associate Fellow with ORF’s Strategic Studies Programme. At ORF, Sayantan’s work is focused on Maritime Studies. He is interested in questions on ...
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Shloak Gupta is a Research Intern with the Strategic Studies Programme at the Observer Research Foundation. ...
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