India’s first open-sea fish farming project in the Andaman Sea signals a strategic shift toward science-based offshore aquaculture to sustainably harness its vast marine resources and strengthen the blue economy
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India’s first open-sea marine fish farming project in the Andaman Sea marks a pivotal step in realising the untapped potential of its 2 million sq km Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). It also marks a shift in India’s fisheries sector governance to a more controlled, science-based model, strengthening sustainable marine production. According to a 2025 Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) report, over one-third (35.5 percent) of global fish stocks are overfished, even as global fish production was estimated at more than 223 million tonnes in 2022.
Traditionally dependent on nearshore, or capture-based fishing and limited in its use of advanced technologies, India’s fisheries sector faces increasing stress on fish populations, environmental impacts, and climate variability. The Andaman and Nicobar Islands provide a uniquely well-suited environment for India’s transition to offshore aquaculture supported by state-of-the-art technologies that enhance productivity and ensure environmental sustainability. The combination of limited industrial influence, a clean marine environment, and its strategic position within the EEZ makes it an ideal site for open-sea fish farming.
India ranks second globally in fish production. However, the marine aquaculture sector contributes only a small share of total production, with most supply coming from capture fisheries. The overdependence on capture fisheries leads to unsustainable production, harming marine ecosystems and the climate. Though coastal aquaculture is a more controlled system, it is constrained by limited land availability, disease risks, waste disposal, and biosecurity concerns, as well as competition with coastal community livelihoods and tourism. These limitations highlight the need to adopt alternative systems, such as offshore cage-based aquaculture, that minimise ecological pressure on nearshore zones. Adopting such models can support the expansion of India’s sustainable blue economy aligned with the climate and sustainable development goals, and the Union Budget 2026-27’s focus on strengthening coastal livelihoods and the fisheries sector through technology-based growth.
India’s adoption of open-sea aquaculture signals a shift to technology-driven, science-based marine production.
Offshore systems typically operate in deeper waters, with natural water exchange and strong currents, using floating cages or submersible structures capable of withstanding underwater conditions, currents, and storms. This method reduces the risk of disease and waste accumulation, and improves water quality compared to nearshore coastal farms. Internationally, countries such as Norway, Japan, and Chile have successfully implemented commercial open-sea aquaculture for high-value marine fish. For instance, Norway’s salmon aquaculture sector demonstrates the success of digital monitoring of environmental impacts and strict regulatory guidelines. Japan’s offshore fish farming models show the success of cooperative-based approaches with science-based, disaster-resilient cage designs suitable for changing ocean conditions. Australia combines state-level ocean planning with national licensing. On the other hand, the United States’ efforts to streamline the approvals for offshore aquaculture through a single-window system highlight the importance of coordinated regulatory frameworks for scaling up sustainably. India’s entry into this arena signals a shift to technology-driven growth in the fisheries sector, rather than further depleting wild fish stocks.
The open-sea fish farming project, implemented by the National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT) and the Union Territory administration under the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES), was launched at North Bay in the Andaman Islands. It focuses on cultivating high-value marine fish species, such as cobia and seabass, using indigenously designed and developed open-sea cage systems. In addition, the initiative focuses on deep-water seaweed cultivation to develop integrated multi-trophic aquaculture (IMTA) models that co-cultivate finfish and extractive species such as seaweed, enabling nutrient recycling and reducing environmental footprint.
Offshore fish farming in the Andamans functions as a national pilot for a coordinated governance, technology, and livelihood-based approach to innovation.
The offshore cage systems used in open-sea cage fish farming are designed to withstand the changing marine environment and are tailored to the Indian Ocean. Such a design is particularly significant in the context of India’s limited institutional and technological exposure to offshore aquaculture infrastructure, positioning the Andaman initiative as a national pilot for regulatory and technological learning. The project, therefore, functions as both a production initiative and a demonstration of offshore technology, focusing on a livelihood-centric approach involving local coastal communities in cage operations, maintenance, and harvesting. The initiative aims to strengthen local skills and capacity and reduce dependence on conventional extractive fishing through collaboration between scientific institutions and local community participation.
Offshore aquaculture offers India a sustainable pathway to diversify its seafood production, achieve nutritional security, and reduce imports of high-quality fish. In island territories such as the Andamans, fisheries are central to coastal livelihoods. Promoting open-sea fish farming opens pathways for the development of cold chain infrastructure, value addition, export-oriented production, skill development, and capacity building, which are crucial for inclusive blue economy growth.
From a policy perspective, these initiatives also support India’s climate objectives. Compared with land-based livestock systems, marine aquaculture has a lower carbon footprint, particularly through optimised feed efficiency and the use of locally sourced indigenous feed ingredients. Combined with seaweed cultivation, which results in nutrient absorption and carbon sequestration, open-sea aquaculture also supports sustainable food production.
Open-sea fish farming, although promising, comes with inherent risks, including nutrient overload, genetic interactions, impacts on wild species, and increased dependence on marine-derived feed inputs. The Andaman initiative highlights the need for establishing strong monitoring governance and systems from the project’s initial stages. At present, India lacks coordinated governance for offshore aquaculture, which remains distributed across multiple departments, including fisheries, maritime authorities, and coastal regulatory bodies. The Andaman initiative can significantly contribute to future regulatory and monitoring frameworks for aquaculture through systematic data on environmental and socio-economic impacts. As offshore aquaculture expands, it is important to ensure that it does not marginalise small-scale fishers or restrict access to traditional fishing areas. It must also foster transparent spatial planning and effective benefit-sharing mechanisms.
Shifting aquaculture to an offshore cage-based approach reduces pressure on nearshore ecosystems while opening new pathways for sustainable seafood growth.
Successful implementation of the open-sea aquaculture model in the Andamans could serve as a blueprint for expanding the technology to the east and west coasts of India, particularly in regions with a favourable seabed depth profile and low risk of cyclones. India must urgently address several key challenges, including high capital costs, consistent availability of high-quality seeds and feedstock, access to insurance, and stable, long-term market integration, to scale the model successfully.
In a 2020 study, researchers highlighted the limitations of offshore aquaculture, including high operational costs and environmental impacts from frequent transport to and from the farms. However, case studies such as Open Blue’s offshore cobia farm in Panama suggest that open ocean aquaculture can achieve commercial scale with minimal environmental impact. The European Union-funded OCEANFISH project, led by Gili Ocean Technology, promotes environmentally friendly open-sea aquaculture using submersible cages and automated feeding systems, while demonstrating how coordinated public funding, collaborative partnerships between industry and academia, and strong institutional support are critical for scaling and commercial expansion of offshore aquaculture, in addition to early-stage investments in pilot studies, financial subsidies, infrastructure, R&D, and technical support.
With strong policies and community participation, offshore aquaculture could redefine India’s blue economy and strengthen marine resource management.
India must implement the following measures to enable sustainable scaling of open-sea marine fish farming:
The Andaman open-sea marine fish farming points to a transition towards a blue economy future driven by innovation and sustainability. With robust governance, community participation, and environmental protection, this model has the potential to transform India’s blue economy by integrating food and nutrition security, climate goals, and coastal livelihoods, and to redefine India’s marine resource governance for sustainable, science-driven marine production in the long term.
Poornima V B is a Research Assistant at the Observer Research Foundation.
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