India joins international fishing agreement for greater influence, sustainable practices

NEW DELHI: India is set to join the Southern Indian Ocean Fisheries Agreement (SIOFA), an international fishing agreement aimed at enhancing its role in managing ocean resources and creating opportunities for Indian fishing vessels to operate in the southern Indian Ocean while adhering to international regulations.

As of now, India is classified as a Cooperating Non-Contracting Party (CNCP) to the SIOFA, which limits its participation in decision-making processes since 2022.

The SIOFA is a collaborative international agreement among countries focused on the management and conservation of fish resources in the southern Indian Ocean.

By becoming a contracting party, India can better protect its strategic interests, expand economic opportunities and establish legitimate rights for the sustainable harvesting of high-value marine resources within the SIOFA framework.

Additionally, this move will acknowledge India’s presence on the high seas and support the country’s Blue Economy in alignment with its national economic, scientific and strategic priorities.

With India’s accession to the SIOFA, Indian-flagged fishing vessels and enterprises will be authorised to fish for squids, toothfish, alfonsino and other non-migratory fish stocks within the SIOFA’s jurisdiction.

This accession will enable India to work collaboratively with other contracting parties to pursue the objectives of the agreement, including enhancing scientific understanding and promoting the sustainable harvesting of high seas resources, participating in scientific assessments of the resources covered under the agreement, and preventing illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.

Furthermore, becoming a contracting party will further strengthen India’s strategic regional priorities and enhance national coastal security through active involvement in the High Seas Boarding and Inspection (HSBI) Scheme, which has been adopted and is set to be implemented under the SIOFA.

Currently, as a CNCP, India has limited participation in key decision-making bodies, such as the Scientific Committee and the Compliance Committee.

Transitioning to a contracting party will grant India full access to these bodies, allowing for greater access to scientific data, research programmes and stock assessments. This will create new fishing opportunities for Indian fishers and entrepreneurs.

The high seas constitute approximately 65% of the global ocean and are currently dominated by five countries/regions: China (21%), Taiwan (13%), Japan (11%), South Korea (11%) and Spain (8%).

In the Indian Ocean, there are two major Regional Fisheries Management Organizations (RFMOs): the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC) and the Southern Indian Ocean Fisheries Agreement (SIOFA). India has been a contracting party to the IOTC since 1996, which oversees the regulation of highly migratory tuna and tuna-like species.

At present, Indian fishing vessels primarily operate within 60–80 nautical miles of the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). To optimise its fishing capacity, India needs to expand its operations across all possible high seas areas, including through access agreements in other countries’ EEZs, thus contributing to the national economy.

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