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ICAR-CMFRI's Marine Fish Stock Status of India (2022) publication found 91.1% of 135 assessed marine fish stocks in India's EEZ to be sustainable, with no palpable decline in trawl-based landings during 2021-2025.
Fisheries is a State subject; coastal States enforce their own Marine Fishing Regulation Acts (MFRA) governing zoning, mesh-size, seasonal bans, and gear restrictions within 12 nautical miles.
PMMSY supports Turtle Excluder Devices, sea ranching, artificial reefs, deep-sea vessel acquisition and mariculture/seaweed farming to protect traditional fishers and inshore stocks.
National institute for marine fisheries research and stock assessment
Each coastal State's own law governing zoning, mesh-size, gear, seasonal bans and minimum legal catch sizes within 12 nautical miles, since 'Fisheries' is a State List subject
Under UNCLOS, a coastal state's EEZ extends up to 200 nautical miles from its baseline, within which it has sovereign rights over living and non-living resources. India's marine fish stock assessments, like CMFRI's, cover this full EEZ — not just the 12-nautical-mile territorial waters that individual States regulate
Simple Analogy: Territorial waters (12 nm) are like a state's own backyard; the EEZ (200 nm) is the much larger zone where the country still holds exclusive economic rights but shares broader regulatory space with the Centre
GS Paper 3 > Environment > Marine Resources
Occasional — periodic CMFRI stock assessments
Exclusive Economic Zone — up to 200 nautical miles from the baseline, where a coastal state has sovereign resource rights