Kerala’s seafood sector has launched a new sustainability initiative aimed at strengthening responsible fishing practices and securing the state’s position in global seafood markets.
The initiative centres on a draft Kerala State Fisheries Management Plan prepared by scientists at the ICAR-Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI). The plan proposes science-based harvest controls and fishing-gear restrictions to prevent juvenile overfishing and improve the long-term productivity of marine resources.
Stakeholders, including government officials, marine scientists, seafood exporters and sustainability organisations, have also agreed on a roadmap to pursue Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification for Kerala’s key shrimp and cephalopod fisheries. Certification is expected to help exporters meet growing international demand for sustainably sourced seafood.
The sector is also moving towards greater digital traceability. The Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA) is set to introduce mandatory online registration for local fish dealers and aggregators, creating a digital audit trail from landing centres to processing facilities. The Fisheries Department is additionally deploying digital trawl-footprint tracking and a mobile enforcement application.
Measures to protect juvenile fish stocks include mandatory square-mesh codends, while stakeholders are seeking faster adoption of Turtle Excluder Devices (TEDs). These measures could help Kerala’s wild-caught shrimp industry meet international sustainability requirements and improve access to markets such as the United States.
Kerala is already a major seafood-exporting state. The Kerala State Planning Board reported that the state exported about 1.8 lakh tonnes of seafood worth ₹6,941 crore in 2024-25.
The draft fisheries management plan will now be submitted to the Kerala government for final policy endorsement. The initiative is expected to combine resource conservation, digital traceability and international certification to make Kerala’s seafood exports more sustainable and globally competitive.