Multidimensional assessment of fisheries sustainability in India's largest estuarine system

The Hooghly-Matlah Estuarine System (HMES) supports rich fisheries and millions of livelihoods, but overfishing and habitat loss are driving stock declines. Ensuring sustainable fisheries is essential to protect the ecosystem and dependent communities. This study explores how sustainable HMES fisheries truly are, using a modified Rapid Appraisal for Fisheries (RAPFISH) approach. We based our assessment on the hypothesis that current fishing practices may be less sustainable, largely due to challenges across five dimensions—ecology, economy, social, technology, and governance. Multi-dimensional scaling was used to score 45 attributes, followed by leverage analysis to identify key drivers. Data were collected from 38 fishing sites across four zones (8029 km 2 ), including 238 fisher interviews, focus group discussions (4), key informants, and secondary sources. Species- and zone-specific RAPFISH results showed sea catfish fisheries as the most sustainable (57.01 %) and tiger prawn seed fisheries as the least (34.34 %). None of the 22 fisheries were in ‘good’ (75.1–100 %) or ‘poor’ (0–25 %) categories, suggesting room for improvement. Marine zone II (MZII) was “quite sustainable” (53.83 %), while marine zone I (MZI), true estuary (TE), and freshwater (FW) zones were “less sustainable” (25.1–50 %), largely due to lower scores in social, governance, technology, and ecology. Overall RAPFISH scores for HMES were 47.06 % (species-based) and 46.7 % (zone-based), indicating a “less sustainable” status. Although economic and governance dimensions showed moderate strength, zone-specific actions—such as conflict resolution (TE, MZI); enhancing vessel registration and fishing bans (FW, TE); and consolidating governance in MZII, etc., can build resilience and support sustainable estuarine fisheries. • Assessed the sustainability of Hooghly-Matlah Estuarine System fisheries using RAPFISH analysis. •Sea catfish fisheries ranked the highest, while tiger prawn seed fisheries scored the lowest. •Marine Zone II showed better sustainability, while other zones lagged. •Ecological, social, and technological challenges need urgent attention for improvement. •Co-management, dynamic bans, and stock restoration can help secure the future of fisheries.