Development of Fisheries Sector in Andhra Pradesh

Abstract: The 974 km long coastline of Andhra Pradesh, 33,327 square kilometres of continental shelf and about 6 lakh hectares of fresh and brackish water resources provide ample opportunities for a thriving fisheries sector. The sector directly or indirectly provides employment to nearly 1.4 million people and is an important source of foreign exchange earnings. The importance of the segment is evident from the fact that fisheries contributed nearly 5.4 percent to the gross value added of the State in 2015-16. After witnessing a decline of 1.5 percent in 2011-12, the output from fisheries sector registered double digit growth rates in the following three years. The production of brackish water shrimp has witnessed the maximum vibrancy during the subsequent years. Andhra Pradesh shipped 2,83,224.9 MT of sea food worth ₹18,073 crore (US$2,284.46 million) during 2022-23 and it has contributed 16.32 per cent of sea food exported through ports and air cargo by Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA). The main objective of this paper is to explore the possibility of further improvement in exportable capacity of marine fisheries from the state of Andhra Pradesh including the existing infrastructure and marketing facilities.