What happened: CMLRE’s MLR assessment and monitoring across India’s EEZ

The Government of India, through the Centre for Marine Living Resources and Ecology (CMLRE), Kochi under the Ministry of Earth Sciences, is implementing a programme to assess and monitor Marine Living Resources (MLR) in India’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). In the last three years spanning 2023–2026, CMLRE reports undertaking about 19 surveys to assess fishery resources and marine biodiversity in the Indian EEZ.

CMLRE states that scientific data produced through the programme is used to support sustainable MLR management, marine conservation, and evidence-based policy formulation. Reported application areas include fishery yield estimation, habitat and biodiversity identification, and data provision for national and international commitments.

What the programme supports: key assessment and monitoring applications

CMLRE’s reported applications include the following uses of survey and scientific outputs:

Potential fishery yield estimation for the Indian EEZ, conducted every eight years.Identification of ESBAs (Ecologically & Biologically Significant Areas) in the Indian EEZ.Biodiversity inventories and genomic reference libraries to support taxonomic and biodiversity research.Identification of fish spawning grounds and spawning seasons in the Indian EEZ.Data submission for national and international commitments, including inputs related to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and SDG 14 (the UN Sustainable Development Goal on Life Below Water).Scientific reports on deep-sea and distant-water fishery resources of the Indian EEZ.

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