India and Seychelles agree to deepen cooperation in fisheries and blue economy

Key facts

• India and Seychelles agreed to deepen cooperation in fisheries and the blue economy, focusing on sustainable marine resource management, aquaculture, and tuna fisheries.
• The meeting was co-chaired by India's Fisheries Secretary Abhilaksh Likhi and Seychelles' Minister of Fisheries, Agriculture and Blue Economy Wallace Cosgrow.
• India reported fish production of 19.7 million tonnes and seafood exports worth USD 8.46 billion.
• Both sides agreed to develop a joint roadmap for sustainable use of marine resources, including technical cooperation in aquaculture, hatchery establishment, and marine conservation.
• They explored partnerships in fisheries data systems, monitoring, control and surveillance (MCS) infrastructure, and deployment of artificial intelligence in harvest management.
• Seychelles expressed interest in expediting a bilateral MoU on fisheries and aquaculture, and both sides agreed on a structured annual work plan.