Marine fisheries census report by February-end
image for illustrative purpose
Kochi: The government agency ICAR-Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) will complete the household enumeration of the fully-digitized National Marine Fisheries Census (MFC) 2025 by the end of this month, a senior official said on Saturday.
A preliminary report will be ready by February-end and the final one by March, said J Jayashankar, CMFRI principal scientist and HoD (Fisheries Resources Assessment, Economics & Extension), who is leading the census project. The enumeration is underway in West Bengal, where it started late.
The process has almost been completed in the other 12 states and union territories, he said. The initial deadline for household enumeration was December 18, 2025, which was extended twice till January 31 due to local polls in Maharashtra and other issues.
The trend based on current data collected shows the total households to be around 9-10 lakh, which is the same as the previous census. The number of habitations has increased, although the population remains the same as the previous 2016 census level, indicating migration of people from inland fisheries to marine, he said.
The trend shows that about 80 per cent of households are traditional fishing families, where fishing activity has been the main livelihood for generations, while the rest of the households are first-timers, especially migrants. The preliminary data also showed duplication of Aadhaar, as some fishermen work in different states.
The census is fully digitalised for the first time with geo-tagging of information about fisher households, types of skills they own and other details. The household enumeration began on October 31, 2025, under which all fishers and fish workers are registered on the National Fisheries Digital Platform (NFDP) to ensure the benefits of Pradhan Mantri Matsya Kisan Samridhi Sah-Yojana (PM-MKSSY).
Moving entirely from conventional paper-based methods, the digital census has generated the most comprehensive, granular and geo-referenced national database to date, laying a robust foundation for evidence-based planning.
The digital and geo-referenced census is a marked leap from predecessors in 2005, 2010 and 2016.
