Marine Fish Natural-Capital Accounting: MoSPI Moves Beyond Annual Catch to Experimental Monetary Asset Accounts for Ocean Wealth Category GS Date Data rule Economy, Environment, Fisheries and Blue GS Paper III 4 September 2026 30+ numerical facts Economy
WHY IN NEWS
- MoSPI's concept paper on experimental monetary asset accounts for marine fish resources entered UPSC current-affairs discussion on 4 September 2026 because it attempts to value fish stocks as natural capital rather than record only annual harvest.
- The methodology is aligned with the UN System of Environmental-Economic Accounting (SEEA) Central Framework, linking ecological stocks with national economic accounts.
- The exercise matters because rising catch can coexist with declining underlying fish wealth if harvesting exceeds regeneration.
- For UPSC, connect natural-capital accounting with sustainable fisheries, blue economy, intergenerational equity, coastal livelihoods and the limitations of GDP as a welfare measure.
TOP DATA & FACTS FOR UPSC
- MoSPI released the concept paper on 27 August 2026.
- India has followed **SEEA-**based environmental accounting through EnviStats India since 2018.
- India is the world's 2nd-largest fish producer in recent official assessments.
- India accounts for about 8% of global fish production.
- Total fish production in FY 2024-25 was about 19.77 MMT.
- About 77% of production was inland and 23% marine in that year.
- Marine fish production rose from about 34.43 lakh tonnes in 2013-14 to about 46.15 lakh tonnes in 2024-25.
- Fisheries support nearly 30 million livelihoods.
- Marine-product exports in FY25 were about 1.7 MMT worth roughly Rs 62,408.45 crore.