India and Seychelles have held a high-level meeting to deepen cooperation in fisheries, aquaculture and blue economy activities. The Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying hosted the talks on 25 August with Seychelles Minister Wallace Cosgrow and Indian officials. The two countries aim to build a structured partnership for sustainable marine resource use across the Indian Ocean region.
What was discussed
Both delegations focused on expanding technical collaboration in multiple areas. India highlighted its current fish production of 19.7 million tonnes and seafood exports worth USD 8.46 billion. The discussions covered marine fish farming, modern hatchery development, tuna fisheries, stock assessment, post-harvest technology and marine conservation.
Both sides identified several concrete opportunities for joint work:
- Knowledge transfer through technical studies and fisheries extension programmes
- Training through formal institutional arrangements
- Fisheries data systems and monitoring infrastructure
- Use of artificial intelligence in harvest management
- Tuna processing and value chain development
- Sustainable fish waste management
Seychelles expressed interest in signing a bilateral Memorandum of Understanding specifically for fisheries and aquaculture. Both countries agreed to develop an annual work plan, align regulations, share laboratory access, and run joint pilot projects. They also planned mutual exposure visits and technical exchanges between experts and research institutions.
What this means for you
If you work in India’s fishing or aquaculture sector, this partnership could bring new technology, training and market opportunities. Better monitoring systems and sustainable practices may improve how fisheries are managed. For those in seafood processing and export, tuna value chain collaboration with Seychelles may open new business possibilities. The focus on capacity building means more structured training programmes could become available for people entering the fisheries sector.