Andhra Pradesh: FSI surveys reveal sizable number of dolphins on the East Coast along Indian EEZ

FSI survey in Visakhapatnam finds 2,703 dolphins & 4 whales along East Coast of India. Survey conducted as part of PMMSY to bring 'Blue Revolution' & help India export seafood to US. 150 Risso's dolphins spotted for first time in India. Water samples collected to assess marine mammals & mitigate bycatch in fishing sector.

There are a good number of dolphins and a few whales on the East Coast of India, if the sample marine mammal stock assessment survey, conducted by the Visakhapatnam Zonal Base of the Fisheries Survey of India (FSI), is any indication.

The survey had commenced in July 2021, and would continue up to June 2024.

In all, 2,703 dolphins and four whales were sighted during the survey conducted from Latitude 14° North to 21° North and Longitude 82° East to 89° East in the upper East Coast of India along the Indian Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), covering Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and West Bengal (12 to 200 nautical miles).

The larger marine mammal sighting survey was conducted by various FSI zonal bases on the East and West coasts, and the one in Port Blair, using the FSI fleet, all along the Indian EEZ, under the guidance of R. Jeyabhaskaran, Director-General, FSI, Mumbai.

A total of 10,443 marine mammals, which included 10,416 dolphins of 16 species and 27 whales of four species, were sighted in the survey.

The survey was conducted as part of the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY), which had been launched on September 10, 2020, with the objective of bringing in the ‘Blue Revolution’ through sustainable development of the fisheries sector for five years from 2020 to 2025, with a total outlay of ₹20,050 crore.

The research programme titled, ‘Marine Mammal Stock Assessment in India (MMSAI)‘, was enabling India to export seafood to the United States, which helped the nation earn valuable foreign exchange to the tune of US $2,632.08 million during 2022-23.