45-day nationwide drive to cover 1.2 million fisher households across 4,000 coastal villages
Kochi : Union Minister of State for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying George Kurian on Friday launched the household enumeration phase of the National Marine Fisheries Census (MFC) 2025 at the ICAR–Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI), Kochi.
Calling the initiative a “milestone in India’s digital transformation of the fisheries sector,” Kurian said the 2025 Census would be the first fully digitised marine fisheries enumeration in the country’s history. The 45-day nationwide exercise, to be conducted from November 3 to December 18, will cover over 1.2 million fisher households across 4,000 marine fishing villages in nine coastal states and four Union Territories.
The Minister urged all enumerators and officials involved to ensure mandatory registration of fishers and fish workers on the National Fisheries Digital Platform (NFDP), which serves as a unified database to streamline welfare delivery.
“Only fishermen registered on the NFDP will be eligible to receive financial assistance under the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Kisan Samridhi Sah-Yojana (PM-MKSSY). The registration process can be easily completed through Common Service Centres (CSCs),” Kurian said.
Smart Census, Smarter Fisheries- The MFC 2025 is being implemented by the Department of Fisheries (DoF) under the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY), with CMFRI as the nodal agency and the Fishery Survey of India (FSI) as the operational partner.
For the first time, field data collection will be conducted through two specially designed mobile applications — VyAS Bharat and VyAS Sutra — developed to enable real-time data capture, geo-referencing, and instant verification. The digitised system allows seamless transfer of data from field devices to central servers, improving accuracy, transparency, and processing speed.
During the launch, live demonstrations of data collection were showcased from two locations — Ratnagiri (Maharashtra) and Pazhangad (Kerala) — displaying the real-time central monitoring of enumeration.
Technology Boost for Marine Safety- Highlighting new initiatives to enhance marine safety and productivity, Kurian announced that the Fisheries Ministry, in collaboration with ISRO, will install transponders on one lakh fishing vessels across the country to support deep-sea operations and navigation safety.
“Out of these, 60,000 transponders will be installed in Kerala alone, and 5,000 have already been fitted,” he said, noting that the system would significantly improve communication and safety for fishers at sea.
Collaborative Effort- Kurian appealed to state fisheries departments, local bodies, and community organisations to extend full cooperation to make the ‘Smart Census, Smarter Fisheries’ campaign a success.
The launch event was presided over by Dr Ajay Srivastava, Economic Advisor to the Ministry of Fisheries. Union Fisheries Secretary Dr Abhilaksh Likhi delivered the special address, while Joint Secretary Neetu Kumari Prasad, ICAR Assistant Director General Dr Shubdeep Ghosh, CMFRI Director Dr Grinson George, CIFT Director Dr George Ninan, FSI Director General Dr Sreenath K.R., and Marine Census Principal Investigator Dr J. Jaysankar also addressed the gathering.
The event concluded with a national workshop featuring presentations from coastal states and interactive sessions with fishermen representatives.
