India has approved accession to the Southern Indian Ocean Fisheries Agreement, seeking a fuller role in managing high-seas fishing and access to resources such as squid, toothfish and alfonsino. The fisheries ministry announced the decision on 14 October, at 5.18 pm IST.
The ministry says becoming a Contracting Party would give India full participation in the agreement's scientific and compliance bodies. India has held cooperating non-Contracting Party status since 2022. The announcement links accession to authorised fishing by Indian-flagged vessels, scientific assessments and action against illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing. It also identifies participation in SIOFA's high-seas boarding and inspection scheme as part of India's regional objectives.
Government approval and the treaty taking effect for India are separate steps. Under Articles 23 to 25 of the agreement, an accession instrument must be deposited with the Director-General of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization. The agreement takes effect for a newly acceding state 30 days after that deposit.
The Indian release gives no deposit date or date when membership will take effect. It also does not announce a catch quota, name newly authorised vessels or set a departure date for a fishing fleet.
What full membership changes
Full membership brings a place in decisions over how the fishery is managed. The treaty provides for substantive decisions by consensus among Contracting Parties present, with adopted decisions binding on all Contracting Parties. Its scientific committee assesses fish stocks and fishing impacts, while the compliance committee checks implementation of the agreed measures.
The agreement applies to a defined high-seas area of the Indian Ocean, excluding waters under national jurisdiction. Its resource coverage excludes highly migratory species and sedentary species under coastal-state jurisdiction. The parties can allocate allowable catches or fishing effort and set aside opportunities for non-Contracting Parties. Accession therefore works within a managed fishery, rather than providing unrestricted access to every species or fishing ground.
Permissions vessels still need
Indian operators already have a domestic authorisation process. The high-seas fisheries guidelines issued on 9 December 2025 require a vessel-specific Letter of Authorisation before an Indian-flagged vessel undertakes fishing or related activities on the high seas. Applications go through the ReALCRaft portal. The authorisation cannot be transferred, sold or leased to another operator.
The guidelines give the verifying officer four weeks to check the application and vessel eligibility, followed by issuance within 15 working days after satisfactory verification. Ordinary authorisations last three years; chartered, leased or joint-venture vessels follow the relevant regional organisation's validity stipulations. Operators in those three categories must furnish a ₹25 lakh bank guarantee per vessel. The guidelines provide for renewal applications at least 30 days before expiry. Reasons for rejection must be recorded and communicated to applicants.
Vessels also need registration with the relevant regional fisheries organisation and an International Maritime Organization number before operating on the high seas. Indian requirements cover operational vessel-tracking equipment, safety, communications and manning. These existing conditions remain relevant to any operator preparing to use opportunities under the SIOFA framework.
SIOFA also has its own vessel controls. For commercial operations, its authorisation measure says vessels outside the Record of Authorised Vessels are not authorised to fish for, retain, tranship or land the covered resources in the agreement area. Flag authorities submit the vessel information and must keep it current, notifying changes within 15 days. These obligations cover cooperating non-Contracting Parties as well as full members.
The 2026 vessel-monitoring measure, listed as binding from 8 October, provides for automatic satellite position reports and tamper-resistant tracking devices. It covers authorised vessels from full members, cooperating non-members and participating fishing entities. However, the text leaves the regional system's operational start date to a decision of the Meeting of the Parties. Its binding date alone is not proof that the system is already running.
The monitoring text specifies position, UTC time, vessel identity, speed and course as confidential information. Access without a flag authority's permission is confined to specified surveillance, boarding and inspection purposes, or search and rescue under an agreed arrangement.
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