One Indian state produces more fish than the next three states combined. Andhra Pradesh harvested 55.39 lakh tonnes of fish in 2024-25 — 28% of everything India produced — while second-placed West Bengal managed 23.74 lakh tonnes. The gap is not close, and it is not an accident. It is the result of a decade in which inland aquaculture, not the sea, became the engine of Indian fisheries.
The figures below come from the Department of Fisheries’ final state-wise table for 2024-25, tabled in the Lok Sabha by Fisheries Minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh. Every row is official, every total reconciles: inland 151.60 lakh tonnes plus marine 46.15 lakh tonnes equals the national record of 197.75 lakh tonnes. Here is the full ranking — and what each state can teach the rest of India.
The Top 10 Fish-Producing States of India, 2024-25
| Rank | State | Inland (lakh tonnes) | Marine (lakh tonnes) | Total (lakh tonnes) | Share of India |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Andhra Pradesh | 48.88 | 6.51 | 55.39 | 28.0% |
| 2 | West Bengal | 20.07 | 3.67 | 23.74 | 12.0% |
| 3 | Uttar Pradesh | 13.31 | 0 | 13.31 | 6.7% |
| 4 | Odisha | 9.53 | 2.39 | 11.92 | 6.0% |
| 5 | Gujarat | 2.78 | 7.64 | 10.43 | 5.3% |
| 6 | Karnataka | 4.37 | 5.26 | 9.63 | 4.9% |
| 7 | Bihar | 9.60 | 0 | 9.60 | 4.9% |
| 8 | Tamil Nadu | 2.67 | 6.81 | 9.48 | 4.8% |
| 9 | Kerala | 2.80 | 6.47 | 9.27 | 4.7% |
| 10 | Chhattisgarh | 8.73 | 0 | 8.73 | 4.4% |
Source: Department of Fisheries, Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying — state-wise fish production 2024-25, tabled in the Lok Sabha (PIB). The ten states together produced 161.50 lakh tonnes, or 81.7% of India’s total.
Three facts jump out of that table before anything else. First, Andhra Pradesh alone (55.39 lakh tonnes) out-produces West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh and Odisha combined (48.97 lakh tonnes). Second, the top three states together — 92.44 lakh tonnes — account for 46.7% of national output. Third, three of the top ten states have no coastline at all: Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Chhattisgarh produce every tonne from inland waters. The sea matters, but ponds, tanks and rivers now decide the ranking.
India’s Decade of Growth, in One Table
| Indicator | 2013-14 | 2024-25 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total fish production | 95.79 lakh tonnes | 197.75 lakh tonnes | +106% |
| Inland production | 61.36 lakh tonnes | 151.60 lakh tonnes | +147% |
| Marine production | 34.43 lakh tonnes | 46.15 lakh tonnes | +34% |
| Inland share of total | 64% | 77% | +13 points |
| Average aquaculture productivity | ~3 tonnes/hectare | 4.77 tonnes/hectare | +59% |
Source: Department of Fisheries via PIB; Lok Sabha Unstarred Q. No. 3898 (answered 11 August 2026). Marine 2013-14 derived from the official totals (95.79 minus inland 61.36).
Production has grown at an average of 8.74% a year over the decade, but the growth is lopsided: inland output rose 147% while marine output rose 34%. That is why landlocked states now sit in the top ten, and why the states that invested in pond aquaculture — Andhra Pradesh above all — pulled away from the states that depend mainly on capture fishing.
1. Andhra Pradesh — 55.39 Lakh Tonnes: The Shrimp Superpower
Andhra Pradesh is not just first; it is first by a distance. Its 48.88 lakh tonnes of inland production alone would top the national ranking on its own — it is more than double West Bengal’s entire output. The driver is shrimp. The state produces around 46.30 lakh tonnes of aquaculture a year, including about 8.50 lakh tonnes of shrimp, across roughly 2.43 lakh hectares of ponds. It accounts for about 30% of India’s aquaculture production and 79% of its shrimp production.
The export numbers show what that means in money. In 2024-25, Andhra Pradesh exported 3,66,182 tonnes of seafood worth ₹21,245.90 crore ($2.53 billion). In 2025-26, exports rose to 4,09,274 tonnes worth ₹23,765.11 crore ($2.72 billion) — 20.75% of India’s seafood export volume and more than 32% of its export value. One state, one-third of the country’s seafood export earnings.
The lesson for other states is not “grow shrimp” — it is the system behind it: hatcheries, feed mills, processing plants, cold chains and export buyers clustered along the Krishna-Godavari delta and the Nellore coast, so a farmer’s harvest reaches a port the same week.
2. West Bengal — 23.74 Lakh Tonnes: Big Appetite, Bigger Ambition
West Bengal is India’s second-largest producer and its hungriest consumer. Fish is a staple of Bengali food, and the state still imports around 1 lakh tonnes of fish a year from Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Odisha, Gujarat and Punjab to meet demand. But the direction of travel is changing: West Bengal sent 1.78 lakh tonnes of fish to other states in 2024-25, up from 1.62 lakh tonnes the year before, and the state government says self-sufficiency is within a year.
Its 20.07 lakh tonnes of inland production — second only to Andhra Pradesh — comes from ponds, rivers and wetlands, with hilsa, catla and rohu the signature species. Marine production (3.67 lakh tonnes) is modest by comparison, which is exactly the point: West Bengal’s rank is built on freshwater farming, not the Bay of Bengal.
3. Uttar Pradesh — 13.31 Lakh Tonnes: Landlocked and Third
Uttar Pradesh has no sea coast, no shrimp belt and no fishing harbour — and it is still India’s third-largest fish producer, with all 13.31 lakh tonnes coming from inland waters. Its network of rivers, canals, ponds, lakes and floodplain wetlands makes it a freshwater farming hub, dominated by rohu, catla and mrigal.
Uttar Pradesh is the proof that the new fisheries economy is a freshwater economy. Any state with ponds and a water table can now compete with coastal states — and the inland top five (Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Odisha, in that order) together produce 101.39 lakh tonnes, two-thirds of all inland fish in India.
4. Odisha — 11.92 Lakh Tonnes: The Balanced State
Odisha is the most balanced producer in the top ten: freshwater fishing accounts for about 66% of its output, marine fishing 20% and brackish water 14%. Production rose from 11.24 lakh tonnes in 2023-24 to 11.92 lakh tonnes in 2024-25. The state is also an exporter in its own right — the value of its marine exports reached ₹4,708.1 crore in 2024-25, growing at about 7.7% a year since 2019-20.
Odisha’s hilsa, rohu, catla and prawns serve both domestic and export markets, and the state government has been pushing to double inland production and raise seafood exports further. It is the model for a state that refuses to choose between the pond and the sea.
5. Gujarat — 10.43 Lakh Tonnes: The Sea Still Rules Here
Gujarat is the mirror image of the inland states: 7.64 lakh tonnes of its 10.43 lakh tonnes comes from the sea — the highest marine figure of any state in the Department of Fisheries table, and 73% of the state’s total. With a 1,600 km coastline, Gujarat is a marine fishing powerhouse, exporting frozen shrimp, ribbon fish, cuttlefish and squid to China, Europe, America and Japan. The state government expects total production to cross 11 lakh tonnes in 2025-26.
Gujarat’s marine strength is also a warning: marine production nationally grew only 34% in a decade, against 147% for inland. States that depend on the sea are growing slowly; states that farm ponds are growing fast.
6–10. Karnataka, Bihar, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Chhattisgarh
- Karnataka (9.63 lakh tonnes) — 5.26 lakh tonnes marine and 4.37 lakh tonnes inland, a genuinely mixed fishery with strong inland water resources behind its marine catch.
- Bihar (9.60 lakh tonnes) — the quiet success story of the decade. A landlocked state that produced slightly above 4.5 lakh tonnes in 2014-15 now produces 9.59 lakh tonnes, more than double in ten years, growing 10% in 2024-25 alone. Bihar ranks fourth in India for inland fish production, ahead of Odisha. Its ponds, chaurs (floodplain wetlands), reservoirs and rivers are doing what a coastline does elsewhere.
- Tamil Nadu (9.48 lakh tonnes) — 6.81 lakh tonnes marine, 2.67 lakh tonnes inland, with major landing centres at Royapuram, Cuddalore, Nagapattinam, Mandapam and Kanyakumari.
- Kerala (9.27 lakh tonnes) — 6.47 lakh tonnes marine, 2.80 lakh tonnes inland, from 44 rivers and 49 reservoirs, with a strictly enforced 52-day monsoon trawling ban protecting the resource.
- Chhattisgarh (8.73 lakh tonnes) — another landlocked climber: production nearly tripled from 3.14 lakh tonnes in 2014-15. Fish seed production jumped from 288 crore fry in 2019-20 to 583 crore in 2024-25, up 102%. The Centre has approved ₹956.86 crore of fisheries projects in the state under PMMSY, with a central share of ₹321.01 crore, of which ₹274.16 crore has been released.
Even the states outside the top ten tell the same story. Punjab, a state nobody associates with fishing, raised production from 1.04 lakh tonnes in 2013-14 to 2.03 lakh tonnes in 2024-25 — a rise of more than 95% — on the back of pond aquaculture.
What Fish Farmers in Other States Can Copy
The ranking is not a lottery. The states at the top did specific things that any farmer or state can replicate:
- Bet on ponds, not just boats. Inland production is 77% of India’s fish. A one-acre pond with Indian major carps (rohu, catla, mrigal) is the entry point; shrimp and freshwater prawn are the upgrade.
- Fix the seed supply first. Chhattisgarh doubled its fish seed output before its production tripled. No seed, no harvest — check your state fisheries department’s hatchery and seed-farm network before stocking.
- Join a Fish Farmer Producer Organisation (FFPO). The Centre has supported 2,195 FFPOs through projects worth ₹544.86 crore, so farmers can buy feed and sell fish collectively instead of alone.
- Use the schemes that already exist. The Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY) has a total outlay of ₹20,750 crore and has approved projects worth over ₹21,394 crore. Kisan Credit Cards have reached 4.49 lakh fishers with ₹3,569.60 crore of working-capital loans, and 34.71 lakh fishers are covered by group accidental insurance.
- Register on the National Fisheries Digital Platform (NFDP). Registrations crossed 37.23 lakh by September 2026 — the platform is now the front door for scheme benefits, subsidies and market linkages.
- Think export from day one. Andhra Pradesh earns a third of India’s seafood export value because its farmers grow what the world buys — shrimp above all. India’s seafood exports hit a record ₹73,890 crore ($8.46 billion) in 2025-26, and marine products are now India’s No. 1 farm export.
Why This Matters Beyond the Ranking
Fisheries is now one of the fastest-growing parts of the rural economy. The sector’s Gross Value Added was ₹3,68,124 crore in 2023-24, up from ₹2,12,087 crore in 2018-19, and its share of agricultural GVA rose from 7% to 7.55% over the same period. Since 2014-15, fisheries schemes have generated 74.66 lakh direct and indirect employment opportunities. PMMSY alone has lifted production 39.61% since 2019-20 (141.64 to 197.75 lakh tonnes) and exports 58.34% (₹46,666 crore to ₹73,890 crore).
But the concentration in the table is also a challenge. Ten states produce 81.7% of India’s fish; the other 26 states and UTs share the remaining 18.3%. The next phase of growth has to come from the states that are not yet in the top ten — and the Bihar and Chhattisgarh stories show it can be done without a coastline.
About the Numbers
Some compilations quote a lower figure for Andhra Pradesh (51.58 lakh tonnes). That figure comes from a different data compilation; the Department of Fisheries’ final 2024-25 state-wise table — the series used in this post — records 55.39 lakh tonnes for Andhra Pradesh, and its state rows sum exactly to the national total of 197.75 lakh tonnes. All figures in this post are for the financial year 2024-25 (April 2024 to March 2025) unless stated otherwise.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which state produces the most fish in India?
Andhra Pradesh, with 55.39 lakh tonnes in 2024-25 — 28% of India’s total fish production of 197.75 lakh tonnes.
Which state is second in fish production?
West Bengal, with 23.74 lakh tonnes (20.07 lakh tonnes inland and 3.67 lakh tonnes marine).
Which state leads in inland fish production?
Andhra Pradesh again, with 48.88 lakh tonnes of inland fish. The top five inland states are Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Odisha.
Which state produces the most marine fish?
Gujarat, with 7.64 lakh tonnes of marine production in 2024-25 — the highest marine figure of any state in the Department of Fisheries table.
Can a landlocked state be a top fish producer?
Yes. Uttar Pradesh (3rd, 13.31 lakh tonnes), Bihar (7th, 9.60 lakh tonnes) and Chhattisgarh (10th, 8.73 lakh tonnes) produce everything from inland waters, and Bihar has more than doubled its output in a decade.
How much of India’s fish comes from inland waters?
151.60 lakh tonnes of the 197.75 lakh tonne total — about 77%. Inland aquaculture, not marine capture, is now the main source of India’s fish.
Sources
- Department of Fisheries, Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying — state-wise fish production 2024-25 (Annexure-I), tabled in the Lok Sabha, via PIB: pib.gov.in (PRID 2225760)
- Lok Sabha Unstarred Q. No. 3898, answered 11 August 2026 — year-wise national fish production 2020-21 to 2024-25: sansad.in
- Lok Sabha reply on PMMSY and state production, December 2025 — top-5 inland states, fisheries GVA ₹3,68,124 crore (2023-24): pib.gov.in (PRID 2205029)
- PIB release on Chhattisgarh fisheries — production 3.14 to 8.73 lakh tonnes, fish seed 288 to 583 crore, PMMSY approvals ₹956.86 crore: pib.gov.in (PRID 2225764)
- The New Indian Express, 2 October 2026 — Andhra Pradesh aquaculture and seafood export figures: newindianexpress.com
- ICSF — West Bengal fish production 23.75 lakh tonnes in 2024-25, inter-state trade: icsf.net
- Department of Fisheries / PIB — “Harnessing the Blue Economy: India’s Fisheries at a Glance”, August 2025: static.pib.gov.in
The images in this post are illustrations. All dates and figures above were verified against the official Department of Fisheries / PIB sources listed on 10 November 2026. Always confirm current details on the official sources before acting on them.
Related reading on Fisheries India:
- India’s Fish Output Hits 197.75 Lakh Tonnes (2024-25) — the national picture behind this state ranking.
- India’s Shrimp Farms Hit Record 13.05 Lakh Tonnes — the shrimp boom that powers Andhra Pradesh’s lead.
- Seafood Now India’s No.1 Farm Export: $4.5 Billion! — marine products overtake basmati rice in H1 FY27.
- India’s Seafood Exports Hit ₹73,890 Crore Record — the record FY 2025-26 export year in full.