The Centre will formulate Fisheries Management Plans’ (FMPs) for scientific management and regulation of the country’s marine fisheries resources. The plans will be formulated in consultation with concerned states by adopting Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries (EAF) management within the overall framework of national and international instruments. Focus will be on species-specific and area specific management plans including conservation of Ecologically and Biologically Significant Areas (EBSAs) and Vulnerable Fisheries Ecosystems (VMEs), Protection of iconic and Endangered and Threatened (ETP) species, spatial and temporal measures for sustainable utilization of resources and creation of fish refuge through consultative processes. According to the National Fisheries Policy (NFP), 2020, a state level Inter-departmental Coordination Committee for Fisheries will be formed for addressing cross-sector issues confronting the development of fisheries. The NFP, with a budget of Rs 45,000 crore for the next five years, is aimed at promoting marine fishery, aquaculture and mariculture. The NFP assumes significance because COVID-19 has shown that agriculture can be a cushion for national economy in adversity and fisheries is an important part of agriculture. The objectives of the policy include modernizing and rationalizing the fisheries sector by infusing Science and Technology (S and T), optimally harnessing the fisheries potential, robust management and regulatory framework with necessary legal backing for effective fisheries resource management and diversifying fishing practices in oceans and seas with sustainability of resources as the core philosophy. ’The NFP 2020 will offer a strategized way forward to develop, harness, manage and regulate capture and culture fisheries in a responsible and sustainable manner and ensure a productive integration with other economic sectors like agriculture, coastal area development and ecotourism to meet the goals of the Blue Economy”, officials said. It will integrate the National Policy on Marine Fisheries, 2017 (NPMF), the Draft National Inland Fisheries and Aquaculture Policy (NIFAP) and the Draft National Mariculture Policy (NMP) along with the elements of Post Harvest.