Objectives

The primary goal of MFC 2025 is the exhaustive documentation of every marine fisher family, fishing village, fishing craft, gear, and associated infrastructure like fishing harbours and fish landing centres across India's vast coastline. It seeks to gather detailed data on:

• Fisher households: Demographics including socio-economic status, educational levels, occupational profiles (including active fishing, associated activities, aquaculture, and migration), caste, religion, housing, and amenities.
• Fishing assets: Ownership details of mechanized, motorized (inboard/outboard), and non-motorized crafts, including type, size, engine power, and share; ownership of fishing gear.
• Infrastructure: Mapping of fishing harbours, landing centres, boat building/repairing yards, ice factories, cold storages, processing plants, peeling sheds, fish meal plants, Self Help Groups (SHGs), Fish Farmer Producer Organisations (FFPOs), and general village amenities (roads, transport, schools, health facilities, etc).
• Operational details: Data on fishing vessel operations, crew size, fuel usage, fishing duration, and registration.

This comprehensive data is invaluable for designing targeted welfare schemes, improving coastal infrastructure, ensuring sustainable marine resource management, enhancing evidence-based fisheries governance, and planning for livelihoods.

Digital Transformation: A Paradigm Shift

MFC 2025 marks a significant technological advancement by shifting entirely from a manual, paper-based process to a fully digital framework. Key features include:

•  App-Based Data Collection: Customized, multilingual Android applications are being developed for data collection. An onboarding cum validation cloud based interface, VyAS-NAV app was launched on April 28, 2025 for the initial verification of the census frame (villages, FLCs, FHs), allows enumerators/supervisors to register, record, and submit geotagged data with photos in real-time.
•  Paperless Process: This digital approach eliminates the need for vast amounts of paper (estimated two million sheets for forms and 80,000 booklets previously), reducing manual errors, data loss risk, and delays associated with physical transport and digitization.
•  Real-time Data Management: Data flows directly into a secure central repository, enabling real-time monitoring, validation, identification of gaps, and instant reporting. This makes the process significantly faster (estimated 80% faster than previous censuses) and more efficient.
•  Enhanced Transparency & Accuracy: Digital timestamps, location tracking, and automated logs improve the transparency and accountability of the verification and enumeration process.
• Successor Apps: VyAS-NAV will be followed by two more advanced apps (to be unveiled around August 2025) for household data acquisition by enumerators and for tracking/verification/facility data population by Field Level Supervisors. These apps are designed for effectiveness even in low-bandwidth conditions.