Human food requirements in the past have been met from agricultural sources. Aquatic animals such as fish, crustacea, and mollusks have traditionally been caught from inland water and ocean as a source of cheap protein food for the hungry world population particularly in the developing countries. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization, fish production from aquaculture and captured fisheries accounted for 17% of the animal source protein for human consumption. In India only after the independence, has fisheries together with agriculture been recognized as an important sector. It is now considered an important economic activity with varied resources and their potentials. In the recent past, Indian fisheries have witnessed a paradigm shift from marine-dominated fisheries to inland fisheries, with the latter emerging as a major contributor to fish production. Fisheries and aquaculture industries are regarded as sunrise sectors and are anticipated to have a big impact on the Indian economy. The vibrancy of this sector can be visualized by the 11-fold increase that India achieved in fish production in just six decades, i.e. from 0.75 million tons in 1950–51 to 9.6 million tons during 2012–13. This is prominent because it resulted in an unparalleled average annual growth rate of over 4.5% over the years, which has placed the country at the forefront of global fish production, after China.