Choosing Seasonal Seafood: A Simple Step to Support Healthier Indian Seas

Seafood is a staple on many Indian tables—from surmai and pomfret to prawns. Yet marine scientists say an equally important question often goes unasked: *Is this the right time of year to eat this fish?* Along India’s coasts, that timing can make a meaningful difference to how marine life replenishes itself.

That idea is at the centre of **Know Your Fish (KYF)**, a voluntary initiative co-founded by marine biologists **Pooja Rathod** and **Mayuresh Gangal**. Rather than pushing year-round consumption, KYF encourages people to choose seafood in line with **natural breeding cycles**—so that fish and shellfish have a better chance to reproduce and recover.

Importantly, those behind the initiative are careful not to oversell it. Seasonal seafood, they say, is **no silver bullet**. But it can be an achievable, everyday step that brings consumers into the sustainability conversation.

A calendar built around the sea Unlike advisories that focus only on endangered species, KYF takes a practical route for consumers—starting with information that can guide routine decisions.

For India’s **west coast**, KYF offers an **online calendar** that helps people understand which species are breeding during different months and which ones are best avoided during that time. The recommendations draw on multiple inputs, including **breeding cycles, biological traits and a species’ vulnerability to overharvest**.

One reason the calendar approach resonates is that it meets people where they are: most buyers and diners are not looking to become marine experts, but they *do* want clarity on what responsible choices look like.

Gangal has underlined that the intention is not to prescribe diets or judge preferences. The goal is to equip people with usable information, because consumers, too, are part of the seafood system. Rathod, meanwhile, has emphasised a broader ambition: reconnecting everyday life with ocean ecology by making marine science more accessible.

Encouragingly, KYF’s approach also recognises that coastal communities have long carried knowledge about seasons and catch patterns. At the same time, not all traditional assumptions neatly match present-day realities. That is why the team has compared local knowledge with **decades of fisheries science**, instead of relying on belief alone.

From awareness to action—without blame What does “eating seafood in season” look like in practice? It may mean choosing a different fish for a few weeks, asking questions at a restaurant, or deciding to skip a favourite species during its breeding months. The power is in the cumulative effect: if enough consumers shift demand even slightly, it can reduce pressure on breeding populations.

Experts who have engaged with the initiative—from marine researchers to those working in the seafood value chain—stress that sustainability needs many levers. Better information for consumers is one lever; others include responsible fishing practices, effective regulation, and fair livelihoods for fishing communities.

In that sense, KYF is positioned as a **helpful bridge** between science and the marketplace. It invites citizens to participate in conservation in a calm, practical way—by aligning consumption with the rhythms of the sea, rather than treating seafood as a uniform, always-available product.

There is also a constructive cultural shift embedded in the idea. Seasonality is familiar to many Indians in fruits and vegetables; applying the same principle to seafood can make environmental responsibility feel less abstract and more like good household practice.

Growing a shared language for sustainable seafood KYF is currently designed for the west coast, and similar guidance for India’s **east coast is being developed**. That expansion matters because India’s coastline is diverse, and fish species, spawning periods, and fishing practices vary by region.

Over time, initiatives like KYF can help build a shared vocabulary—between consumers, restaurants, fishers, and policymakers—around what “responsible seafood” means in Indian conditions.

**Why it matters:** Choosing seafood in season is a simple, non-judgemental way for citizens to support healthier breeding cycles, reduce pressure on vulnerable species, and strengthen long-term ocean resilience—while keeping seafood culture alive and more sustainable.