India is a land of water lands that include several rivers and seas. The rivers and seas flowing through and along with the border of India are home to a huge variety of fishes. Hence, fishing has been a major source of income for people living in the Indian villages for several centuries. Fishing in Indian villages is considered one of the major occupations for the villagers. People in the villages of the South Indian states like Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, etc. are mostly dependent on fishing to earn their livelihoods, as most of the villages are located along the coastal line.

Many people have taken to fishing in Indian villages as the primary occupation. They catch fish from the rivers or seas and then sell them in the local market. They earn their livelihoods in this way. Most of the fish caught in the Indian villages are sea fish. The major marine fish caught in Indian villages include mackerel, sardines, Bombay duck, shark, ray, perch, croaker, carangid, sole, ribbonfish, whitebait, tuna, silver belly, prawn, cuttlefish, etc. On the other hand, the major freshwater fishes caught in the Indian villages include carp and catfish; the main brackish-water fish are Hilsa (a variety of shad) and mullet. A majority of the fish is marketed abroad and it brings a huge amount of foreign exchange to India. Fish and their products account for a significant portion of the total export value in India.

Fishing can be of different kinds like deep-sea fishing, inland fishing, ocean fishing, etc. Though deep-sea fishing is not done in Indian villages on a large scale, inland fishing has developed mostly in the deltaic channels of Bengal. In the contemporary period, the Government of India is encouraging the Indian villagers to take up ocean fishing as their occupation. People get involved with fishing as both full timers and part timers. The occasional fishermen are mostly those, who are usually involved with agriculture.

Fishing in Indian villages has been providing employment to many people since the ancient period. It is still one of the major occupations for the people living along the coastal line. The number of people getting involved with fishing is increasing day by day, in the recent years.