UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — Hon’ble Vice President of India launched the Letter of Authorisation (LoA) for Sustainable Harnessing of Fisheries in the High Seas and Odisha Deep Sea Fishing Mission Document

Q1. In the context of India's marine fisheries governance, the 'Letter of Authorisation (LoA)' / Access Pass introduced under the EEZ Rules is best described as which one of the following?

  • A. A vessel-specific, non-transferable online permit enabling a registered Indian fishing vessel to legally operate under India's regulatory obligations
  • B. A tradable annual catch quota that entitles the holder to a fixed tonnage of marine fish that may be sold to other vessels
  • C. A fuel-subsidy voucher reimbursing operating costs incurred by deep-sea trawler owners
  • D. An export licence issued to seafood processing units for shipping consignments to the European Union

Q2. The Letter of Authorisation / Access Pass for EEZ and High Seas fishing is issued and real-time tracked exclusively through which one of the following online portals?

  • A. ReALCraft (Registration and Licensing of Fishing Craft) portal
  • B. PARIVESH environmental clearance portal
  • C. e-SANTA e-marketplace portal
  • D. Matsya Setu online learning portal

Q3. India's participation in Regional Fisheries Management Organisations such as the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission, and its obligations for High Seas fishing, are operationalised primarily by which one of the following?

  • A. Department of Fisheries, Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying
  • B. Ministry of Earth Sciences
  • C. Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways
  • D. Ministry of External Affairs

Q4. Under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), 1982, up to how many nautical miles from the baseline may a coastal State's Exclusive Economic Zone extend?

  • A. 200 nautical miles
  • B. 12 nautical miles
  • C. 24 nautical miles
  • D. 100 nautical miles

Q5. Which one of the following is the outermost maritime zone, lying beyond the national jurisdiction of any State, where Indian vessels require RFMO-based authorisation (the LoA) to fish?

  • A. High Seas
  • B. Contiguous Zone
  • C. Territorial Sea
  • D. Continental Shelf

Q6. The 'Rules for Sustainable Harnessing of Fisheries in the Exclusive Economic Zone' notified on 4 November 2025 were notified by which one of the following Union Ministries?

  • A. Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying
  • B. Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change
  • C. Ministry of Earth Sciences
  • D. Ministry of Commerce and Industry

Q7. The Odisha Deep Sea Fishing Mission Document launched on 9 July 2026 at Bhubaneswar is best characterised as which one of the following?

  • A. A state-specific ten-year (2026–2036) roadmap for deep-sea fisheries development
  • B. A national mission covering all coastal States and Union Territories for the period 2026–2036
  • C. A five-year action plan that replaces the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana within Odisha
  • D. A bilateral fishing-rights agreement between Odisha and the Lakshadweep administration

Q8. Financial assistance for the setting up of Fish Farmer Producer Organisations (FFPOs), which are prioritised for deep-sea operations, is provided by the Department of Fisheries under which one of the following schemes?

  • A. Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY)
  • B. Fisheries and Aquaculture Infrastructure Development Fund (FIDF)
  • C. Blue Revolution Scheme (Neel Kranti Mission)
  • D. National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA)