Accurate figures of the total area covered by estuarine waters in India and the yields of fish from them are not available. Some rough estimates indicate that about 2,14,500 ha of estuaries and lagoons and 20,20,000 ha of cultivable coastal areas are available for the development of estuarine fisheries and coastal aquaculture. Among the major estuarine systems, the Hooghly-Matlah in West Bengal, the Mahanadi in Orissa, the Godavari in Andhra Pradesh and the Lakes - Chilka in Orissa, Pulicat in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, and Vembanad in Kerala - produce appreciable quantities of fish. In addition to these, the estuaries of other rivers flowing into the Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea also contribute significantly to the fishery economy of the country. The estimated average production figures are Hooghly - Matlah - 7500 t, Mahanadi (marketable surplus only) - 6501, Chilka - 3600 t, Pulicat 1000 t and Vembanad backwaters - more than 10,0001. The species composition, gear employed, salient features of the trends in the fisheries and possibilities of development of culture fisheries in the estuarine waters of the country are discussed bringing out the relationship between the fisheries of the estuaries and the adjacent seas on the east as well as the west coast of the country.