Island Fisheries Anchor India's Blue Economy Growth Plan

The Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying has set out a roadmap that puts India's two island territories at the centre of the country's blue economy. Lakshadweep and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands are to anchor growth in three high-value lines: tuna, seaweed and ornamental fisheries.

The resource base

India's coast runs to roughly 11,099 km, and the Exclusive Economic Zone around it covers nearly 24 lakh square kilometres. Fish stocks inside that zone are reckoned at 58.6 lakh metric tonnes. Close to 50 lakh fishers depend on the sector for a living, and seafood sold abroad fetched about Rs 73,890 crore in 2025-26. Public money put into fisheries since 2015 adds up to Rs 39,272 crore across schemes and programmes.

Why these islands

The two groups between them account for nearly 40 per cent of India's Exclusive Economic Zone, carrying the country's reach deep into the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal and across the paths along which tuna migrate. Lagoons, coral reefs and the deep water beyond suit tuna fishing, seaweed farming and reef-based work in Lakshadweep. The Andaman and Nicobar Islands, closer to South East Asian shipping routes, offer room for mariculture and value-added seafood production.

Money and targets

The Union Budget for 2025-26 had already framed the sustainable use of fish stocks in the Exclusive Economic Zone and the High Seas, naming these islands in particular.

Tuna, seaweed, aquarium fish

Yellowfin, Skipjack and Bigeye tuna remain under-fished in these waters. The plan leans on deep-sea and mother vessels, selective gear such as hook and line and pole and line, better handling on board, cold chains, canning and export links. A Tuna Cluster under PMMSY in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands is to modernise the fleet and add cold storage, with MPEDA widening market access. Lakshadweep has been notified as a Seaweed Cluster, with seed banks and hatcheries planned, and it is home to over 300 reef-associated ornamental species that regulated rearing units could turn into income for island families.