"The island territories hold the key to India's Blue Economy ambitions." Discuss with reference to the Andaman & Nicobar and Lakshadweep islands.

The Andaman & Nicobar (A&N) Islands cover about one-third of India's EEZ (6.60 lakh sq km) and Lakshadweep about 17% (4 lakh sq km). Together they hold roughly 2.5 lakh tonnes of untapped fisheries potential [1]. That makes them central to India's Blue Economy, but only if growth respects ecological and implementation limits.

Why the islands hold the key

• Resource frontier: They lie close to tuna migration routes and oceanic grounds the mainland fleet seldom reaches [3]. A&N alone has a tuna potential of about 64,500 tonnes [2].
• Cluster approach: A Tuna Cluster in A&N was notified in 2024 with ₹58.91 crore of projects [2], and a Seaweed Cluster in Lakshadweep [1]. Each cluster concentrates infrastructure in one place to gain economies of scale.
• Value creation: The island strategy shifts the focus from the size of the catch to processing, cold chains and direct exports through a stronger MPEDA presence. PMMSY allocates ₹218 crore to A&N and ₹175 crore to Lakshadweep [3].
• Infrastructure: A ₹199.24 crore Smart & Integrated Fishing Harbour at Mayabunder is fully centrally funded [5].
• Strategic presence: The islands anchor India in the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal [3]. Under the EEZ Rules 2025, the free Access Pass issued through ReALCRaft is denied to foreign vessels, which keeps the resource for Indian fishers [4].
• Livelihoods: Seaweed farming and more than 300 ornamental reef species give households additional sources of income [3].

Limits to the promise

• Fragile reefs: Lakshadweep's pole-and-line tuna fishery, its ornamental trade and local food security all depend on the same reefs. CMFRI recorded intense coral bleaching there after marine heatwaves [6].
• Shared stocks: Tuna migrate across national waters, so targets such as doubling Lakshadweep's catch to 50,000 tonnes [3] must fit regional (IOTC) conservation limits.
• Implementation gap: Of the 50 deep-sea vessels sanctioned under PMMSY for Andhra Pradesh, only 6 are operating [7]. Money allocated does not guarantee results.
• Local exclusion: The gains will go to outsiders unless islanders take part in the value chains [3].

Way forward

• Align tuna targets with IOTC measures and use Access Pass records to report catches [4].
• Monitor reef health and bait-fish stocks before scaling up fishing effort.
• Release PMMSY instalments only once vessels are at sea and catch is landed.

Overall, the islands give India the area, the stocks and the strategic reach for a Blue Economy. Turning that potential into results needs value addition led by local communities, fishing within reef limits and funding tied to outcomes. Done this way, the push would advance SDG 14 (Life Below Water) and make the islands lasting anchors of India's Blue Economy.