PIB TrackerMission Rangeen Machhli 2031 puts biosecurity before catch targets
An ornamental fisheries action plan to be released at Agatti sets standard operating procedures for broodstock, quarantine and traceability in a Lakshadweep holding 17% of India's Exclusive Economic Zone.
What happened
- The Vice President will release the 'Mission Rangeen Machhli 2031' Strategic Action Plan for Ornamental Fisheries Development at Agatti, Lakshadweep on 31 August 2026.
- India's marine base is a coastline of 11,099 km, an Exclusive Economic Zone of 2.2 million sq km and a marine fisheries potential of 5.31 million tonnes.
- Lakshadweep holds an EEZ of nearly 4 lakh sq km — about 17 per cent of India's total — and a lagoon area of over 4,200 sq km.
- Lakshadweep has been notified as a dedicated Seaweed Cluster under the cluster-based approach to value-chain growth.
- The plan prescribes standard operating procedures for broodstock, breeding, hatchery, quarantine, health management, traceability and trade, to support certification and market access.
For Prelims
- Mission Rangeen Machhli 2031: the Strategic Action Plan for Ornamental Fisheries Development, to be released at Agatti, Lakshadweep on 31 August 2026.
- Coastline and EEZ: 11,099 km of coastline and an Exclusive Economic Zone of 2.2 million sq km.
- Marine potential: estimated at 5.31 million tonnes within the EEZ, supporting about 50 lakh fishers.
- Lakshadweep's share: an EEZ of nearly 4 lakh sq km, about 17 per cent of India's total, with a lagoon area over 4,200 sq km.
- Seaweed Cluster: Lakshadweep notified as a dedicated cluster for cultivation, processing, value addition and market linkages.
- Seafood exports: around ₹73,890 crore in FY 2025-26.
- Fishing footprint: most activity is within 40 to 50 nautical miles of the coast; Yellowfin and Skipjack Tuna lie in the deeper waters.
- High Seas Guidelines: the Guidelines for Sustainable Harnessing of Fisheries in the High Seas by Indian-Flagged Fishing Vessels, 2025.
For UPSC: The current peg for the blue economy and for island resource development beyond the mainland coastline. Use it on marine resource sustainability, on non-tariff and sanitary barriers as the real test of export capacity, and on cluster-based development of allied agriculture.
What it is NOT: This is not a production or export target for ornamental fisheries — the plan described is a framework of standard operating procedures and biosecurity standards, with no outlay, tonnage or timeline stated.
For Mains
Syllabus: GS3.14 · GS3.4 · Linkage L1
Anchor
A fisheries mission whose central instrument is a quarantine and traceability protocol rather than a catch or hatchery target — in live-fish exports the certificate is the market, not the volume.
Substantiation (data)
A coastline of 11,099 km, an EEZ of 2.2 million sq km and 5.31 million tonnes of marine potential supporting 50 lakh fishers; Lakshadweep holding about 17 per cent of the EEZ and over 4,200 sq km of lagoon; seafood exports of about ₹73,890 crore in FY 2025-26.
Exemplification
The same island group has been notified as a dedicated Seaweed Cluster, so one administration is being asked to build two distinct value chains — seaweed and aquarium fish — in the same lagoons.
Problematisation
The release gives two different figures for the same endowment, an EEZ of 2.2 million sq km against about 24 lakh sq km and a potential of 5.31 million tonnes against 58.6 lakh MT, which is an awkward base for a plan built on scientific management.
Way-forward
Lagoon carrying capacity, not certification alone, will decide whether ornamental collection stays sustainable; the plan's health and quarantine protocols need a stock assessment beside them.
Position
The binding constraint on Indian fisheries is not the size of the Exclusive Economic Zone but the 40 to 50 nautical miles within which the fleet actually works.
Deploys into: Conservation of marine resources + fisheries and allied agriculture (GS3.14, GS3.4) · the blue economy, island resource development, and biosecurity as a condition of market access.
Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying · 2026-08-30 · PRID 2304612 · PIB source ↗