Primary productivity was measured in the Indian Sector of the Southern Ocean (30° to 80°E) as part of a multi-disciplinary study during austral summer; Baseline Research on Oceanography, Krill and the Environment, West (BROKE-West Survey, 2006). Gross integrated (0–150m) productivity rates within the marginal ice zone (MIZ) were significantly higher than within the open ocean, with averages of 2110.2±1347.1 and 595.0±283.0mgCm −2 d −1 , respectively. In the MIZ, high productivity was associated with shallow mixed-layer depths and increased P max up to 5.158mgC (mgchla) −1 h −1 . High Si:N drawdown ratios in the open ocean (4.1±1.5) compared to the MIZ (2.2±0.79) also suggested that iron limitation was important for the control of productivity. This was supported by higher F v /F m ratios in the MIZ (0.50±0.11 above 40m) compared to the open ocean (0.36±0.08). As well, in the open ocean there were regions of elevated productivity associated with the seasonal pycnocline where iron availability was possibly increased. High silicate drawdown in the north-eastern section of the BROKE-West survey area suggested significant diatom growth and was linked to the presence of the southern Antarctic Circumpolar Current front (sACCF). However, low assimilation numbers (12.8–23.2mgCmgchla −1 d −1 ) and F v /F m ratios indicated that cells were senescent with initial growth occurring earlier in the season. In the western section of the survey area within the MIZ, high NO 3 drawdown but relatively low silicate drawdown were associated with a Phaeocystis bloom. NO 3 concentrations were strongly negatively correlated with column-integrated productivity and chlorophyll biomass which was expected given the requirement for this nutrient by all phytoplankton groups. Regardless, concentrations of both NO 3 and silicate were above limiting levels within the entire BROKE-West survey area (N>15.7μM, Si>18.3μM) supporting the high-nutrient low-chlorophyll status of the Southern Ocean.