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Research Interests: Geography, Oceanography, Conservation, Coral Reef, Marine Ecosystems, and 3 moreArchipelago, Reef, and Atoll
Pampus argenteus (Euphrasen 1788) is one of the commercially important marine food fish in India, having high value and demand in both domestic and export market. Pomfrets in Indian waters showed a steady decline in catch due to capture... more
Pampus argenteus (Euphrasen 1788) is one of the commercially important marine food fish in India, having high value and demand in both domestic and export market. Pomfrets in Indian waters showed a steady decline in catch due to capture of undersized, juvenile fishes. Baseline information on the genetic stock structure is important for conservation and sustainable harvest of this species. Fish stock structure and genetic variation can be evaluated/identified through microsatellite molecular markers. An alternative for finding polymorphic microsatellites is cross-species amplification between genetically closely related species
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Vulnerability assessment frameworks are used in many countries to provide a primary assessment status of marine fish stocks and their susceptibility to change in response to external factors. With increasing evidence that the marine... more
Vulnerability assessment frameworks are used in many countries to provide a primary assessment status of marine fish stocks and their susceptibility to change in response to external factors. With increasing evidence that the marine fisheries of India are likely to face major impacts of changing climate along with other natural and anthropogenic factors, a study was carried out to determine the relative vulnerability of 68 species of finfish and shellfish along the Indian coast. Species selection was based on their abundance and importance in the fishery across 4 zones in the country (northeast, northwest, southeast and southwest) and on biological characteristics like growth, reproduction and predator–prey interactions. Vulnerability assessment was based on the relation between exposure, sensitivity and adaptability attributes, expressed as V = (E + S) − A. The exposure attributes selected were environmental parameters that have a direct impact on the fish stocks. Sensitivity attributes were biological characteristics that are indicative of the ability or inability of the species to respond to external pressures. Adaptive capacity attributes were biological and ecological traits that could help the species to adapt to a fluctuating or changing environment. About 69% of the species studied are highly vulnerable along the Indian coast, with their susceptibility being higher along the east coast. Fishing pressure contributes significantly to stock fluctuations and reproductive output. Species with restricted geographic distribution are especially vulnerable to climate change. The outcome of this study will serve as an effective tool in prioritizing mitigation and fishery management strategies on a regional basis in the country.
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The GIS based studies will give a clear picture of the spatio-temporal distribution of fishes in the selected study area and help in identification of critical fishing grounds and represents fundamental information for stock assessment in... more
The GIS based studies will give a clear picture of the spatio-temporal distribution of fishes in the selected study area and help in identification of critical fishing grounds and represents fundamental information for stock assessment in terms of fishery and marine biodiversity. This study investigated the spatio-temporal distribution and abundance of different life stages of common dolphinfish, Coryphaena hippurus (Linnaeus, 1758) off Saurashtra coast. Geographical coordinates of fishing and allied information on the time of fishing, depth of the fishing area as well as catch details were collected using a structured schedule, from selected gillnetters operated from Veraval. Information was mapped using a GIS software to get the spatio-temporal distribution of the species. It was observed that the grounds of small sized and medium sized C. hippuruswere in the waters off the southwest Saurashtra and northwest Saurashtra coast whereas that of large sized individuals was along the west Saurashtra coast. The favourable fishing grounds were in the deeper waters (> 200 m) along the southwest Saurashtra and northern Saurashtra coast.
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Marine lobsters are a diverse group of large crustaceans distributed almost throughout the world oceans that support commercial fisheries in many countries with significant economic benefits. While rapid progress and phenomenal success... more
Marine lobsters are a diverse group of large crustaceans distributed almost throughout the world oceans that support commercial fisheries in many countries with significant economic benefits. While rapid progress and phenomenal success were achieved in shrimp aquaculture throughout the world, progress in commercial-scale aquaculture of lobsters was relatively slow due to various biological and technical problems, especially the hatchery production of seeds. Although a marginal increase in total global landings was evident in recent years, production from world capture fisheries has generally been almost stagnant for many years. Lobster aquaculture research began almost 115 years ago, and post-larval production of several species of spiny and slipper lobsters, both temperate and tropical, has been achieved, though in limited quantities. Several diets for each developing stage of the larva were evaluated, and the physiological and nutritional requirements determined in order to successfully rear the phyllosoma larvae through the prolonged larval phase. Different models of rearing tanks including the shape, volume and flow rate of water in the larviculture systems were tested, as maintenance of the fragile phyllosoma larvae in a pathogen-free environment is the one of the most difficult aspects of larval rearing. Significant advances have been made in captive breeding and mass-scale seed production of the tropical fast-growing spiny lobster, Panulirus ornatus, and the slipper lobster, Thenus spp. Two generations of P. ornatus have been produced in captivity by the Australian scientists, which may pave way for commercialisation of hatchery production and genetic improvement of the species in future. The breakthrough has been achieved due to focused research on two key areas, the nutrition and health management of the larval culture systems.
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The impacts of climate change are invariably seen on agriculture, aquatic ecosystem, energy, and economics. The fishery sector on which livelihood of world’s 36 million fishers depends is also not untouched but a little attention has been... more
The impacts of climate change are invariably seen on agriculture, aquatic ecosystem, energy, and economics. The fishery sector on which livelihood of world’s 36 million fishers depends is also not untouched but a little attention has been given to study the vulnerability of fisherfolk population to climate change programs. Therefore, the present study was envisaged to assess the vulnerability of fishers to the climate change in Junagadh district of Gujarat, India. The vulnerability of 1500 fisher household was assessed using PARS (parameter, attribute, resilient indicator, score) methodology, in four coastal villages namely Old light house, Bhidiya, Navabunder and Rajpara in Junagadh district. Five parameters viz., fishery, economy, social, environmental and development drivers have been assessed as indicators of sensitivity, exposure and adaptive capacity. ‘Economy’ was found to be the most impacted parameter consequent to climate change followed by the ‘social’ and ‘environmental’...
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WPEB14 recommended to convene a workshop in 2019 to provide advice on the identification of draft ecoregions to foster discussions on the operationalization of the ecosystem approach to fisheries management (EAFM) in the Indian Ocean Tuna... more
WPEB14 recommended to convene a workshop in 2019 to provide advice on the identification of draft ecoregions to foster discussions on the operationalization of the ecosystem approach to fisheries management (EAFM) in the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC) convention area. This workshop entitled “Identification of regions in the IOTC convention area to inform the implementation of the ecosystem approach to fisheries management” took place the 30th, 31st of August and 1st of September 2019 in La Reunion Island. The workshop gathered 17 participants with a wide range of expertise in IOTC species and fisheries and oceanography of the Indian Ocean. Prior to the workshop, a consultant was hired to prepare a baseline draft proposal of ecoregions to be presented and discussed at the workshop by all the participants. The workshop was structured into seven sessions. In the first session, the experience of developing and using ecoregions in NAFO, ICES, CCAMLR and the NPFMC in the USA were pre...
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The opisthobranch gastropod Hydatina physis (Linnaeus, 1758) is recorded from the north-west coast of India, off Veraval, Gujarat. A literature review on the distribution of this species revealed that this is the first report of H. physis... more
The opisthobranch gastropod Hydatina physis (Linnaeus, 1758) is recorded from the north-west coast of India, off Veraval, Gujarat. A literature review on the distribution of this species revealed that this is the first report of H. physis from Indian waters since 1877 when a specimen collected from Chennai along the east coast of India and deposited in the Australian Museum was later identified to be H. physis . A note on the morphological features of this specimen is detailed in the present paper.
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The fishery and stock characteristics of Portunus sanguinolentus was studied during 2009-2010 from Veraval waters. The average annual landing was 322 t, which constituted about 40% of the total edible crab landings at Veraval.... more
The fishery and stock characteristics of Portunus sanguinolentus was studied during 2009-2010 from Veraval waters. The average annual landing was 322 t, which constituted about 40% of the total edible crab landings at Veraval. Length-weight relationship showed isometric growth. L ∞, K and t 0 estimated were 178.7 mm, 1.2 yr -1 and -0.08 yr, respectively. Total mortality rate (Z), fishing mortality rate (F) and natural mortality rate (M) were estimated to be 4.69 yr -1 , 2.85 yr -1 and 1.84 yr -1 , respectively. The estimated length at capture (L 50 ) and length at maturity (LM 50 ) were 101.33 mm and 96.89 mm, respectively, indicating that the crabs enter into peak exploitation phase after attaining sexual maturity. The species is a continuous spawner and shows peak recruitment during May and August. The current exploitation rate (E cur ) was found to be 0.61 which is equal to E 0.1 estimated by Beverton and Holt yield per recruit analysis. Thompson and Bell bio-economic analysis sh...
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On 3rd December, 2013, the rare landing of Japanese rubyfish Erythrocles schlegelii (Richardson, 1846) was observed in the trawl catches at Veraval Fisheries Harbour. Around 40 kg of E. schlegelii, along with Epinephelus diacanthus and... more
On 3rd December, 2013, the rare landing of Japanese rubyfish Erythrocles schlegelii (Richardson, 1846) was observed in the trawl catches at Veraval Fisheries Harbour. Around 40 kg of E. schlegelii, along with Epinephelus diacanthus and Pricanthus hamrur was landed. The length range was 250 to 520 mm and weighed between 400 gms to 1.5 kg each. The landed catch was sold along with P. hamrur at a price 40 per kg.
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The life history parameters and stock status of Jinga shrimp, Metapenaeus affinis was assessed by collecting length frequency, catch and effort data for the species during January 2012 to December 2015 from the commercial trawlers... more
The life history parameters and stock status of Jinga shrimp, Metapenaeus affinis was assessed by collecting length frequency, catch and effort data for the species during January 2012 to December 2015 from the commercial trawlers operating from Veraval fish landing centres in Gujarat. Growth parameters i.e., L∞, K and t0 were estimated as 185.5 mm, 1.9 yr-1 and -0.001 yr, respectively for male and 204.75 mm, 1.7 yr-1 and -0.001 yr, respectively for the female Metapenaeus affinis. The growth performance of female was found to be higher than male shrimp. Mortality parameters i.e., Z, M and F estimated were 8.37 yr-1, 2.926 yr-1, 5.45 yr-1 for male and 6.76 yr-1, 2.61 yr-1and 4.15 yr-1 for females, respectively. Current exploitation ratio (Ecur) for the male was found to be higher than that of the female shrimp. Length at capture (LC50) for shrimp was higher than the length at maturity (LM50). Relative yield per recruit (Y/R’) model projected the Emax of 0.75 for the species, which im...
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A customized sea cage for the running waters of the outfall channel was designed and fabricated by the scientists of the Regional Centre, Veraval. Two square cages of 5m size made of Galvanised Iron pipes of 1.5" size, with base... more
A customized sea cage for the running waters of the outfall channel was designed and fabricated by the scientists of the Regional Centre, Veraval. Two square cages of 5m size made of Galvanised Iron pipes of 1.5" size, with base collars and hand rails was fabricated at the site and mounted with the square shape culture nets of suitable size procured.
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The coral reefs are distributed in the tropical regions and cover less than one percent of the earth’s surface, but provide habitat for many species in the marine realm. The majority of reef building corals are found in tropical and... more
The coral reefs are distributed in the tropical regions and cover less than one percent of the earth’s surface, but provide habitat for many species in the marine realm. The majority of reef building corals are found in tropical and subtropical waters and typically occur between 30° N and 30° S latitudes (Fig. 1). Coral reefs are greatly valued due for their beauty, biodiversity it encompasses and the products and services they provide to human society. The coral reefs are made of calcium carbonate secreted as skeletal material by the coral polyp. Coral polyps live in association with intracellular algae (zooxanthellae), which provide additional nutrition to the coral in its life processes. The association of coral polyp with zooxanthellae, restrict its distribution in waters up to the depth of 100 meters where sunlight would be available for the photosynthetic zooxanthellae. The worldwide of zooxanthellate corals in the different distribution eco-regions is a unique underwater ecos...
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Gujarat is one of the most important maritime states of the country having the longest coast line of about 1,640 km and a very broad continental shelf. The state has been bestowed with highly productive and diversifi ed ecosystems and... more
Gujarat is one of the most important maritime states of the country having the longest coast line of about 1,640 km and a very broad continental shelf. The state has been bestowed with highly productive and diversifi ed ecosystems and considered as one of the leading marine fi sh producing states of India, with fi sheries providing livelihoods for more than 400,000 people directly and indirectly. However, over the last few years the marine fi sh production of the state has been relatively static at around half a million tonnes and has been showing signs of being fully exploited. However, as the state has a wide continental self it also has significant potential for mariculture. Owing to the economic importance and availability of seeds of spiny lobster, an open sea cage culture demonstration of Panulirus polyphagus was carried out involving Sidi tribes as a major stakeholder.
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Marine capture fisheries is an important component of the fisheries sector in India, generating livelihood avenues for an estimated 3.79 million fishers directly besides those involved in the secondary and tertiary structures concerned... more
Marine capture fisheries is an important component of the fisheries sector in India, generating livelihood avenues for an estimated 3.79 million fishers directly besides those involved in the secondary and tertiary structures concerned with fish marketing, processing and exports of fish and fishery products. Sustainable harvesting of the marine fishery resources is important in a scenario where there is large scale over-capitalisation in the sector and abrupt and long-term disruptions in environmental parameters due to climate change related processes. The Indian Oil Sardine, a major single species fishery in India accounts for 17 - 20% of the total marine fish landings. At the national level, in landing volumes it is the top ranked species during most years. Among marine fishes, its importance as a favoured table fish and rich source of fish oils creates a unique position for the Indian oil sardine in terms of its economic value. However, the resource is prone to sudden fluctuation...
Seasonal fi shery of Metapenaeus kutchensis (ginger prawn) is a signifi cant source of livelihood for the socioeconomically backward part-time fi shermen in the Gulf of Kutch region in India. During the southwest monsoon, a temporary but... more
Seasonal fi shery of Metapenaeus kutchensis (ginger prawn) is a signifi cant source of livelihood for the socioeconomically backward part-time fi shermen in the Gulf of Kutch region in India. During the southwest monsoon, a temporary but highly productive estuarine condition is created which provides nursery ground for various species of fiand shellfi sh in the little Rann of Kutch. A large number of prawn postlarvae migrate into the region and provide a short time opportunity to the fi shermen for maximum exploitation of the fi shery by the use of traditional gears like ‘Gunja’ and ‘Katar jaal’ and crafts like ‘Odie’. This traditional fi shery is also known as ‘Pagadia fi shery’ when fi shermen do the entire fi shing operation without the use of ‘Odie’. The sampling study of three selected sites, viz., Surajbari, Madherkhi, and Tikar revealed an annual turnover of around ` 200 million during a short fi shing period of two months (August‐September). The fi shermen involved in the fi...
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Globally, ocean climate is changing at unprecedented rates. Shifts of species distribution towards the northern latitudes are evident in many seas. The Northern Indian Ocean is warming at an alarming rate as compared to the other oceans.... more
Globally, ocean climate is changing at unprecedented rates. Shifts of species distribution towards the northern latitudes are evident in many seas. The Northern Indian Ocean is warming at an alarming rate as compared to the other oceans. The increased rate of warming will cause substantial responses in the distribution of the pelagic fish species. Many fishes of the family Clupeidae form the mainstay of the marine fisheries of the countries bordering the Northern Indian Ocean. Nematalosa nasus is one of the important pelagic fish found in the region. This study tries to understand the distributional shifts of this species from the region in two future climate scenarios (RCP 6.0 & 8.5). The results indicate a higher influence of the current vector and mean temperature on the distribution of this species. A northward shift in the distribution range is observed in both the future scenarios as compared to the predicted current distribution.
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Insurance in the fisheries sector in India, unlike that of crop and livestock, does not have a long history or an organized structure to boast of. Except for the presence of a few public sector insurance companies and cooperative bodies... more
Insurance in the fisheries sector in India, unlike that of crop and livestock, does not have a long history or an organized structure to boast of. Except for the presence of a few public sector insurance companies and cooperative bodies at the local level with limited scale of activity, the sector has received little attention either at the central or state levels. The private sector operation in this arena is also limited to a few cases scattered over time and space. Among the available options, the ‘Group Accident Insurance Scheme for Active Fishermen’ is the only major programme presently in operation that covers the life/disability risks of the boat crew.
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Saurashtra coast is situated in the Southwestern part of Gujarat which covers the coastal districts of Porbandar, Junagadh, Rajkot, Dwarka, Bhavanagar, Jamnagar, Amreli, and newly formed Gir somnath. From 1967 to till date there was... more
Saurashtra coast is situated in the Southwestern part of Gujarat which covers the coastal districts of Porbandar, Junagadh, Rajkot, Dwarka, Bhavanagar, Jamnagar, Amreli, and newly formed Gir somnath. From 1967 to till date there was marked improvement in the fisheries sector of this region. In 1967, trawling was introduced and since then the number of trawlers has increased from 900 to 10,000 (CMFRI, 1978) along the coast.