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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.
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Lakshadweep islands being atolls situated in the midst of oceanic waters is unique with respect to the marine biodiversity and fish wealth. The waters are replete with high value oceanic resources like the tuna and tuna like fishes.... more
Lakshadweep islands being atolls situated in the midst of oceanic waters is unique with respect to the marine biodiversity and fish wealth. The waters are replete with high value oceanic resources like the tuna and tuna like fishes. Historically, the islanders have been tapping these resources using traditional fishing methods. The island group boasts of being the only territory in the country where pole and line, a one-by-one fishing method is practiced. Low impacts on the stock and high selectivity make the pole and line method a highly sustainable one. Local ownership and shorter duration of fishing are few other uniqueness of the fishery in Lakshadweep. Though, over the years, there has been progresses in fishing sector with respect to mechanisation; craft size and amenities on-board, marketing strategies etc., the fishery is still rooted to the sustainability principles. Hence, the islands possess immense potential for developing the fisheries sector on the strengths of its sus...
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The Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute regularly undertakes Marine Fisheries Census for all the maritime states of the country. Based on the census report of Puducherry a comparative study focusing mainly on population, fishing... more
The Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute regularly undertakes Marine Fisheries Census for all the maritime states of the country. Based on the census report of Puducherry a comparative study focusing mainly on population, fishing villages, landing centres, sex ratio, religion, BPL, education and occupation was carried out for two census period viz. years 2005 and 2010. The Union Territory of Puducherry comprises of four coastal districts namely, Yanam, Puducherry, Karaikal and Mahe with coastline extending over 45 km.
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Scorpaenopsis lactomaculata (Herre, 1945) belongs to the family Scorpaenidae and commonly known as Scorpion fish. As the name suggests, scorpion fish have a type of “sting” in the form of sharp spines coated with venomous mucus. They are... more
Scorpaenopsis lactomaculata (Herre, 1945) belongs to the family Scorpaenidae and commonly known as Scorpion fish. As the name suggests, scorpion fish have a type of “sting” in the form of sharp spines coated with venomous mucus. They are widespread in tropical and temperate seas, but mostly found in the Indo-Pacific. Originally Scorpenopsis lactomaculata (Herre, 1945)was assigned underthe genus Scorpaena Herre, 1945.
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Morphological deformities or abnormalities arewell documented in many fishes from several partsof the world, including Indian waters. Severalreasons such as genetic aberrations, pollution,environmental stress, accidental injury during... more
Morphological deformities or abnormalities arewell documented in many fishes from several partsof the world, including Indian waters. Severalreasons such as genetic aberrations, pollution,environmental stress, accidental injury during thegrowing period of the fish etc. have been attributedto the presence of abnormalities in fishes.
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Live-bait is an integral part of pole and line tuna fisheries of Lakshadweep waters. Nearly 14 species belonging to families Dussumieriidae, Apogonidae, Caesiodidae, Pomacentridae, Emmelichthyidae and Atherinidae are collection island to... more
Live-bait is an integral part of pole and line tuna fisheries of Lakshadweep waters. Nearly 14 species belonging to families Dussumieriidae, Apogonidae, Caesiodidae, Pomacentridae, Emmelichthyidae and Atherinidae are collection island to island and seasonal variations in species dominance. Spratelloides spp., Apogon spp., Archamia spp, Ceasio spp., Pteroceasio spp., C caeruleus, L. tapainosoma and Spratelloides delicatulus are the most dominant live-bait species across atolls.
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A single specimen of the Banded grunt, Pomadasys furcatus (Schneider, 1801) belonging to the family Haemulidae was collected at Bhidiya near Veraval landing centre on 22nd December, 2012. The fish was caught by a single day boat locally... more
A single specimen of the Banded grunt, Pomadasys furcatus (Schneider, 1801) belonging to the family Haemulidae was collected at Bhidiya near Veraval landing centre on 22nd December, 2012. The fish was caught by a single day boat locally called as “Hodi” operated at a depth of 10-20 m near Veraval. The fish was 33.3 cm long and weighed 608 g. It is mainly a tropical reef associated fish distributed in Indo-west Pacific region. Earlier the fish has been reported from Andaman and Nicobar islands of India. Though known to be distributed in the Western Indian Ocean, hitherto it has not been reported from Gujarat.
It is evident that the variability of fish abundance in the sea has been increasing over time. This variability might be due to climate factors or anthropogenic factors such as fishing. Challenge of the modern fishery management is to... more
It is evident that the variability of fish abundance in the sea has been increasing over time. This variability might be due to climate factors or anthropogenic factors such as fishing. Challenge of the modern fishery management is to distinguish between the two and take account of these sources of variability. As all of the marine fisheries resources of India are currently under exploitation, there is no control group available to distinguish climate effects from fishing effects. Here ,we are utilizing methods involving statistical controls for this purpose.
Capture based aquaculture (CBA) of the mud spiny lobster, Panulirus polyphagus was conducted in two cylindrical floating net cages of 6 m diameter and 4.5 m depth, made of HDPE sapphire netting of 18 mm mesh size. The cages were installed... more
Capture based aquaculture (CBA) of the mud spiny lobster, Panulirus polyphagus was conducted in two cylindrical floating net cages of 6 m diameter and 4.5 m depth, made of HDPE sapphire netting of 18 mm mesh size. The cages were installed at a depth of 8 m, about 900 m away from the shore off Prabhas Patan, Veraval, India. Live lobsters were collected from lobster fishing centres of Veraval and Mahua regions of Gujarat and segregated into two groups: animals weighing 80-120 g (Group-1) and animals weighing < 80 g (Group-2). One thousand numbers of sub-adults of Group-1 with initial body weight of 99.75 ± 8.4 g, were stocked in Cage-1 and 1500 juveniles of Group-2 with initial body weight of 46.44 ± 8.8 g were stocked in Cage-2. The lobsters were fed twice daily with trash fish @ 8 % of the body weight by tray feeding. After the culture period of 90 days, no significant difference (p > 0.05) was observed in the survival rate (overall survival = 93.7 %) whereas, juvenile lobster...
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Iniistius pavo (Valenciennes, 1840) commonly known as peacock wrasse belongs to the family Labridae. Distributed in Chagos, Kenya, Mozambique, Seychelles, Somalia, South Africa and lately reported from Lakshadweep, the species is not... more
Iniistius pavo (Valenciennes, 1840) commonly known as peacock wrasse belongs to the family Labridae. Distributed in Chagos, Kenya, Mozambique, Seychelles, Somalia, South Africa and lately reported from Lakshadweep, the species is not reported hitherto from the mainland of India. Most species (82%) are found in the Indo-Pacific region, with Australia having the largest labrid fish fauna (about 33% of the species and 70% of the genera). This species usually occurs solitary in lagoon and seaward reef areas with fine to loose, coarse sand bottoms at depths of 7 to 30 m. The fish can dive into the sand when threatened. Wrasses are active only during day time, burrowing in the sand and sleeping in rock or coral shelters at night. The present specimen was observed for the first time at Veraval.
Paracaesio sordida Abe & Shinohara 1962, the dirty ordure snapper (Family: Lutjanidae), has a wide distribution in the tropical waters with its occurrence reported from Western Central Pacific and the Indian Ocean. From Indian waters,... more
Paracaesio sordida Abe & Shinohara 1962, the dirty ordure snapper (Family: Lutjanidae), has a wide distribution in the tropical waters with its occurrence reported from Western Central Pacific and the Indian Ocean. From Indian waters, this species has been previously reported along the east coast, Lakshadweep and from Mangalore in the west coast.
Field identification manual for the commercially important shrimp species of Gujarat in English and Gujarathi
Stomach contents of nine species of commercially important demersal finfishes off Veraval coast were examined. Fish samples were collected periodically from the commercial trawlers of Veraval from January 2009 to October 2010. The dietary... more
Stomach contents of nine species of commercially important demersal finfishes off Veraval coast were examined. Fish samples were collected periodically from the commercial trawlers of Veraval from January 2009 to October 2010. The dietary components of each species was studied and expressed as percentage of numerical composition (CN), percentage of gravimetric composition (CW) and percentage of frequency of occurrence (F). The major food items in the stomachs of each species were determined using an Index of Relative Importance (IRI). The gut contents of the fish varied in number, weight, and their frequency of occurrence with species to species. The study showed that prey items that were smaller in size constituted the major bulk, while the large size prey items were in fewer numbers. Based on cluster analysis (Bray-Curtis similarity) of predator (fish) feeding similarities , six sub-groups and the following three major groups were identified: group I (detritus feeders) comprised P...
India occupies sixth position globally in marine capture fish production. An estimated 1.0 million people are directly involved with fishing in India and 4.0 million people depend for their livelihood on the marine fisheries resources.... more
India occupies sixth position globally in marine capture fish production. An estimated 1.0 million people are directly involved with fishing in India and 4.0 million people depend for their livelihood on the marine fisheries resources. The Indian marine fisheries sector is currently faced by several issues like over-capitalization, over-exploitation and climate change. The impacts of climate change on marine fisheries are amply visible in the Indian EEZ. The features associated with climate change like rise in sea surface temperature, change in season and intensity of monsoon, variation in current pattern, ocean acidification etc. are likely to make changes in the community structure and phenology of marine fishes. Such impacts have brought perceptible changes in the fishery of some species, forcing fisherfolk to make changes in fishing operations. Fishes are poikilothermic–their body temperature varies with the surrounding environmental thermal conditions. While most poikilothermic...
Atolls are ring shaped coral reefs including a coral rim that encircles a lagoon partially or completely and with or without a coral island/cays on the rim. Most of the world’s atolls are in the Pacific Ocean and Indian Ocean. Lakshadweep... more
Atolls are ring shaped coral reefs including a coral rim that encircles a lagoon partially or completely and with or without a coral island/cays on the rim. Most of the world’s atolls are in the Pacific Ocean and Indian Ocean. Lakshadweep islands, Maldives and the Chagos Archipelago are the atolls in the Indian Ocean. Lakshadweep are the only atoll islands in India. They lie scattered in the Arabian Sea between Latitude 8.26° to 12.4° N and Longitude 71.7°-73.75° E, comprising of 36 islands, 3 reefs and 5 submerged banks. These islands consist of coral formations built upon the Laccadive-Chagos submarine ridge rising steeply from a depth of about 1500 m to 4000 m off the west coast of India. While the total land area is 30 sq.km, the length of the coastline is 132 km and lagoon area of 4200 sq.km. Its territorial water spread is 20000 sq.km and it constitutes 0.4 million sq.km to the EEZ of Indian Union. Out of the 36 islands, 11 are inhabited with a population of 64,473 (2011 censu...
Front line demonstrations (FLD) evolved by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research are conducted under the close supervision of scientists of the National Agriculture Research System, where in technologies are demonstrated for the... more
Front line demonstrations (FLD) evolved by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research are conducted under the close supervision of scientists of the National Agriculture Research System, where in technologies are demonstrated for the first time by the scientists themselves before being fed in to the main extension system of the state machinery. Post-front line demonstration impact analysis on open sea cage culture of finfishes and lobsters, among Sidi tribes of Gujarat aimed at assessing the socio-personal, socio-psychological and socio-economic and behavioural characteristics of Sidis - a primitive tribal group who are the beneficiaries of the open sea cage culture programme of the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) under the Tribal Sub-Plan (TSP) of the Government of India. Using multistage random sampling method, a sample of 135 Sidi tribals were selected from Veraval and Talala taluks in Junagadh District of Gujarat. The group consisted of 45 Sidis practising c...
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Indian squid, Uroteuthis (Photololigo) duvauceli (Orbigny, 1835) locally called as Narsingha, forms an important cephalopod resource in Gujarat. The present specimen was collected on 20th January 2017 from the Veraval Fishing Harbour... more
Indian squid, Uroteuthis (Photololigo) duvauceli (Orbigny, 1835) locally called as Narsingha, forms an important cephalopod resource in Gujarat. The present specimen was collected on 20th January 2017 from the Veraval Fishing Harbour caught by a singleday trawler operating at a depth zone of 40 to 60 m off Gujarat coast. The particular trawler also landed about 20 kg of considerably bigger size squids. U. (P.) duvauceli show differential allometric growth and the asymptotic length for male is higher than females, whereas the female grows faster compared to males.
Bombayduck Harpadon nehereus (Hamilton, 1822) is one of the key fishery resources landed along the Indian coast with uniqueness in distribution and exploitation. The resource is known for discontinuous distribution, majorly along the... more
Bombayduck Harpadon nehereus (Hamilton, 1822) is one of the key fishery resources landed along the Indian coast with uniqueness in distribution and exploitation. The resource is known for discontinuous distribution, majorly along the north-west and north-east coasts of India. Gujarat is the lead state to contribute nearly 64.72% (72,949 t) to the total national landings of the resource (11,2705 t) in 2018. Dolnet gear contributes nearly 95% of the total landings of the resource in the region. The landings and the corresponding catch per unit effort (CPUE) showed a fluctuating trend over the study period of 1994-2014. The catches fluctuated between 35,235 t (2016) and 92,188 t (2004), whereas the CPUE oscillated in the range of 15 to 20 kg h-1 (1998) and 30.76 kg h-1 (2003). The period of 1994-2000 was the most productive period with an average catch of 72,133 t, whereas the succeeding decade was the leanest phase with an average annual catch of 50,035 t. The estimated potential yiel...
Mud spiny lobsters, Panulirus polyphagus (Herbst, 1793), were reared at four different stocking sizes and stocking densities in open sea cages to evaluate their effects on growth performance. To evaluate the effect of stocking size on the... more
Mud spiny lobsters, Panulirus polyphagus (Herbst, 1793), were reared at four different stocking sizes and stocking densities in open sea cages to evaluate their effects on growth performance. To evaluate the effect of stocking size on the growth performance, the lobsters were segregated into four different treatment groups according to size and were stocked at a density of 300 animals per cage. To evaluate the effect of stocking density on the growth performance, lobsters of 81–100 g were stocked in four different stocking densities, i.e. 16/m2, 24/m2, 32/m2 and 40/m2. The results showed that the growth rate of (60–80 g) size group, was significantly higher compared to the size groups, i.e. 101–120 g and 121–140 g comprising of larger individuals. The final body weight, though significantly higher in 81–100 g as compared to 60–80 g, the growth performance (i.e. weight gain percentage (WG %) and specific growth rate (SGR)) were not significantly different. The density‐dependent influ...
Kappaphycus alvarezii an economically important red tropical seaweed, is used as significant source for carrageenan that is used in various food, pharmaceutical, industrial and biotechnological applications. The commercial cultivation of... more
Kappaphycus alvarezii an economically important red tropical seaweed, is used as significant source for carrageenan that is used in various food, pharmaceutical, industrial and biotechnological applications. The commercial cultivation of K. alvarezii was initiated in the Philippines in the year 1960 and later it was introduced in many countries including India for experimental or commercial cultivation. The rapid growth rates, easy dispersal and ways to cultivate K. alvarezii makes the species adaptable and flourish in new habitats. It is reported that the species can double its biomass in 15-30 days
A single specimen of Indian hand fish Halieutaea indica Annandale & Jenkins, 1910 was collected at Veraval landing centre from a multiday trawler operated off Okha in Gujarat during 10.04.2013 to 20.04.2013.This is the first record of the... more
A single specimen of Indian hand fish Halieutaea indica Annandale & Jenkins, 1910 was collected at Veraval landing centre from a multiday trawler operated off Okha in Gujarat during 10.04.2013 to 20.04.2013.This is the first record of the species along the Gujarat coast. The fish was 8.3 cm long and weighed 14 g caught from a depth of 80-100 m.
The mid-water trawl fishery along the north-west coast of India generally targets adult largehead hairtail, Trichiurus lepturus. Bulk of largehead hairtails landed in the region caught by multiday trawlers. Bycatch landed by the... more
The mid-water trawl fishery along the north-west coast of India generally targets adult largehead hairtail, Trichiurus lepturus. Bulk of largehead hairtails landed in the region caught by multiday trawlers. Bycatch landed by the commercial multiday vessels operated from Veraval harbour during August 2017 – December 2019 was investigated by analysing catch composition with respect to its spatial and temporal patterns. A total of 834 bycatch sample observations from mid-water trawl fishery were examined. Bycatch comprises of 123 species and account for 53.36% of the total catch. Highest composition in bycatch comprises of teleosts (62.09%), cephalopods (35.88%), crustaceans (1.47%) and elasmobranchs (0.56%) respectively. Uroteuthis duvaucelii, Sepia elliptica, Nemipterus japonicus, Otolithes cuvieri, S. pharaonis, Priacanthus hamrur, Sepiella inermis and Saurida tumbil were the dominant species with high annual average catches; and together contributed 50.30% of total bycatch. Discard...
Experiments were conducted to evaluate the stress ameliorative effects of temperature reduction, pre-packing anaesthesia and packing with supplementary oxygen on long duration live transport of groupers. Survival, water quality parameters... more
Experiments were conducted to evaluate the stress ameliorative effects of temperature reduction, pre-packing anaesthesia and packing with supplementary oxygen on long duration live transport of groupers. Survival, water quality parameters like dissolved oxygen, ammonia and pH as well as serum parameters like glucose, alkaline phosphatase and total protein were studied as indicative response of the transportation stress. Elevated levels of ammonia and all the serum parameters and lower levels of dissolved oxygen and pH leading to mortality observed in the control group indicate that the treatments succeeded in ameliorating the stress caused by the transportation procedures. Packing water temperature of 15°C to 20 ®C, anaesthesia with lOOppm clove oil and oxygen packing are found essential for transporting live grouper of biomass 700g for period extending up to 24h.
Fishery and stock characteristics of the portunid cab Charybdis feriata from the waters off the north-west coast of India was studied based on commercial trawl landings at Veraval during 2009-2011. Growth parameters L∞, K and t0 were... more
Fishery and stock characteristics of the portunid cab Charybdis feriata from the waters off the north-west coast of India was studied based on commercial trawl landings at Veraval during 2009-2011. Growth parameters L∞, K and t0 were estimated as 171.5 mm, 0.97 yr-1 and -0.10 yr respectively. Mortality parameters Z, M and F were 3.97 yr-1, 1.49 yr-1 and 2.48 yr-1 respectively. The length at capture (L50) and length at maturity (LM50) were 95.4 mm and 87.3 mm, respectively which indicates that crabs enter into peak exploitation phase after attaining sexual maturity. The bio-economic stock assessment model showed that the species can be exploited at the present fishing level to maintain the economy of the fishery at maximum level (MEY) or the effort can be increased by 2.4 times to maximise the yield (MSY) depending upon the management objective. However, since the stock recruitment relationship is not defined, as a precautionary approach, the effort should not be increased more than ...
Spadenose shark, Scoliodon laticaudus (Family: Carcharhinide) locally known as “sandhi” is a common species inhabiting near shallow coastal waters along the Saurashtra coast. It is exploited by trawls and gillnets throughout the year in... more
Spadenose shark, Scoliodon laticaudus (Family: Carcharhinide) locally known as “sandhi” is a common species inhabiting near shallow coastal waters along the Saurashtra coast. It is exploited by trawls and gillnets throughout the year in fair abundance. The dietary components of the species were studied and expressed as percentage of numerical composition (C N ), percentage of gravimetric composition (C W ) and percentage of frequency of occurrence (F). The major food item in the stomachs of the species was determined using an Index of relative importance (IRI). Food and feeding analyses confirmed the carnivorous feeding behavior of this species and the food mostly comprised fishes, shrimps and squids. There was no evidence of cannibalism. Overall sex ratio was 1.18 that showed the predominance of females over males. As there is limited information about the biological aspects of this species from Saurashtra coast, the results of the present investigation may play a vital role in the...
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A single specimen of the male crab (3.0 cm carapace length and 3.8 g body weight) was collected from the incidental catch sample of a multiday trawler operating at a depth range of 107-132 m off Gujarat coast of India. The detailed... more
A single specimen of the male crab (3.0 cm carapace length and 3.8 g body weight) was collected from the incidental catch sample of a multiday trawler operating at a depth range of 107-132 m off Gujarat coast of India. The detailed morphometric measurements and diagnostic features with updated systematics have been presented in this paper. The crab has well devolved branchial region and thrive in the oxygen minimum zone of the sea.
The pole and line fishery for skipjack tunas depends totally on consistent supply of live–bait fishes. Small sized fishes belonging to the families clupeidae, apogonidae, pomacentridae, ceasionidae, atherinidae etc constitutes the bait... more
The pole and line fishery for skipjack tunas depends totally on consistent supply of live–bait fishes. Small sized fishes belonging to the families clupeidae, apogonidae, pomacentridae, ceasionidae, atherinidae etc constitutes the bait fishes.
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A biomass dynamics modelling study to derive biological reference points and management requirements of 223 commercially important fish stocks in different maritime states of India was conducted. Two decades (1997–2016) of fishery-related... more
A biomass dynamics modelling study to derive biological reference points and management requirements of 223 commercially important fish stocks in different maritime states of India was conducted. Two decades (1997–2016) of fishery-related data on the harvest of resources by different types of fishing fleets formed the input. The multigear nature of the fishery situation was solved by introducing a gear standardization parameter into the biomass dynamics model. The relative positions of the fish stocks were depicted through Kobe plots generated for the ten maritime states/union territory, and the fish stocks were categorized, based on the status, into sustainable, overfished, recovering, and overfishing. The results indicate that 34.1% of the assessed fish stocks in the country are sustainable, 36.3% are overfished, 26.5% are recovering, and 3.1% are in the overfishing status. Regionally, the percentage of sustainable fish stocks were high along the southwest coast (51.6%), overfishe...
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Diet composition of nine commercially exploited fishery resources which contributes 55–60% of the total fish landings in the northwest coast of India were analyzed in this study. Gut content analysis of the selected fish groups has shown... more
Diet composition of nine commercially exploited fishery resources which contributes 55–60% of the total fish landings in the northwest coast of India were analyzed in this study. Gut content analysis of the selected fish groups has shown significant variations in the prey composition and predator preference on a prey item. The diet matrix revealed Acetes sp. (32.74%) as a key and common shared prey item, followed by mesopelagic fishes (30.51%), other shrimps (11.00%), digested material (7.42%), crabs (4.03%) and cephalopods (2.77%), etc. In this study, Acetes sp was considered as a proxy for the non-penaeid prawns due to its significant contribution (92%) to the total non-penaeid landings. Targeted exploitation of Acetes sp. has intensified recently (from 0.44 lakh t in 2004 to 1.40 lakh t in 2018) with an average annual growth rate of 11.2% due to the demand from fish meal plants. By considering its ecological and fishery importance, Acetes sp. should be considered as keystone species in the ecosystem. The Schaefer surplus production model was used to calculate the Biological Reference Points (BRPs) and model parameters MSY, FMSY, r, EMSY, and K. The model fit was fair (R 2 = 0.630) and significantly positive correlation was observed between CPUE observed and CPUE model . The estimated optimum exploitation limits (p < 0.05) for the fishery were Maximum Sustainable Yield (MSY) as 1.20 lakh t and fishing effort required to harvest MSY (EMSY) as 51.30 lakh fishing hours. However, the recent exploitation yield and fishing effort are beyond the optimum exploitation limits. Further increase in exploitation of the resources may hamper the sustainability of the stocks and may lead to detrimental impact on the trophic interactions of the fishery resources. Technical interventions are needed in the field of post-harvest and value addition for attaining fair economic returns from the harvest which at present forms a low-value high-volume fishery. Sustainable exploitation and management measures need to be introduced and implemented for the Acetes sp. in order to sustain the stocks and to maintain the integrity of the fishery ecosystem.
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ABSTRACT Ribbonfish (Trichiurus lepturus) is one of the major fishery resources of the north-eastern Arabian Sea having significance from commercial as well as ecological point of view. Information on habitat of the resource and its... more
ABSTRACT Ribbonfish (Trichiurus lepturus) is one of the major fishery resources of the north-eastern Arabian Sea having significance from commercial as well as ecological point of view. Information on habitat of the resource and its spatio-temporal variations is sparse limiting precise prediction of the grounds for efficient harvest and management of the resource. Habitat suitability modelling was applied to the ribbonfish presence/absence data from commercial trawlers using Generalized Additive Model (GAM) and Boosted Regression Tree (BRT) model along with environmental variables (euphotic depth (Z eu), Sea Surface Temperature (SST), bathymetry and Sea Surface Height anomaly (SSHa) to understand the influence of these on the spatio-temporal variation of ribbonfish in the north-eastern Arabian Sea. The predictive performances of the models compared with Area Under the Curve (AUC) and maximum kappa shows BRT model performed slightly better in predicting ability than GAM. Euphotic depth (28.5%) was observed to be the most significant contributor to the spatio-temporal distribution of ribbonfish followed by SST (24.3%), bathymetry (23.8%), and SSHa (23.5%) in the BRT model. Spatial variation of ribbonfish over the months modelled from BRT model indicated fish was strongly linked with bio-physical environment and the potential fishing grounds occurred along off Maharashtra coast during post-monsoon season. Field demonstration of the model was carried out by comparing the daily fish catch locations with weekly prediction maps. Analysis indicated the model to be in good agreement with the catch data and reliable for prediction of spatio-temporal variation in potential fishing grounds of ribbonfish in the north-eastern Arabian Sea.
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Bombayduck Harpadon nehereus (Hamilton, 1822) is one of the key fishery resources landed along the Indian coast with uniqueness in distribution and exploitation. The resource is known for discontinuous distribution, majorly along the... more
Bombayduck Harpadon nehereus (Hamilton, 1822) is one of the key fishery resources landed along the Indian coast with uniqueness in distribution and exploitation. The resource is known for discontinuous distribution, majorly along the north-west and north-east coasts of India. Gujarat is the lead state to contribute nearly 64.72% (72,949 t) to the total national landings of the resource (11,2705 t) in 2018. Dolnet gear contributes nearly 95% of the total landings of the resource in the region. The landings and the corresponding catch per unit effort (CPUE) showed a fluctuating trend over the study period of 1994-2014. The catches fluctuated between 35,235 t (2016) and 92,188 t (2004), whereas the CPUE oscillated in the range of 15 to 20 kg h-1 (1998) and 30.76 kg h-1 (2003). The period of 1994-2000 was the most productive period with an average catch of 72,133 t, whereas the succeeding decade was the leanest phase with an average annual catch of 50,035 t. The estimated potential yield (= maximum sustainable yield, MSY) was estimated at 73,700 t and 70,108 t using the Bayesian surplus production model (CMSY & BSM) and basic Schaefer surplus production model respectively. The present catch and exploitation levels were found to be close to the optimum level and a further increase in effort for the resource is not recommended.
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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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Longtail tuna (Thunnus tonggol, Bleeker, 1851), the largest growing species among neritic tunas have a unique distribution pattern globally. Northern Arabian Sea together with the Oman Sea and Persian Gulf in the north-western Indian... more
Longtail tuna (Thunnus tonggol, Bleeker, 1851), the largest growing species among neritic tunas have a unique distribution pattern globally. Northern Arabian Sea together with the Oman Sea and Persian Gulf in the north-western Indian Ocean is considered to be the major area where the species is abundant and form sizeable fisheries globally. India has an artisanal tuna fishery and contributes nearly 10% of the longtail tuna landing in the region, with Gujarat alone contributing nearly 80%. The paper updates on the longtail tuna fisheries in the region with focus on the north-west coast of India together with its spatial characteristics. Clues on the areas of abundance of the species along Gujarat coast over the seasons and temporal movements of different ontogenetic stages in the shelf areas are revealed. The study sets prelude to a cost effective and participatory collection of spatially referred data on the artisanal and small scale fisheries in the region.
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The present study analysed reproductive biology and feeding habits of the common dolphinfish Corphaena hippurus, along the Saurashtra coast of India. The study is based on an investigation of 295 specimens caught using drift gillnet at... more
The present study analysed reproductive biology and feeding habits of the common dolphinfish Corphaena hippurus, along the Saurashtra coast of India. The study is based on an investigation of 295 specimens caught using drift gillnet at Veraval. The samples were collected on a monthly basis between March 2015 and February 2016. The sex ratio was 1:1.75 with a significant dominance of females in the population. The size at maturity for females was 593 mm FL (fork length). Absolute fecundity of the individuals ranged from 1,07,813 to 15,50,400 having ova diameter range of 0.3-1.96 mm. C. hippurus spawned throughout the year with its reproductive activity peaking in April and December. Thus the dolphin fish has an extended spawning season; during which it laid eggs almost continuously. A total of 128 stomachs of C. hippurus, whose fork length FL ranged from 380 to 1250 mm were examined during the one year period of this study. Tunas were found to be the common dietary component of the d...
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Abstract This paper undertakes a critical assessment of the present state of fisheries insurance in India. Various factors that contribute to the poor performance of fisheries insurance in the country were identified and ranked based on... more
Abstract This paper undertakes a critical assessment of the present state of fisheries insurance in India. Various factors that contribute to the poor performance of fisheries insurance in the country were identified and ranked based on the responses of fishermen and fish farmers in major maritime states. In the light of the findings, measures such as leveraging the potential of technological interventions, developing innovative institutional mechanisms, bridging the trust deficit amongst the stakeholders and bringing about attitudinal changes through awareness drives are suggested as way forward towards harnessing the potential of insurance as a safety net tool in fisheries sector of India.
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The present study attempts to understand the seasonal and spatial variations in the physico-chemical (temperature, pH, salinity, dissolved oxygen, and nutrients) and productivity characteristics of the northern Arabian Sea off the Indian... more
The present study attempts to understand the seasonal and spatial variations in the physico-chemical (temperature, pH, salinity, dissolved oxygen, and nutrients) and productivity characteristics of the northern Arabian Sea off the Indian coast. Samples were collected from four different sites off the Veraval coast. The values of the physical and chemical variables were higher during the summer season, whereas nutrient concentrations were high during the winter season due to the maturity of intake nutrients during post-monsoon and winter convective mixing during the northeast monsoon. The dissolved oxygen (DO) concentration was strongly and positively correlated with the net primary productivity (NPP) and chlorophyll a (Chl-a) content to support productivity along the region. Dissimilarity in study variables was observed between the inshore and offshore locations. Principal component analysis revealed a strong relationship between nutrients and productivity variables (Chl-a and NPP)....
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Identification of spatio-temporal distribution of fish species represents fundamental information for stock assessment which in turn is essential for formulation of fishery management plans as well as for GIS based decision making. This... more
Identification of spatio-temporal distribution of fish species represents fundamental information for stock assessment which in turn is essential for formulation of fishery management plans as well as for GIS based decision making. This study investigated the spatio-temporal distribution and abundance of different life stages of ribbonfish, Trichiurus lepturus (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 trawlers operated from Veraval. Information was mapped using a GIS software to get the spatio-temporal distribution of the species. It was observed that juveniles were more abundant along the south Saurashtra coast whereas subadults and adults showed a discontinuous distribution with abundance in the waters off south Saurashtra as well as north Saurashtra coasts.
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Scomber indicus, a new species of mackerel is described based on the specimens collected from the eastern Arabian Sea. The species is differentiated from its nearest congener Scomber australasicus, in having 29-32 gill rakers on lower... more
Scomber indicus, a new species of mackerel is described based on the specimens collected from the eastern Arabian Sea. The species is differentiated from its nearest congener Scomber australasicus, in having 29-32 gill rakers on lower limb of first gill arch, posteriormost part of hypohyal blunt, with presence of a pit between the hypohyal and the ceratohyal and also in having a posteriorly directed haemal spine which is deeply curved in the basal region. Genetic differentiation and divergence between the newly described species and the 4 valid species of the genus Scomber viz., S. scombrus, S. japonicus, S. australasicus and S. colias were compared using cytochrome c oxidase 1 and cytochrome b gene sequences. The new species was found closest to S. colias followed by S. japonicus with Kimura 2 parameter (K2P) values of 1.4 and 1.8% respectively. In the phylogenetic tree, sequences of Scomber indicus sp. nov. formed a distinct well separated clade with significant bootstrap values a...
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Longman’s beaked whale or the Indo- Pacific beaked whale (Indopacetus pacificus) is a rarely occurring whale with very poor information on sighting or stranding, though more common in western Indian Ocean region. Threat to marine fauna... more
Longman’s beaked whale or the Indo- Pacific beaked whale (Indopacetus pacificus) is a rarely occurring whale with very poor information on sighting or stranding, though more common in western Indian Ocean region. Threat to marine fauna from the ingestion of plastic carry bags and other non-biodegradable debris scattered on the ocean surface and at the seafloor is increasing at alarming proportions. This communication describes the stranded adult female Longman’s beaked whale near off Sutrapada, Veraval, Gujarat coast that has presumably been choked to death due to the ingestion of four thick plastic bags, which was revealed from the autopsy conducted by the Gujarat Forest Department and the Wildlife Treatment Centre, Sasan Gir, Gujarat.
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Seasonal fishery of Metapenaeus kutchensis (ginger prawn) is a significant source of livelihood for the socioeconomically backward part-time fishermen in the Gulf of Kutch region. During the south west monsoon, a temporary but highly... more
Seasonal fishery of Metapenaeus kutchensis (ginger prawn) is a significant source of livelihood for the socioeconomically backward part-time fishermen in the Gulf of Kutch region. During the south west monsoon, a temporary but highly productive estuarine condition is created which provides nursery ground for various species of fish and shell fish in the little Rann of Kutch. A large number of prawn postlarva migrate into the region and this provide a short time opportunity to the fishermen for maximum exploitation of the fishery by the use traditional gears like ‘Gunja’, ‘Katar jaal’ and craft like 'Odie'. This traditional fishery is also known as ‘Pagadia fishery’ when fishermen do the entire fishing operation without the use of 'Odie'. The sampling study of three selected sites viz: Surajbari, Madherkhi and Tikker revealed an annual turnover of around Rs. 200 million during a short fishing period of two months (August- September). The fishermen involved in the fish...
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Front line demonstrations (FLD) evolved by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research are conducted under the close supervision of scientists of the National Agriculture Research System, where in technologies are demonstrated for the... more
Front line demonstrations (FLD) evolved by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research are conducted under the close supervision of scientists of the National Agriculture Research System, where in technologies are demonstrated for the first time by the scientists themselves before being fed in to the main extension system of the state machinery. Post-front line demonstration impact analysis on open sea cage culture of finfishes and lobsters, among Sidi tribes of Gujarat aimed at assessing the socio-personal, socio-psychological and socio-economic and behavioural characteristics of Sidis - a primitive tribal group who are the beneficiaries of the open sea cage culture programme of the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) under the Tribal Sub-Plan (TSP) of the Government of India. Using multistage random sampling method, a sample of 135 Sidi tribals were selected from Veraval and Talala taluks in Junagadh District of Gujarat. The group consisted of 45 Sidis practising c...
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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 t0 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 (L50) and length at maturity (LM50) 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 (Ecur) was found to be 0.61 which is equal to E0.1 estimated by Beverton and Holt yield per recruit analysis. Thompson and Bell bio-economic analysis showed that speci...
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Shrimps are one of the major marine resources of the Gujarat coast, forming nearly 18 % of the total marine fish production. The annual shrimp export is to the tune of about 4300 tons generating foreign revenue of about Rs. 80 crores. The... more
Shrimps are one of the major marine resources of the Gujarat coast, forming nearly 18 % of the total marine fish production. The annual shrimp export is to the tune of about 4300 tons generating foreign revenue of about Rs. 80 crores. The Ginger prawn (Metapenaeus kutchensis George, George and Rao 1963), a commercially important prawn is endemic to Gujarat and a seasonal fishery for this is in existence since long back. Shrimps are exploited in Gujarat mainly by the mechanized multiday trawlers whereas bulk of the non-penaeid prawn landing comes from mechanised dol netters, a typical fishing gear limited mainly to south Gujarat and north Maharashtra. However, many time these shrimps are misclassified and segregated wrongly at the field level due to confusing morphometric characteristics. Though scientific descriptions are available, there is a dearth of information for easy identification in the field. Therefore, the present document is prepared to build a clear scientific understan...
Decapterus russelli (Indian Scad) is an important pelagic carangid distributed on both east and west coast of India. Despite its wide distribution, the stock structure of the species is not well known. The present study was conducted to... more
Decapterus russelli (Indian Scad) is an important pelagic carangid distributed on both east and west coast of India. Despite its wide distribution, the stock structure of the species is not well known. The present study was conducted to investigate stock structure of D. russelli, based on body shape morphometrics using truss network system. A total number of 360 samples of the species were collected from two centres, Digha and Visakhapatnam in Bay of Bengal from east coast and on the west coast from Mumbai and Cochin in Arabian Sea. A truss network was constructed by interconnecting 11 landmarks to form a total of 23 distance variables extracted from digital images of samples using tps Dig2 and PAST software platforms. The transformed truss measurements were subjected to factor analysis and classification by cross-validation of discriminant analysis. Factor analysis showed meaningful loading of the middle portion, the portion below the second dorsal fin, above anal fin, and the caud...