Observation of extensive bed of giant mangrove whelk in Minicoy, Lakshadweep

Terebralia palustris (Linnaeus, 1767) is a species of Caenogastropod belonging to the family Potamididae, distributed widely in Indo-Pacific region and African coast. An extensive bed of T. palustris approximately 500 m long and 70 m wide, appearing like a canal stretching into the beach was observed along the south west coast of Minicoy Island, Lakshadweep

5th International Symposium on Cage Aquaculture in Asia Book of Abstracts

The 5th International Symposium on Cage Aquaculture in Asia (CAA5) is being organised by the Asian Fisheries Society and the ICAR-Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI), in association with the Asian Fisheries Society Indian Branch, from the 25th to 28th of November 2015 at Kochi, India. The event will cover an array of topics related to cage culture under the broad headings of Marine Production Systems, Inland Production Systems, Breeding and Seed Production, Nutrition and Feed, Health and Environment Management and Economics, Livelihood and Policies

5th International Symposium on Cage Aquaculture in Asia Programme Guide

The 5th International Symposium on Cage Aquaculture in Asia (CAA5) is being organised by the Asian Fisheries Society and the ICAR-Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI), in association with the Asian Fisheries Society Indian Branch, from the 25th to 28th of November 2015 at Kochi, India. The event will cover an array of topics related to cage culture under the broad headings of Marine Production Systems, Inland Production Systems, Breeding and Seed Production, Nutrition and Feed, Health and Environment Management and Economics, Livelihood and Policies

Genetic diversity among three Indian populations of black tiger shrimp (Penaeus monodon Fabricious, 1798) using microsatellite DNA markers

Genetic variation is an essential factor while selecting superior stocks for breeding programs. Eight microsatellite loci (TUZX pm2.27, TUZX pm2.28, TUZX pm2.36, TUZX pm2.69, TUZX pm4.84, TUZX pm4.87, TUZX pm6.1 and TUZX pm4.9) were used for molecular characterisation of Penaeus monodon collected from three different locations in India, viz., Kakinada and Chennai on the east coast and Mumbai on the west coast and all the loci were found to be highly polymorphic. The number of alleles and genotypes across the loci ranged from 5 to 23 and 42 to 98, respectively. The observed heterozygosity among the populations across the loci ranged from 0 to 0.1678. The overall FST value was found to be 0.021 (<0.05), which implies a low degree of population differentiation in the species. On the basis of pair-wise allelic differentiation and UPGMA dendrogram, the investigated samples from three locations were allocated in to two distinct populations composed of east coast and west coast populations

Macro Flora & Fauna of the Gulf of Mannar a checklist

The Gulf of Mannar (GoM) located along the south eastern tip of India falls in the Indo-Pacific realm and is one of the richest regions in the world from a marine biodiversity perspective. The region has a distinctive socio-economic and cultural profile shaped by its geography. It has an ancient maritime history and was famous for the production of pearls, an important item in trade with the Roman Empire as early as the first century AD. Rameshwaram along the GoM with its links to the legend Ramayana is an important pilgrim centre. The region has been and continues to be famous for its production of Indian sacred chanks. It has unique ecosystems mainly consisting of coral reefs, sea grass beds, salt marshes and mangroves which constitute important habitats for many species of commercially important finfishes and shellfishes. The GoM was established as a Biosphere Reserve (the first marine biosphere reserve in south and south east Asia) by 1989 by the Indian Government and the state of Tamil Nadu. A biosphere reserve is an area that is indented to secure the fundamental diversity of life in a region while continuing to advocate in economic growth. The overall objective of this Marine Biosphere Reserve is to conserve the Gulf of Mannar's globally significant assemblage of coastal and marine biodiversity and to integrate biodiversity conservation into coastal zone management plans. Thus, the GoM in addition to being a national priority also assumes global significance

Book of Abstracts & Lead Articles The Second International Symposium Remote Sensing for Ecosystem Analysis and Fisheries

SAFARI (Societal Applications in Fisheries and Aquaculture using Remotely-Sensed Imagery) is an initiative which provides a forum for coordination, at the international level, of activities in global fisheries research and management. The forum is open to all interested parties, including policy makers, research scientists, government managers, and those involved in the fishing industries. SAFARI organizes international workshops and symposia as a platform to discuss the latest research in Earth observation and fisheries management, information sessions aimed at the fisheries industry, government officials and resource managers, representation at policy meetings, and producing publications relevant to the activities. SAFARI gains worldwide attention through collaboration with other international networks, such as ChloroGIN (Chlorophyll Global Integrated Network), IOCCG (International Ocean-Colour Coordinating Group), POGO (Partnership for Observation of the Global Oceans) and the oceans and society: Blue Planet Initiative of the intergovernmental organization, the Group on Earth Observations (GEO)

Mitochondrial signatures for identification of grouper species from Indian waters

Groupers are important commercial fish in many parts of the world. Accurate identification is critical for effective conservation assessment and fisheries management. Genetic barcodes provide a simple and reproducible method for the identification of species even in the absence of taxonomic expertise. The generation of reference barcodes from properly identified specimens is an important first step in this direction. Here, 36 species belonging to the subfamily Epinephelinae (Family: Serranidae) were collected from landings on the west coast of India and Port Blair, Andaman, and partial nucleotide sequence data of the mitochondrial cytochrome C oxidase subunit I (COI) gene was generated. Barcodes for 13 species were developed from Indian waters for the first time. Analysis using the COI gene produced phylogenetic trees in concurrence with other multi-gene studies. Epinephelus fasciatus and E. areolatus were found to be a species complex, as hypothesized in other studies. The DNA barcodes developed in the study can be used for identifying species within Epinehelinae, where taxonomic ambiguity still exists

Genetic structure of populations of Mugil cephalus using RAPD markers

Genetic structure of four populations of Mugil cephalus from Gujarat, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu in India was studied using randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) markers. Five selective primers provided distinct and consistent RAPD profiles in all the four populations. The bands in the range 400 to 1200 bp were scored for consistent results. The RAPD profiles generated by all the five primers revealed varying degrees of polymorphism, ranging from 50.76 (primer E03) to 72.41% (primer E05). Nei’s genetic diversity (h) among the four populations varied from 0.3717 ± 0.1460 (Gujarat population) to 0.5316 ± 0.1720 (Maharashtra population). Nie’s highest genetic distance (0.8556) was observed between Tamil Nadu and Gujarat populations.Key words: Mugil cephalus, randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD), genetic structure, India

Record of double operculum in silver conch

Lentigo lentiginosus Linnaeus, 1758 is a caenogastropod belonging to the family Strombidae. The species is found in coral reefs and shallow parts of lagoon and widely distributed across Indo-Pacific region. The shells are moderately large, solid with a characteristic deep stromboid notch, and a flared,very thick and posteriorly expanded outer lip with a pinkish cream aperture and glossy parietal wall. Size of the shell varies from 55 to 104 mm in length and used in shell crafts industry

Differentiation in morphometric traits of Chanos chanos stocks along the Indian coast

233-238Stocks of Chanos chanos (Milkfish) are identified based on the morphometric traits from four different locations from the Indian coast. A total of 246 fish samples were collected for the present study from the East coast (Mandapam Lagoon and Chilika Lake) and West coast (Mandovi–Zuari estuarine system and Cochin backwaters). Digital imaging techniques were employed to extract 18 morphometric characters from the specimens. Principal component analysis showed that horizontal depth measurements, dorsal fin length and pelvic fin length were helpful in differentiating the milkfish populations. First and second principal components explained the variance of 37.62% and 31.26 % respectively. Cross-validated results of the discriminant analysis showed the overall classification rate of 90.4%. The present study decoded the differentiation and occurrence of separate stocks of milkfish in Indian waters. The findings of the present study could be utilized for conservation and management of the species