The non-penaeid prawn resources

The non-penaeid prawns, with the average catch of 57,000 tonnes, constitute one of the important marine resources in India. During 1979-'88 period, the catch of these prawns ranged from 36,303 - 71,985 tonnes, contributing 2.2 - 5% to the total marine fish production of the country. They form nearly 32% of the total prawn production. Although non-penaeid prawns are found all along the coastline, they form fisheries of commercial importance only along the northwest and the northeast coasts

सागरी मत्स्यशोतीच्या साहाय्याने मत्स्योत्पादनात वाढ

In the past 3 years, open sea floating cage farming has been successfully demonstrated by CMFRI for seabass (Khajura), pompano, cobia (Sakla or Modosa) and lobsters (Shewand) in nearshore waters. The Institute has developed a cage farming hub at Karwar, where locally available fish varieties are being tried for open sea culture.With the success of demonstration Training manual on “Cage Culture of Marine Fin fish and Shell fish in Open Sea” 5 farms, the National Fisheries Development Board (NFDB) has come forward for funding cage farming in big way. In the case of small scale farmers, cage farming can be easily combined with their capture fisheries operations. A floating cage (3 m dia) can be used for rearing undersized commercial varieties of fish. Most of these varieties can be fed with low value bycatch netted by the fishermen and minimize the input costs. Red snapper and some of the perches (Acanthopagrus berda) grow to marketable size within 6-8 months which can enhance their income. In addition, once the fishermen practice rearing, conservation of fish resources which are already under threat from over-exploitation in coastal waters may become easier

Multi-walled carbon nanotube electrodes for sodium borohydride fuel cell

Borohydride fuel cell has been constructed for the first time using multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MCNT), functionalized MWCNT, platinized MWCNT or polycarbzole (Pcz) as electrodes. The output characteristics of borohydride fuel cell with platinized MWCNT electrodes have been shown to be superior to the conventional graphite based borohydride fuel cells. The catalytic activity of platinized carbon nanotubes has also been established in this study. The MWCNTs have been functionalized by refluxing in 60-70% nitric acid for a period of 12 hours. The functionalized MWCNTs were characterized by FTIR and TGA. Platinization of MWCNTs was carried out electrochemically from chloroplatinic acid. Platinization of the tubes was demonstrated through SEM and XRD. Cyclic Voltammetry was used to characterize the platinum in MWCNT. Fuel cells were constructed using MWCNT of different forms as the anode and commercially available oxygen electrode as the cathode. The current values at different loads were measured and plotted to construct the load curves . From this data, the power density maps were generated. The power output of borohydride fuel cell has been shown to be higher than the graphite based fuel cell. The performance of borohydride fuel cells with Pcz electrode could not be decisive as the polymer deposited on platinum was used in the experiments. The polymer tends to peel off with time due to hydrogen bubbles generated in the medium. In the short time of the cell operation, it produced open circuit voltage of 1.369 V that is about 50% more than the commercially available borohydride fuel cell. However, it was noticed that it functions well as the cathode material in the borohydride fuel cells

Commercially exploited edible bivalves off Mumbai

Bivalves are benthic molluscs occurring in intertidal to subtidal areas. In the food chain they feed low, mainly on plankton and detritus, which are abundantly available in the natural waters circulated by the tides . . Many species of bivalves occur abundantly along the Indian coast of which at least 50 species are commercially important. Edible oysters, clams, cockles, mussels and scallops are the prime groups, which contribute towards the fishery in the marine, estuarine and freshwater habitats

केंद्रीय समुद्री मात्स्यिकी अनुसंधान संस्थान का मुम्बई अनुसंधान केंद्र

केंद्रीय समुद्री मात्स्यिकी अनुसंधान संस्थान का मुम्बई अनुसंधान केंद्

Some aspects of biology of Octopus defilippi Verany, 1851 from the northwest coast of India

‘Lilliput longarm octopus’, Octopus defilippi Verany, 1851 has been reported for the first time from Mumbai waters, northwest coast of India. This species was observed in trawl catches off Mumbai during March-June from 2007 onwards and the dorsal mantle length (DML) ranged between 52 and 99 mm. The left arm ratio is 3>2>4>1 and the right arm ratio is 2>4>1>3. Relationship between DML and total body weight (TBW) was TBW = 0.01361 * DML 1.83443. Fish formed the major food item with 93.3% and 70.6% of individuals in the samples in mature condition

Age and growth of Jhinga prawn Metapenaeus affinis Milne Edwards (Decapoda, Penaeidae) in Mumbai waters

The results of the studies on age and growth of Metapenaeus affinis, one of the dominant species of penaeid shrimps in the coastal waters off Maharashtra are presented. From monthly size-frequency data, the growth parameters for males and females were estimated employing modal progression and computer based FiSAT software package using ELEFAN program, Bhattacharya method, Gulland-Holt plot, Faben’s method, Appeldoorn’s method and von Bertalanffy plot. The estimates obtained by Bhattacharya analysis and Gulland-Holt plot were: L� = 162 mm, K = 2.25 for males and L� = 204 mm, K = 1.91 for females. Males and females were found to attain 145 mm and 174 mm at the end of one year and their life spans were 1.16 and 1.4 years respectively

Age and growth studies of banana prawn, Penaeus merguiensis de Man from Maharashtra waters

Age and growth of Penaeus merguiensis from Maharashtra waters were studied. The estimates obtained by Bhattacharya analysis and Gulland-Holt plot were L∞ = 203.7 mm and K = 2.15 yr-1 for males and L∞ = 254.9 mm and K = 1.90 yr-1 for females. The maximum size observed for males was 188 mm and 238 mm for females. The male and female prawns after one month larval period attain 134.2 mm and 156.3 mm length in 6 months and 180.0 mm and 216.8 mm in one year respectively

Emergence of squid jigging in India

Cephalopods, locally known as 'Makul', have emerged in recent times as one of the prime foreign exchange earners in India. Trawl nets operating up to 100 m depth account for nearly 85% of the cephalopod landings in Indian marine waters. The introduction of high opening bottom trawl nets resulted in rapid increase in cephalopod productio