Record of the largest big eye hound shark Iago omanensis (Norman, 1939) from Gujarat, North West Coast of India

A female specimen of big eye hound sharkIago omanensis measuring 66 cm was landed at Mangrol fishing harbor on 17th September 2013. The specimen was collected along with 13 others of the same species. I. omanensis was not recorded earlier from Gujarat

Occurrence of pelagic thresher shark, Alopias pelagicus Nakamura, 1935 from Porbandar, Gujarat

The red frog crab otherwise called spanner crab is a coastal water species and single representative of genus Ranina under family Raninidea. They prefer to inhabit in bare sandy areas of intertidal and coastal waters of more than 100m depth. Distribution of this crab is confined to tropical and sub topical coastal waters of Indian and Pacific oceans, from the coast of South Africa to Hawaii and the Great Barrier Reef. Occurrence of this species is very sparse in Indian waters and has been recorded once in Gulf of Mannar (Kasinathan et al., 2007)

गुजरात के सागर तट की समुद्री शैवाल विविधता

गुजरात के सागर तट की समुद्री शैवाल विविधत

Feeding habits of milk shark, Rhizoprionodon acutus (Ruppell, 1837) in the Gujarat coastal waters of north-eastern Arabian Sea

The feeding habit of milk shark Rhizoprionodon acutus was investigated in 684 specimens collected along Gujarat coast (India) of north-eastern Arabian Sea from January 2013 to December 2014. The length range of females was 32–89.6 cm and males 33.5–89 cm. The shark foraged on diversified prey items which were pooled into four distinct groups i.e., teleosts, crustaceans, mollusks and annelids. Teleosts (Dietary coefficient, %QI = 83.05 and index of relative importance, %IRI = 78.40) were found to be the preferred food items followed by crustaceans (%QI = 16.21; %IRI = 19.78), which formed the secondary food item group. Mollusks (%QI = 0.74; %IRI = 1.69) and annelids (%QI = 0.01; %IRI = 0.14) constituted the accidental or accessory food items. The species, though is a pelagic predator, probably performs vertical movements in search of prey items. The shark also showed some sorts of preference and selectivity for clupeids, engraulids and carangids. Females though showed significantly lower index of relative fullness (IRF) (P ≤ 0.5) and comparatively lower vacuity index and lower mean number of preys per stomach compared to the males, the preference for prey items was not found to be significantly different between the females and males. Juveniles were found to have significantly higher IRF (P ≤ 0.5) and comparatively higher vacuity index than that of the adults, whereas the mean preys per stomach was found to be lower than that of the adults. Moreover, the prey preference was also significantly different between the juveniles and adults. The study provides necessary baseline information about the feeding habits of the shark in the region which will be helpful in understanding the trophodynamics of the species under the influence of overfishing and climate change

Note on an abnormal specimen of golden snapper

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

Assessing low value crustacean bycatch species using length based bayesian biomass (LBB) method, a tool for data poor fish stock assessment

The majority of tropical fish stocks lack sufficient data for conventional fish stock assessment, making them data-poor fisheries. The status of stock assessment is even more dismal for the low value fishes or crustaceans landed by the trawlers in a significant quantity. Crustaceans like non-edible small crabs (Charybdis spp) and stomatopods form a significant component of the low-value bycatch landed along the northwest coast. Despite the high ecological importance of these groups and the recent declining trend in catches (2007-19), no attempts so far have been made to evaluate the stock status of these groups from the study region. As reliable time series catch and effort data for the individual species are not available, a recently developed length-based approach, LBB (Length Based Bayesian Biomass) estimation method is adopted for the present study. Two of the evaluated stocks, Charybdis hoplites and Miyakella nepa were found abundant (B/BMSY>1.1), whereas Oratosquillina interrupta (B/BMSY=0.94) was found slightly overfished. The sufficient number of larger individuals were found lacking in all three species (L95th/L∞<<1.0). A higher incidence of juveniles in catches was estimated for C. hoplites and O. interrupta (Lmean/Lopt<<1.0)

New Geographical Record for Muraenid Eels (Anguilliformes: Muraenidae) along the Northeast Arabian Sea, Western Indian Ocean

Fishes of family Muraenidae, popularly known as moray eels, are one of the most diverse groups among true eels. Gymnothorax is the most predominant genus in terms of diversity along Indian coastline (31 species including recent description and distributional records), but they rarely form the fishery of commercial importance. Gymnothorax dorsalis, species of elongated unpatterned moray eels characterized by eight to nine pre-dorsal vertebrae, three infraorbital pores and low dorsal and anal fin united with caudal fins is reported for the first time from the west coast of India. Gymnothorax reticularis, reticulated patterned eel with 18–19 vertical dark bars, five pre-dorsal vertebrae and 10–11 vomerine teeth is also reported for the first time from the northwest coast of India

Commercially Important Rays and Skates of Gujarat

Commercially Important Rays and Skates of Gujara

Gapers- An important component of the diet matrix of predatory demersal fishes

Serranids, nemipterids, priacanthids, sciaenids and synodontids forms the major share of demersal fish landings along the northwest coast of India and especially in Gujarat. Fishes forms the major component of diets of these demersal fishes, followed by crustaceans

Commercially Important Sharks of Gujarat

Commercially Important Sharks of Gujara