Observations on the monsoon prawn fishery in Kerala

The ban on trawling in Kerala from June 15th to July 30th coincides with the southwest monsoon. During the period fishermen venture into the sea with their traditional/motorised crafts and gears such as thermocol boats (Alapuzha) and Thanguvallom (Ernakulam and Thrissur). The latter is operated with outboard engines and operate up to 8 km from the shore. The thermocol boats fish very near the shore (up to 3 km). The gear operated are ring seines or thangu vala and gill nets. The unique phenomenon in the monsoon season known as mud-bank or ‘chakara’ is characterised by calm areas close to the shore

Brief note on the ribbonfish Tentoriceps cristatus from the southwest coast of India

Tentoriceps cristatus (Klunzinger, 1884) commonly called as crested hair tail is a monotypic genus of cutlassfish family Trichiuridae. During the experimental fishery survey conducted by FV Silver pompano on 28 September 2016, specimens were obtained in the trawl net operated off Alappuzha (09º 21'N, 75º 56'E and 09º 21'N, 76º 18' E) at a depth of 50- 60m along with other fishes and crustaceans

Feeding spectra and activity of the freshwater crab Trichodactylus kensleyi (Decapoda: Brachyura: Trichodactylidae) at La Plata basin

Background: In inland water systems, it is important to characterize the trophic links in order to identify the ‘trophic species’ and, from the studies of functional diversity, understand the dynamics of matter and energy in these environments. The aim of this study is to analyze the natural diet of Trichodactylus kensleyi of subtropical rainforest streams and corroborate the temporal variation in the trophic activity during day hours. Results: A total of 15 major taxonomic groups were recognized in gut contents. The index of relative importance identified the following main prey items in decreasing order of importance: vegetal remains, oligochaetes, chironomid larvae, and algae. A significant difference was found in the amount of full stomachs during day hours showing a less trophic activity at midday and afternoon. The index of relative importance values evidenced the consumption of different prey according to day moments. Results of the gut content indicate that T. kensleyi is an omnivorous crab like other trichodactylid species. Opportunistic behavior is revealed by the ingestion of organisms abundant in streams such as oligochaetes and chironomid larvae. The consumption of allochthonous plant debris shows the importance of this crab as shredder in subtropical streams. However, the effective assimilation of plant matter is yet unknown in trichodactylid crabs. Conclusions: This research provides knowledge that complements previous studies about trophic relationships of trichodactylid crabs and supported the importance of T. kensleyi in the transference of energy and matter from benthic community and riparian sources to superior trophic levels using both macro- and microfauna.Fil: Williner, Verónica. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Santa Fe. Instituto Nacional de Limnología. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Instituto Nacional de Limnología; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Facultad de Humanidades y Ciencias; ArgentinaFil: de Azevedo Carvalho, Debora. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Santa Fe. Instituto Nacional de Limnología. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Instituto Nacional de Limnología; ArgentinaFil: Collins, Pablo Agustin. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Santa Fe. Instituto Nacional de Limnología. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Instituto Nacional de Limnología; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Facultad de Bioquímica y Ciencias Biológicas; Argentin

Proceedings and Recommendations of the Training on Tropical Finfish and Shellfish Stock Assessment cum Brainstorming Session on Indian Marine Capture Fisheries Research and the Way Forward

A training on Tropical Finfish Stock Assessment was conducted by the Finfish Fisheries Division (FFD), ICARCMFRI, for Fisheries Resource Management scientists at ICAR-CMFRI Headquarters, Kochi during 16-27 August 2022, in hybrid mode. The program was inaugurated by Dr. A. Gopalakrishnan, Director, ICAR-CMFRI on 16th August 2022, and was attended by Dr. Sanjay Pandey, Asst. Commissioner (Fisheries), Govt. of India, Heads of Divisions at ICAR-CMFRI Headquarters and scientists of Finfish and Shellfish Fisheries Divisions of ICAR-CMFRI. In the second phase, a training - workshop on 'Stock assessment of shellfish species' was organised from 9 -17 November 2022 by the Shellfish Fisheries Division (SFD), with focus on specific methods for shellfish species. Scientists from the Fishery Resources Assessment, Economics and Extension Division (FRAEED), FFD and SFD were participants and resource persons in the respective programme

Prawn fauna (Crustacea: Decapoda) of India - An annotated checklist of the Penaeoid, Sergestoid, Stenopodid and Caridean prawns

Twenty four species of Pandalid shrimps reported from the Indian waters, of which six genera (Chlorotocella, Chlorotocus, Chlorocurtis, Dorodotes, Heterocarpoides and Stylopandalus) are represented by single species each. The genera, Plesionika and Heterocarpus are represented by eleven and seven species respectively. Plesionika adensameri (Balss, 1914) a deep-sea shrimp hitherto unreported from Indian waters is recorded from west coast of India. Information on some biological aspects of few Pandalid shrimps from Indian waters is also reported in the present paper

Population dynamics of the geographically defined metapopulations of brown shrimp Metapenaeus monoceros (Fabricius, 1798) from Indian waters

Population dynamics of the brown shrimp Metapenaeus monoceros (Fabricius, 1798) was studied along the Indian coast using catch and effort data of trawlers from 8 States and 2 Union Territories for the period 2007-2015. Classical length-based stock assessment methods and spatial database of the shrimp catch were used to derive fishing ground related conclusions. Inclusion of spatial data revealed the possibility of existence of metapopulations of M. monoceros in the region. Maximum sustainable yield (MSY) cannot be a reasonable reference point for deciding the fishing pressure in M. monoceros. By analysing stock fluctuations noticed during the study period with varying spawning stock biomass combinations, retention of 40% spawning biomass seems to be a safe option for sustaining M. monoceros production from Indian waters. Based on this, the study recommends reduction of fishing pressure along north-west, south-west and northeast coast by 70, 60 and 70% respectively from the base level of effort in 2017. The study illustrates that the spatial data from fishing ground, can serve as an additional tool to derive management options. The study also emphasises the need for further investigations on the possibilities of metapopulations of M. monoceros which is widely distributed in all agro-climatic zones along the Indian coast

Status of marine fisheries of Kerala

Kerala with a coastline of 590 km is a significant contributor to the total marine fish landings of the country. A picture of the marine fisheries sector in Kerala during the years 2005 and 2010 is presented below (Table 1). With a continental shelf of about 40,000 km2 marine fisheries plays a vital role in the livelihood of the people

Minimum Legal Size (MLS) of capture to avoid growth overfishing of commercially exploited fish and shellfish species of Kerala

During the current fishing season, considerable amount of juveniles of small pelagics have been captured along Kerala coast in a targeted manner to meet the demand of fish meal plants. Exploitation of juvenile fish results in considerable economic loss, in terms of what could have been obtained had the fishers waited for a few months and allowed the animal to grow in size and weight. This phenomenon called as growth over-fishing also causes serious damage to the fish stock in terms of long-term sustainability of the resources. A minimum legal size (MLS) is seen as a fisheries management tool with the ability to protect juvenile fish, maintain spawning stocks and control the sizes of fish caught. The MLS sets the smallest size at which a particular species can be legally retained if caught. MLS could be used to protect immature fish ensuring that enough fish survive to grow and spawn, control the numbers and sizes of fish landed, maximize marketing and economic benefits and promote the aesthetic values of fish

Appraisal of trawl fisheries of India with special reference on the changing trends in bycatch utilization

Trawl fisheries sector account more than 50% of the marine fisheries production of India. Annual average fish landing from trawlers was 17, 21, 000 t (2008-2011), which formed around 51 % of the marine fish landing of the coast. In this about 51% of the catch was contributed by the west coast and remaining by the east coast of India. Recent studies of the trawl fishery in India have shown that incidental catches/low value bycatch (LVB) landing and utilization has increased over the period of time. The present study is based on the data collected from major trawl landing centres along the coast of India during the period 2008-2011.The estimated landing of low value bycatch (LVB) in trawl fisheries, increased from 14 % in 2008 to 25 % in 2011, which is reflected as reduction in discard volume by trawlers. On an average the highest quantity of LVB landed was in Veraval (50,000 t) and in Mangalore, LVB landing increased from 3% in (3000 t) in 2008 to 26 % (12,000 t) in 2011.In Mumbai, the percentage of trash fish landed remained around 5% during the study period. In Calicut, the LVB landed in 2011 contributed 26% to the total landings by the trawl. In Kochi, Kerala the total LVB landed in 2011 was 1,992 t forming 7.2 % of the total landing. In Chennai, Tamilnadu, the LVB landing which was 13 % in 2008 increased to 17% in 2011, while in Visakhapatanam, Andhra Pradesh, LVB landing showed a steady increase from 2% in 2008 to 21% in 2011. The landing centre price for LVB showed an increasing trend due to increased demand for trash fish for the production of fish meal and fertilizer. The dominance of finfishes in LVB found to increase the value of LVB and the value realized for 30,000 t of LVB in Available online at: www.mbai.org.in doi: 10.6024/jmbai.2013.55.2.01765-11 Mangalore in 2011 ( Rs.280 million) was more than that realized for 50,000 t of LVB in Veraval (Rs.200 million). A disturbing trend observed from the studies in Mangalore was that, the sardines in trash fetches higher price in some seasons (upto Rs.16/kg) compared to a lower price when landed in fresh form, and the percentage of sardines in LVB is found to be very high (24% in 2010). This trend may cause a severe threat to the protein availability to the rural poor. Looking at the trend of trawl landing during 2008-2012, it is seen that even though the trawl landing showed an increase over the period of time, the edible portion of the trawl landing did not show any significant increase rather showing general declining trend. Study on the bycatch from different centres along the coast of India showed that as many as 237 species / groups of marine fauna with juveniles of commercially important fishes were landed as LVB. Increase in utilization of LVB (which was discarded earlier) from trawl fishery, a trend which is market driven and its implication on the ecosystem and marine fisheries production of the country is discussed in this paper