Observations on the incidental landings of bow mouth guitarfish along North Andhra Pradesh coast

T he b o w m o u th g u ita rfis h R hina anclystom us has been assessed as C ritically Endangered by the IUCN (Kyne et al, 2019). Though not targeted in fisheries along the coast of Andhra Pradesh, th e species is landed as incidental bycatch. Here we present details of the species landed along north Andhra Pradesh coast during 2017-2021

Lessons on broodstock maintenance, spawning, larval rearing and juvenile production of marine gastropods of ornamental value

Research on marine gastropod breeding in India is in its infancy and scanty literature is only available. To fill the lacunae, marine gastropods of three ornamentally valued and conservation important groups such as Cyprids, Strombids and Muricids were held under captivity and studied for their broodstock maintenance, spawning behaviour, larval rearing and metamorphosis into juveniles at the Shellfish Hatchery of Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute, Tuticorin. Valuable information on the focal themes of the article was obtained for Strombids and Muricids leading to the successful life cycle closing for Lambis lambis and Chicoreus virgineus are reported earlier. In the present study, experiments were conducted on aspects such as post‐metamorphosed juvenile rearing up to 76 days post hatch for L. lambis, spawning, larval development and life cycle closing and reasonable level of juvenile production (8.8%) for Chicoreus ramosus. In addition, the primary observations on the captive breeding of Cypraea tigris with reference to its egg mass, brooding habit and early development is reported. However, while studying these groups few unanswered questions and bottle necks in their breeding nature, larval rearing and metamorphosis arose. The following account details the experiments conducted and results obtained in each of the focal themes of the paper and the constraints faced

Successful seed production of Cobia, Rachycentron canadum, in India

Climate change is affecting farming systems worldwide. It is expected that the impacts will be disproportionately felt by small scale farmers who are already amongst the most poor and vulnerable members of the society. NACA’s efforts to map farmers’ perceptions and attitude towards climate change impacts and adaptive capacities to address these impacts in four Asian countries including the shrimp culture practices in India (CIBA-NACSA/MPEDA-NACA project) through the ‘Aquaclimate’ project is highly admirable. I hope the project will provide farmers with strategies to maintain their resilience in the face of climate change

Report on incidence of Cepheid jellyfish

Unusual landings of a Cepheid jellyfish was observed at Jeerupalem landing centre , Srikakulam, northern Andhra Pradesh on 11th and 12th April 2023. Based on enquiry, it was found that mass swarming of the Cepheid jellyfish was observed from inshore coastal water. Jellyfish was caught in ring seine operated by outboard FRP boats (OAL-7.5-9.8m; engine capacity: 15HP) at a water depth of 20-30 m and discarded. Altogether 50 boats were operated per day, and each unit discarded an average of 25-30/kg of Cepheid jellyfis

Successful seed production of cobia Rachycentron canadum and its prospects for farming in India

Availability of adequate quantity of high value marine finfish seed is the major prerequisite for initiation and expansion of finfish mariculture. Breeding and seed production of marine finfishes of high value have been expanding in recent years internationally. Large quantities of hatchery produced seeds meet the need for sea cage farming in many countries (Hong and Zhang, 2003). It is well understood that the first step towards seed production technology is the development of broodstock. Prior to 1980s, broodstock of finfishes were grown mainly in indoor concrete tank

Long-beaked common dolphin beached off Srikakulam, Andhra Pradesh

A dead dolphin was washed ashore at Bethalapuram, Srikakulam district, Andhra Pradesh on 17th June 2020. Based on morphological features, it was identified as Long-beaked common dolphin, Delphinus capensis Gray, 1828 (Fig.1). Characterized by a slender body and a long beak separated by a crease from the melon. It has a long and thin rostrum with 49 numbers of small, sharp teeth on each side of each jaw

First experience in the larviculture of cobia, Rachycentron canadum (Linnaeus, 1752) in India

Cobia aquaculture has been gaining momentum internationally and has spread to more than 23 countries, half of them in the Asia-Pacific region. Envisaging the prospects of cobia farming in India, broodstock development was initiated and the first successful induced breeding was achieved in March 2010. Larviculture was experimented in Fibre Reinforced Plastic (FRP) tanks as well as Reinforced Cement Concrete (RCC) tanks and protocols were evolved. Green water technique employing the microalga, Nannochloropsis oculata was used. The critical stage for the larvae was from 5 to 9 days post-hatch (dph), when cumulative mortality reached around 90%. Enriched rotifers were fed from 3 to 10 dph and enriched Artemia nauplii from 9 to 18 dph. Weaning with larval inert feed was initiated from 18 dph and grading was carried out once in four days to avoid cannibalism. The study was conducted for 31 days and the final larval survival noted in the FRP and RCC tanks were 2 and 1%, respectively. At the end of the experiment, the specific growth rate of larvae in the FRP system was 30.1% of body weight per day, while the same in RCC tank was 28.3% of body weight per day. The low survival and specific growth rate of larvae in the RCC tanks could be attributed to the low densities of live feed maintained. The present experience indicated that cobia seed production can be successfully practised and by refining the methodology, the survival and growth can be enhanced to achieve commercial level fingerling production

Stranding of dolphins along north Andhra Pradesh coast

On 6th November 2021, a Risso’s Dolphin, Grampus griseus (G. Cuvier, 1812) which measured as 230 cm in total length was stranded on the Rushikonda beach, Visakhapatnam. Reported stranding of this species from coast of Andhra Pradesh is rare

Broodstock development and controlled breeding of cobia Rachycentron canadum (Linnaeus 1766) from Indian seas

Cobia, Rachycentron canadum has emerged as one of the topmost finfish species for mariculture. In India, cobia broodstock was developed and induced breeding was achieved for the first time at Mandapam Regional Centre of the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI). The broodstock was developed in sea cages of 6 m diameter and 3.5 m depth. Sexes were separated about two months prior to the onset of breeding season and stocked in separate cages. During March 2010, a female with intra-ovarian egg diameter of 700 μ along with two males were selected for induced spawning. The brooders were induced with human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) at doses of 500 IU per kg body weight for female and 250 IU per kg body weight for males. Spawning was noted after 39 h of intra-muscular injection. The total eggs spawned were estimated as 2.1 million. About 90% fertilization was recorded (fertilized eggs amounted to 1.9 million). The eggs were collected using a 500 μ mesh net and stocked in incubation tanks at varying densities. The eggs hatched after 22 h of incubation at a temperature range of 28-30 ºC. The percentage of hatching was 80% and the total number of newly hatched larvae was estimated as 1.5 millio

Embryonic development of cobia, Rachycentron canadum (Linnaeus,1766) in controlled conditions

Cobia, Rachycentron canadum has emerged as a global species for aquaculture in the recent past. Eventhough seed production of cobia is being practiced at many tropical countries, there is very little information on the embryonic development of the species. The details of fertilized eggs, cleavage, embryonic phases and newly hatched larva are documented with photographs. The experiments were carried out at a temperature range of 28.5-30°C. The average diameter of the freshly spawned eggs ranged from 1.1 to 1.2 mm. The time of different stages of development after fertilization is provided. The larva hatched out after 22 hours of fertilization. The total length of the larvae ranged from 2.2 to 2.7 mm. The newly hatched larva was without mouth opening and with a prominent oil globule. The description given in the paper can be made use of in the larval production of cobia in hatcheries