Distribution, diversity and biology of deep-sea fishes in the Indian EEZ

This thesis Entitled distribution ,diversity and biology of deep-sea fishes the indian Eez.Fishing rights and responsibilities it entails in the deep-sea sector has been a vexed issue since the mid-nineties and various stakeholders have different opinion on the modalities of harnessing the marine fisheries wealth, especially from the oceanic and deeper waters. The exploitation and utilization of these esources requires technology development and upgradation in harvest and post-harvest areas; besides shore infrastructure for berthing, handling, storing and processing facilities. At present, although deep-sea fishes don’t have any ready market in our country it can be converted into value added products. Many problems have so far confronted the deep-sea fishing sector not allowing it to reach its full potential. Hence, there should be a sound deep-sea fishing policy revolving round the upgradation of the capabilities of small scale fishermen, who have the inherent skills but do not have adequate support to develop themselves and to acquire vessels having the capability to operate in farther and deeper waters. Prospects for the commercial exploitation and utilization of deep-sea fishes were analyzed using SWOL analysis

Account on the deepsea shrimp Aristaeopsis edwardsiana (Johnson, 1867) from the Indian EEZ

Aristaeopsis edwardsiana (Johnson,1867) is a deepsea shrimp of the continental slope that has not yet been reported in the targeted deepsea crustacean fishery along the Indian coast. An exploratory survey on-board FORV Sagar Sampada in the Arabian sea at a depth of 950 m off Trivandrum (lat. 8 0 28’ N and long. 76 014’ E) yielded a catch of A. edwardsiana at a high catch per unit effort (CPUE) of 14 kg h-1. The biological aspects of this less known deepsea shrimp species such as length frequency distribution, morphometric relations, sex ratio and the additional sexual dimorphism manifested in the antennal scale of males are reported

Distribution and biology off the deep-sea eel, Gavialiceps taeniola along the continental slope off Indian EEZ

The distribution, abundance and biological characteristics of the deep-sea eel Gavialiceps taeniola (Alcock,1889) caught by deep-sea trawling on board FORV Sagar Sampada along the continental slope in the depth zone 200 –1000m, off the west and east coast of India are reported. This species was found abundant at 100N and 800E in east coast and in west coast at Lat 90N and Long 750E. Females dominated the catch. Length range varied from 16 to 82 cm. The b value in length weight relationship was < 3, which showed that the fish becomes slender as length increase

Shrimps of the family Pandalidae (Caridea) from Indian waters, with new distributional record of Plesionika adensameri (Balss, 1914)

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

New distributional records of deep-sea sharks from Indian waters

This paper reports the first documented record of three deepwater sharks from Indian waters i.e., Hexanchus griseus (Hexanchidae), Deania profundorum (Centrophoridae), pygmy false catshark (undescribed) (Pseudotriakidae) and presents a taxonomic account of smooth lanternshark, Etmopterus pusillus (Etmopteridae) and leafscale gulper shark, Centrophorus squamosus (Centrophoridae), caught by hooks & line units operated in the Arabian Sea, west coast of India and landed at Cochin Fisheries Harbour (Kerala), southwest coast of India

Population dynamics of cobia Rachycentron canadum (Linnaeus, 1766) off Cochin coast, south-eastern Arabian Sea

Estimated landings of cobia from the Indian EEZ by the commercial fishing vessels are mostly as bycatch in hooks and line cum gillnet and trawl nets. However, the catches are substantial compared to that reported in several other countries of Asia. The species is also gaining considerable importance as a favoured candidate species for sea farming using cages. Very little is known about the fishery and biological characters such as maturation, fecundity and feeding preferences of cobia in Indian seas. Study indicated a fast growth rate with estimates of L∞ = 184 cm (FL) and K = 2.6 (yr-1) in cobia. The total mortality rate (Z) was estimated as 5.18, natural mortality (M) was 2.01 and fishing mortality (F) was 3.17 with an exploitation rate (E) of 0.61. The length at first capture (Lc50) estimated from the catch curve was 72 cm. Fecundity was found to be high and variable, with mean fecundity estimated as 12,37,545 eggs with a coefficient of variation (CV) of 16.7. As inferred from the oocyte development pattern, spawning activity is brief and fish is classified as synchronous ovulatory type. The growth parameters and condition factor estimated in this study indicate that relatively high growth rates are also possible in wild stocks considering that food is abundant and the environmental temperature is in the optimum range. Feeding preferences indicated balistid fish and shrimps with a wide variety of food items including finfishes, crustaceans and molluscs present

Morphometric characteristics of the pelagic stingray Pteroplatytrygon violacea (Bonaparte, 1832) caught off Cochin, southwest coast of India

The morphometric characteristics of the pelagic stingray Pteroplatytrygon violacea (Bonaparte, 1832) are described for the first time from the Indian waters. The specimen was collected at Cochin in August, 2008. The mature male specimen measured 102 cm in total length, 47 cm in disc width, 35 cm in disc length and weighed 2.5 kg. The morphometric characteristics of the specimen were very similar to that described from the North Sea

Morphometric characteristics of deepwater stingray Plesiobatis daviesi (Wallace, 1967) collected from the Andaman Sea

The present paper reports on the morphometric characteristics of two specimens of Plesiobatis daviesi collected during the deep-sea fishery resource survey of FORV Sagar Sampada in the northeastern Andaman Sea off Diglipur (130 14’ N lat; 930 09’ E long.) at 320 m depth and off Mayabandar (120 48’ N lat; 930 07’ E long.) at 369 m depth

Shrimp Trawling in the Deep Sea: Status and future challenges

The current level of fish harvest exhibits serious threat to the fish food security in the country and poses the need to explore, identify and utilize nonconventional fisheries resources. Kerala is one of the coastal states of India where the deep sea shrimp trawling operations were carried out on a large scale since a decade back. Presently the annual deep-sea shrimp landings showed an overall decreasing trend. The present study analyzed the impediments in deep sea shrimp fishery operations and revealed that the high operational cost, high risk and efforts, lack of skilled and trained manpower, low market price realisation, abundance of discards, poor quality of shrimps, low level of harvesting technology perceived a major hurdles in deep sea shrimp fishery sector. The study suggests the need for improved governmental support in deep sea operations for the sustenance of the sector in ensuring fish food security for the Kerala populace

An account of hexactinellid sponge, Hyalonema (Cyliconema) apertum apertum collected from Andaman waters

The hexactinellid sponge collected aboard FORV Sagar Sampada from the eastern side of North Andaman waters at 13o06’ N lat. and 93o11’E long. was identified as Hyalonema (Cyliconema) apertum apertum. This species, collected at a depth of 402 m, belonged to the Class Hexactinellida, Order Amphidiscosida and Family Hyalonematidae. The body is spindle-like, followed by basalia in the form of long twisted spicules. Identical specimens collected from 12o57’ N lat. & 93o07’ E long. and 12o45’ N lat. & 93o09’ E long. confirmed the presence of H. (Cyliconema) apertum apertum in the Central Andaman waters too. The present communication describes the characteristic features of H. (Cyliconema) apertum apertum along with a detailed account of the types and dimensions of spicules