Trophic model of the coastal fisheries ecosystem of the southwest coast of India

The Ecopath approach and software were used to construct a trophic model of the coastal fisheries ecosystem of the southwest (SW) coast of India. The model consisted of 11 ecological groups and used estimated landings from all areas along the southwest coast (based on the sample surveys conducted by Coastal Marine Fisheries Research Institute for the years 1994, 1995 and 1996). The trophic model suggests high catch levels, particularly for the large and medium predators, demersal feeders and detritivores. The biomass estimates in the trophic model were comparable to the biomass estimates from trawl surveys based on the swept area method for the southwest coast.Fishery resources, Demersal fisheries, Fishery surveys, Biomass, Population density, Shrimp fisheries, Catch/effort, Trawling, Mathematical models, Coastal fisheries, ISW, India,

Marine fisheries along the southwest coast of India

Marine fisheries production in India has increased from 0.5 million t in 1950 to 2.47 million t in 1997. The gross value of fisheries landings in India was US$2.37 billion in 1997. The contribution of fisheries to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has risen from 0.7% in 1980 - 81 to 1.2% in 1994 - 95. The contribution to agricultural GDP has risen from 1.9% to 4%. Fisheries production also plays a critical role in food security and livelihood in rural areas. The southwest (SW) coast, while only 16% of the Indian coastline, is an important area for marine fisheries production, contributing 31.7% (0.74 million t) in 1993 - 98. This production is dominated by pelagic (59% of landings) and demersal species (23%). However, the open access system has resulted in rapid increases in fishing effort, particularly in the coastal areas. The density of fishers inshore has increased from 3.6 to 8.5 fishers per km2 in the past four decades. This excess effort has resulted in overfishing of the stocks and lower economic rent from the fishery. The overall objective of coastal fisheries management along the southwest coast of India is sustainable coastal fisheries development. This requires key ecological, social, economic and administrative issues to be addressed. Ecological sustainability requires the reduction of the excess effort through limited entry and effort reduction schemes, appropriate exploitation patterns through improved gear selectivity and restoration of the degraded coastal environment through integrated coastal zone management initiatives. Key social interventions include: creation of alternative employment to reduce fisher numbers, prevention/management of increasing intra- and inter-sectoral conflicts and empowerment of artisanal fishers through co-management schemes, social legislation and improved support/welfare schemes. The key economic issues include declining earnings, particularly of artisanal fishers, which requires; optimizing fleet composition for economic returns, improvement of the marketing system and cold storage chains, improvement of post-harvest processes to increase product value. The key administrative needs are a strong fisheries policy that balances welfare concerns with sustainability, effective implementation of regulations, and increased government resources for fisheries management. Project briefs covering the key interventions are provided, however these require further review and improvement in collaboration with concerned stakeholders.Fishery resources, Catch/effort, Population characteristics, Coastal fisheries, Marine fisheries, Ecosystems, Economic benefits, Fishery industry, Capture fishery economics, Fish consumption, Fishery policy, Legislation, Fishery management, Flood plains, Demersal fisheries, Pelagic fisheries, Socioeconomic aspects, Surveys, Marketing, Fish storage, Fishing gear, ISW, India,

Fisheries environment in the APFIC region with particular emphasis on the northern Indian Ocean

The stocks of the small pelagics in the northern Indian Ocean are governed by different environmental jactors such as wind pattern, currents, convergence, temperature, salinjty, dissolved oxygen and vertical mixing processes. An attempt is made in this paper to correlate these factors with the fisheries for the small pelagics, In the northwest Pacific Ocean, successes or failures of recruitment of pelagic fishes are related to oceanographic factors, especially the direction of Kuroshio current. The information available on these aspects has been briefly reviewe

Recent Trends in Sea Surface Temperature and its Impact on Oil Sardine

The oil sardine is a coastal, pelagic schooling fish, forming massive fisheries in India. It has high population to doubling time of less than 15 months and is probably the largest stock in the Indian Ocean (www.fishbase.org). Like many other small pelagics, the oil sardine also has shown pbpulation crashes and sudden recoveries in the past. It is a tropical fish, governed by the vagaries of ocean climatic conditions. It is known for its restricted distribution in the Malabar upwelling region along the southwest coast. It attains a maximum total length of about 22 cm and plays a crucial role in the ecosystem as a plankton feeder and as food for large predators. The annual average production is 3.8 lakh tones (15% of all India total catch) valued at about Rs 350 crores. It is a cheap source of protein and forms a staple, sustenance and nutritional food for millions of coastal people

Status of fisheries of Lakshadweep

The Union Territory of Lakshadweep (08 00'N and 12 30'N latitudes and 71 00'E and 74 00'E longitudes), consisting of eleven inhabited and 25 uninhabited islands, is scattered in the Arabian Sea at about 200- 400 km from the Malabar Coast.Lakshadweep sea is rich in fishery resources such as the tunas, billfishes Mar. Fish. Infor. Serv., T&E Ser., No. 187, 2006 2 pelagic sharks etc., and the other groups of food fishes, live baits and ornamental fishes.The estimated marine fishery resources potential in the Lakshadweep waters are about 63,000 to 1,40,000 tonnes of various groups of fish, whereas the present annual production is around 10,000 t (10% of the potential)

Marine Fisheries Policy Brief-1 Kerala

Kerala which has a coastline of 590 km ranks first in marine fish production of India, contributing nearly 25% (5.81 lakh tonnes on average) to the total annual production. The export of marine products from the State earns valuable foreign exchange besides affording innumerable job opportunities in the industry. The population depending on fisheries has steadily increased over the years and stood at 6,02,234 in 2005 (Anon., 2005). Kerala has been in the forefront of absorbing innovative and new technologies in fishing practices, which have led the marine fisheries sector to take a complex structure. The 1980s was an important period in the development of marine fisheries in Kerala. In the first half of the period the motorized sector grew rapidly and became the most important sector yielding the maximum catch in 1988. By that time, ringseine became very popular in exploiting the pelagic resources and replaced the boatseines to a very great extent. Huge size of the new net (450 to 1000 m long) and large number of crew (30 to 50) needed for its operation necessitated larger boats with high capacity outboard engines (3 outboard engines of 40 hp each). This facilitated extension of fishing grounds for the motorized sector. The fishing grounds covered by the mechanised sector also extended by increasing the boat size and fishing effort and efficiency through multi-day fishing during the late 90s

Marine Fisheries Policy Brief-1 സമുദ്ര മത്സ്യമേഖലാ നയ പരിപ്രേക്‌ഷ്യം - 1 കേരളം (Marine Fisheries Policy Brief-1 Kerala Malayalam version)

Marine Fisheries Policy Brief-1 സമുദ്ര മത്സ്യമേഖലാ നയ പരിപ്രേക്‌ഷ്യം - 1 കേരളം (Marine Fisheries Policy Brief-1 Kerala Malayalam version

Demersal Fish Assemblages of the Southwest Coast of India

Demersal surveys from the southwest coast of India were analyzed to determine the general pattern of distribution of demersal species assemblages in the area. Season¬ality is pronounced, indicating three major periods, pre-monsoon, monsoon and post-monsoon. Each of the periods is characterized by different oceanographic circulation patterns that mainly determine the pattern of distribution of species assemblages. Spatial analysis confirmed that the Wadge Bank has the highest po¬tential for producing good quality fish. Region-wise analysis of data indicated that maximum effort and highest landings are from the known grounds along the south¬west coast, although certain northern areas were also found to be fairly productiv

Incidential catch of sea turtles in India

Sea turtles are found all along the coast of India including the Lakshadweep and Andaman & Nicobar Islands. Five species inhabit the Indian waters. All the species are capable of taking long distance migration

Marine Fisheries along the Southwest Coast of India

Marine fisheries production in India has increased from 0.5 million t in 1950 to 2.47 million t in 1997. The gross value of fisheries landings in India was US$2.37 billion in 1997. The contribution of fisheries to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has risen from 0.7% in 1980 - 81 to 1.2% in 1994 - 95. The contribution to agricultural GDP has risen from 1.9% to 4%. Fisheries production also plays a critical role in food security and livelihood in rural area