Pufferfish Lagocephalus inermis - an emerging fishery along Mangalore coast of Karnataka

L agocephalus inermis (Temminck & Schlegel, 1850) commonly known as smooth blaasop, belongs to the family Tetraodontidae and order Tetraodontiformes. This fish was considered as a menace by fishermen during the previous year (2006) as it caused damage to other species landed and the net

Gillnet and hook & line fishing off Mangalore

Fishing using gillnets and hooks and line have been in vogue along Mangalore coast since a long time. These fishing practices are very popular and found to be lucrative along coastal Karnataka. Fishing using gillnets and hooks and line has so far been operated only Mar. Fish. Infor. Serv., T&E Ser., No. 188, 2006 6 from canoes fitted with outboard engines (OBM). The fishermen fish for a day or night or at the most for 2-3 days. However, of late, mechanized crafts (inboard mechanized) operating gillnets as well as hooks and line land their catch at Mangalore Fisheries Harbour. The crafts used are large and comparable to the size of trawlers and purseseiners of Mangalore and have an endurance to stay out at sea for more than a month. As this kind of fishing activity is new to this area, the catch as well as gear details were studied and a brief account is given

Targeted trawl fishery for moontail bullseye, Priacanthus hamrur off Mangalore for surumi production

Moontail bullseye, Priacanthus hamrur has been forming a part of the trawl fishery off Mangalore, caught from a depth beyond 100 m ever since deepsea trawling started off the coast. This is not a preferred edible species in Karnataka and was not a species considered for targeted fishery

High abundance of large sized rock cods (Epinephelus spp.) off Karnataka coast during the postmonsoon month of September

some of the multi-day units ventured into deeper waters (60-80 m) and obtained good catches of reef cods (Fig: 1) along with threadfin breams and cuttle fishes. Encouraged by this, more number of multi-day units were put into operation in September of the following year (1995) and got still better catches of reef cods

Observations on the landing of Odonus niger at Mangalore

The redtoothed triggerfish (Odonus niger) of the family Balistidae is a reef associated species landed by trawl nets operated along the Karnataka coast. This species forms dense aggregations in inshore waters and were not targeted till recently due to their poor market demand. The triggerfish shoals are intentionally avoided by the trawlers and the incidental catches are either discarded or brought ashore when there is available deck space for storage. Such small quantities landed are auctioned along with the miscellaneous fish groups. Some interest was evinced on this species by the fish meal traders due to limited availability of raw materials during the year 2008

Agarala: A traditional fishing boat of Karnataka

Agarala boat or coracle is a traditional fishing boat used for estuarine and riverine fishing in Karnataka. These traditional boats ensure sustainable fishing using eco-friendly fishing methods. The main fish species caught in these crafts are Sillago sihama, Sphyraena obtusata, Mugil cephalus, Aries aries, Gerres filamentosus, Lutjanus argentimaculatus, Leiognathus splendens, Cynoglossus macrostomus, Psettodes erumei, Platycephalus indicus, Etroplus suratensis, Anodontostoma chacunda, Portunus pelagicus, P.sanguinolentus, Scylla serrata, Thryssa mystax, and Opisthopterus tardoore. Fishing with agarala in the estuarine waters is largely at subsistence level and is carried out by a minor section of the fishermen community. The following paper documents and reports for the first time, the use of such unique fishing boats, in the Dakshina Kannada district, Karnataka. The main objective of the study was to explore the nature of crafts, the unique design of the crafts used and types of fishes caught. Fishing in agarala provides a good source of income to the fishermen using these simple, traditional environment friendly and cost effective crafts which make sustainable use of the scarce fishery resources

Effect of Soil Moisture Stress on Physiological Response in Grape (Vitis vinifera L.) Varieties

Four varieties of grape namely Flame Seedless, Thompson Seedless, Sharad Seedless and Tas-A-Ganesh were subjected to different levels of moisture stress to study their physiological response. Stress was imposed for 14 days by withholding irrigation. Observations on relative water content, leaf water potential, leaf osmotic potential and gas exchange parameters like photosynthetic rate, transpiration rate, stomatal conductance and water use efficiency (WUE) were recorded. None of the varieties could survive for 14 days without irrigation (100% stress). Flame Seedless and Thompson Seedless at 50% moisture stress maintained higher turgidity as indicated by lesser reduction in relative water content and water potential attributed to better osmotic adjustment. Marginal reduction in photosynthesis and greater reduction in transpiration rate in the variety Flame Seedless may have resulted in higher WUE under moisture stress. Higher photosynthetic rate, lower transpiration rate, higher water relation parameters and high WUE in Flame Seedless under soil moisture stress indicated its better tolerance to drought

Influence of Environmental Factors on Growth Rate of Crassostrea madrasensis (Preston) in Suspended Culture

Growth response of Crassostrea madrasensis to varying environmental factors in the Mulki estuary of Karnataka was investigated from April 2004 to March 2005. Temperature, salinity, pH, particulate organic matter (POM), particulate inorganic matter (PIM), total particulate matter (TPM) and chlorophyll a (Chl a) levels were correlated with growth in shell length. Marked seasonal patterns in growth rate were observed in relation to changes in environmental factors. Growth curve indicated a rapid phase (16.21±1.2 mm month-1) initially (May-June) followed by a slow phase (0.8±0.52 mm month-1) coinciding with the drop in salinity (August-September). Considering the temporal variations of environmental factors, their influence on growth rate was analysed seasonally. The growth rate was significantly correlated with Chl a concentrations in all the seasons. A pronounced seasonal cycle was noticed in Chl a levels resulting from blooms in pre-monsoon (April-May) and post-monsoon (October) seasons

Tropical Dominating Sets in Vertex-Coloured Graphs

Given a vertex-coloured graph, a dominating set is said to be tropical if every colour of the graph appears at least once in the set. Here, we study minimum tropical dominating sets from structural and algorithmic points of view. First, we prove that the tropical dominating set problem is NP-complete even when restricted to a simple path. Then, we establish upper bounds related to various parameters of the graph such as minimum degree and number of edges. We also give upper bounds for random graphs. Last, we give approximability and inapproximability results for general and restricted classes of graphs, and establish a FPT algorithm for interval graphs.Comment: 19 pages, 4 figure

Initiation of marine mussel culture activities in Dakshina Kannada district. Karnataka

The technology for mussel culture using suspended ropes was developed in India during the early seventies. Mussels were grown attached on ropes suspended from floating wooden rafts anchored in the inshore sea off Calicut, Karwar, Vizhinjam and Goa. These experiments showed the technical viability of growing mussels on ropes, besides, it showed the advantages of a tropical environment, which reduced the duration of culture to five months. In spite of the many advantages the technology did not find many takers. In 1995, the raft culture technique was modified by the CMFRI to suit the rough open sea conditions by the design of long-lines to suspend seeded ropes