On the occurrence of the black clam, Villorita cyprinoides (Gray)in Pulicat Lake

The black clam villorita cyprinodes belonging to the family corbiculidae is widely distributed in the estuaries of west coast of india

Occurrence of mussel seed on dredger pantoons in Ennore estuary, Madras

The major fouling organisms observed on the pantoons in Ennore estuary were mussels, oysters and barnacles, of which the green mussel Perna viridis is the most dominant. The extent of fouling on the pantoons can be understood from the abundance of the green mussels. Shortage of mussel seed has been considered to be the major constraint in the intensification of mussel culture on industrial scale where millions of mussel spat are removed from the pantoons every year and thrown on the sandy beach. These large quantities of mussel spat which are available in Ennore can be collected and very well be used for mussel culture in the backwaters or lagoons

Edible oyster resources of Ennore estuary and Muttukadu backwater, Madras

Survey conducted of the standing crop of edible oyster Crassostrea madrasensis papulation in Ennore Estuary and Muttukadu Backwater Indicated the existence of beds in both areas- At Ennore, the oyster beds are located over a distance of 2 km extending to 1 km on either side of the railway bridge. An oyster bed present below the Ennore railway bridge is the largest with an area of 40 ha and the population of oysters is dense In its eastern portion. The other beds are small. At Muttukadu, the oyster beds are present from the mouth of the backwater to the road bridge near Fisherman's Cove Hotel A bed on the western side of bridge is the biggest one In the backwater and Is 2.6 ha In area. Environmental factors play significant role in limiting the distribution of oysters in both areas. Exploitation of oyster beds in Ennore Estuary and Muttukadu backwater is limited. Shells are utilized for lime preparation and meat for local consumption

On unusual heavy landing of cat fish Tachysurus dussumieri (Valenciennes) at Kasimedu, Madras

An unusual catch of cat fishes was recorded from 'Eda valai' (Bag net) netters. Out of that, 14 t was netted iix a single haul by 'Eda valai' opeiated by a catamaran at a depth of 10-15 m. 'Eda valai' is a traditional boat seine usually operated in shallow coastal areas with an extremely wide rectangular mouth or nearly square, measuring 20 m to catch pelagic shoals

Reproductive biology and setting of spat of Crassostrea madrasensis (Preston) in Muttukadu Backwater

The spawniag in Crassostrea madrasensis of Muttukadu Backwater is prolonged from January to November with peaks in February-March and September-October. Female oysters were dominant in several months of rhe year and males outnumbered females in August and September 1986, February and May 1987. Among the four stations, where oyster spat settlement was studied, Muttukadu Bridge yielded good settlement of spat especially in October. A maximum of 109 oyster spat set on a lime-coated tile. The fouling organisms and their intensity of settlement on the clutch was recorded. Maturation and spawning of oysters and spatfall were correlated with salinity and temperature

Distribution and exploitation of oyster resources along the southeast and southwest coasts of India

The oysters are sedentary bivalve molluscs which are gregarious and found in aggregates attached by their right shell valve to hard substrata, forming oyster beds or oyster banks in varied environments, intertidal and subtidal zones in shallow coastal waters, bays, creeks, lagoons, backwaters and estuarine environment. In India, natural stocks of oysters are exploited on a small scale at a number of places as a subsistence fishery and oysters are not cultured commercially

Cephalopod production in India and constituent maritime states

The fishing craft and gear in which cepbalopods are obtained in India and the all India, statewise and east and west coast cephalopod production are presented. The bulk of the cephalopod catches is obtained along the west coast and trawl net accounts for major portion of landings. Maharashtra, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Gujarat are the leading states in production

Utilisation and export of cephalopods

A major portion of the cephalopod catch in India is used as food in the coastal areas and a small portion as bait in the longline fishing. Other uses such as poultry feed, manure, abrasives etc. are also indicated. About one-third of the catch is exported as frozen cuttlefish, frozen cuttlefish fillets, frozen squids and cuttlebone. The trends in the export of cephalopod products in recent years are indicated

Oceanic squids - their distribution, abundance and potential in the EEZ of India and contiguous seas

FORV Sagar Sampada collected a good number of oceanic squids belonging to several families from the Indian EEZ and contiguous seas. Of these, the most important species was the purpleback flying squid Symplectoteuthis oualaniensis which forms a potential oceanic squid resource. This species was caught in pelagic trawl at depths up to.200-250 m from surface in the oceanic areas. Though the squid is known to be distributed throughout India's oceanic waters, it frequently occurred in comparatively more abundance, up to 318 squids per haul, in the northneastem Arabian Sea. There was wide variation in the size of this squid (from 20 mm to 472 mm), the largest individual weighing 4.5 kg. The diamondback squid Thysanoteuthis rhombus, the largest specimen of which measured 585 mm in length and 5.3 kg in weight, was also caught from a few stations. Besides these large species, several others belonging to families such as Onychoteuthidae, Histioteuthidae, Enoploteuthidae and Cranchiidae are also distributed in the EEZ. A large number of oceanic squids were collected at night, which is indicative of their diel vertical migration towards surface layers during night hours

Review on cephalopod resources, biology and stock assessment in Indian seas

Cephalopods are fished from the seas around India from very early times and at present contribute one of the most important exploited marine fishery resources oj the country (between 4 and 5% of the all India production). The production, which remained at very low level up to the early seventies, has shown a remarkable increase crossing the 1,00,000 tonne mark in 1994. The taxonomy, biology and stock assessment of the various exploited species have been studied since the early seventies by the CMFRI. Studies indicate that uplo 1994 tlie exploitation has remained within rational limits in almost all maritime states. The recent rapid increase in production warrants close monitoring of this short-lived resource from the viewpoint of Judicious management