Note on landings of pregnant sharks in Cochin Fisheries Harbour, Kerala

Sharks formed the major bycatch of pelagic longline and gillnet fishery which target high value fishes like tunas until recently. However, owing to the great demand for fresh and dried shark meet in the domestic market and expansion of fishing to distant waters there is targeted fishing for sharks. In India, major portion of the sharks caught by mechanized longliners and gillnetters are landed in Cochin Fisheries Harbour and Thoothoor fish landing centre. The annual catch of sharks in Kerala during 2017 was estimated at 2936 tonnes, of which 80% was landed in Cochin Fisheries Harbour

Preliminary assessment, restoration and aquaculture support for a small wetland

In line with the strategy of regional wetland datasets integration to a common national digital platform, map of small wetlands less than 2.2 ha in Kochi Taluk was prepared. A representative small wetland at Edakochi village of Kerala was selected through maps and field visits for preliminary assessment and restoration. Shuttle Radar Topography Mission’s Digital Elevation Model (DEM) was used to assess the general elevation, slope and flow accumulation pattern of the selected wetland along with assessment of the catchment area and drainage pattern. Restoration works of the selected wetland was carried out vis-a-vis side bund strengthening and sluice gate fortification. The comparative analysis of water quality assessment of wetland before and after restoration revealed improvement in water quality parameters as well as increase in water level. The Dissolved Oxygen level of the aquatic system was found to have increased substantially along with other several favourable changes in water parameters due to the restoration activities. The restored wetland at Edakochi was further utilised for multispecies farming of prawns, Pearl spot, Milk fish and Grey mullet and the harvest indicated sustainable yield. Aquaculture practice in wetlands with real time scientific advisories could ensure continuous data generation and village level climate resilience

Plastic debris entangled silky shark landed

Several species of marine fishes have been documented as entangled in manmade debris in oceans, but comparatively few reports are available globally on sharks. Here we report the observation of a silky shark Carcharhinus falciformis affected by plastic debris caught in the Arabian Sea

Length–weight relationships of three species of pelagic sharks from southeastern Arabian Sea

Length–weightrelationships (LWRs) of three species of pelagic sharks belonging to the family Carcharhinidae viz., the silky shark Carcharhinus falciformis and the graceful shark C. amblyrhynchoides and Alopidae viz, the pelagic thresher Alopias pelagicus, were estimated based on 525 samples collected from the longline and gillnet fishery of southeastern Arabian Sea from January 2016 to November 2018. Two major fish landing centres of Kerala, southwest coast of India were selected for sampling; Cochin (Lat. 09N, Long. 76E) and Munambam (Lat. 10N, Long. 76E). The estimated allometric coefficient b value ranged from 2.687 (A. pelagicus, N = 122) to 3.11 (C. falciformis, N = 295). Coefficient of determination scores ranged from 0.901 (A. pelagicus) to 0.984 (C. amblyrhynchoides, N = 108), indicating robustness of the samples analysed. Maximum total length presented for C. amblyrhynchoides in this study was a new record. The study reports first estimates of length–weight relationships for three important species of pelagic sharks which contribute to most of the shark catches in the region, and the generated parameters will be useful for the assessment of stocks and sustainable management of pelagic sharks in southeastern Arabian Sea

Not Available

Not AvailableLength–weightrelationships (LWRs) of three species of pelagic sharks belonging to the family Carcharhinidae viz., the silky shark Carcharhinus falciformis and the graceful shark C. amblyrhynchoides and Alopidae viz, the pelagic thresher Alopias pelagicus, were estimated based on 525 samples collected from the longline and gillnet fishery of southeastern Arabian Sea from January 2016 to November 2018. Two major fish landing centres of Kerala, southwest coast of India were selected for sampling; Cochin (Lat. 09N, Long. 76E) and Munambam (Lat. 10N, Long. 76E). The estimated allometric coefficient b value ranged from 2.687 (A. pelagicus, N = 122) to 3.11 (C. falciformis, N = 295). Coefficient of determination scores ranged from 0.901 (A. pelagicus) to 0.984 (C. amblyrhynchoides, N = 108), indicating robustness of the samples analysed. Maximum total length presented for C. amblyrhynchoides in this study was a new record. The study reports first estimates of length–weight relationships for three important species of pelagic sharks which contribute to most of the shark catches in the region, and the generated parameters will be useful for the assessment of stocks and sustainable management of pelagic sharks in southeastern Arabian Sea.Not Availabl