Cephalopod fishery of Maharashtra State

Cephalopod fishery of Maharashtra State, if can be inferred that as the demand is increasing, over-exploitation due to increased fishing pressure is possible, which may ultimately lead to stock depletion. It is suggested that measures should be taken at this stage for rational exploitation of this important resource and therefore it is imperative to evolve effective fishery management measures for judicious exploitation

Various uses of cephalopods

Cephalopods were used to be treated often as part of discardable bycatches until recently, but it is no longer so. They now have an upgraded status because of their export potential, and their place as an important part of Indian marine products exports. In India over 80% of the landings of cephalopods take place along its west coast

First record of the Oman cuttlefish, Sepia omani Adam and Rees, 1966 from Maharashtra waters

Many new records of cephalopods are reported from Maharashtra waters over the years. A new entrant of cuttlefish, Sepia omani Adam and Rees, 1966 (Fig. 1) was observed in trawl catches at New Ferry Wharf, Mumbai. The depth of operation was about 30-40 m at 70-80 km north of Mumbai coast.The species was observed in the catch in April 2009. The dorsal mantle length of the species landed ranged from 40 to 75 mm with corresponding weight ranging from 17.66 to 59.73 g. According to Jereb et al. (2005) the maximum mantle length of this species is100 mm.The occurrence of S. omani is reported for the first time from Maharashtra waters

Rising trend in the fishery of the octopus Cistopus indicus (Orbigny, 1840) by trawlers at Mumbai

The world landings of octopus increased substantially from 35,800 t in 1950 to 3,17,200 t in 2001 (Jereb et al., 2005). Major species of octopus that contribute to the world fishery come under the genera Octopus, Cistopus and Eledone. As many as 200 species of Octopodidae are known to occur in the world Oceans (Worms, 1983) of which about 60 are reported from the Indian Ocean (Roper et al., 1984)

First record of cuttlefish Sepia (Doratosepion) kobiensis Hoyle, 1885 from the north-west coast of India

Cephalopods are caught mainly as by-catch in the bottom trawl and due to the growing demand for cephalopods in the international market, they are exploited all along the Indian coast. In Maharashtra, cephalopods are mainly exploited by shrimp trawlers and stand second in the alll India production. The main fish landing centres for cephalopods at Mumbai are New Ferry Wharf (NFW) and Sassoon Docks. Cephalopods contribute 10.6% towards the total fish catch in Maharashtra (CMFRI, 2009

Note on the stranding of marine mammals on Chavakkad beach, Kerala

The observation of marine mammals from Chavakkad beach, Kerala is reported. On 16.03.2019, a carcass of finless black porpoise, Neophocaena phocaenoides (Fig. 1) was observed on Akkalad beach. The porpoise measured 95 cm in total length and being in highly decomposed state morphometrics could not be recorded

Octopus fishery off Indian NW(Maharashtra)Coast

Octopuses, popularly known as 'Devil fishes' are marine benthic animals found to live from the sea coastal water down to 1000 m of its depth. The major species of octopuses, which contribute to their global fishery, come under the genera Octopus, Cislopus and Eledone

First record of tawny nurse shark, Nebrius ferrugineus (Lesson,1830) from the north-west coast of India

Sharks contribute about 2% towards the total marine fish landings in India and are fished mainly by hooks and lines. They are also caught by gillnets, trawls and purse seines as bycatch. Sharks are widely hunted for flesh, liver oil and fins which are mostly exported to south-east Asia.The species composition of sharks in Maharashtra comprised of Scoliodon laticaudus (86.2%), Rhizoprionodon oligolinx (3.9%), Rhizoprionodon acutus (0.7%), Carcharhinus sorrah (2.2%), Carcharhinus limbatus (1%), Carcharhinus macloti (0.1%), Lamiopsis temminkie (2.6%), Sphyrna lewini (2.2%) and Galeocerdo cuvier (0.7%)

First record of the swordtip squid, Loligo edulis Hoyle, 1885 from the north-west coast of India

Cephalopods are caught mainly as bycatch in the bottom trawl and due to the growing demand for cephalopods in the international market; they are exploited all along the Indian coast and stands second in the all India production. In Maharashtra, cephalopods are mainly exploited by shrimp trawlers and the main fish landing centers for cephalopods at Mumbai are New Ferry Wharf (NFW) and Sassoon Docks. Cephalopods contribute 12.5% towards the total fish catch in Maharashtra (CMFRI, 2010)

Indian Scad, Decapterus russelli ....On its Fishery from Maharashtra Waters

lndia has a coastline of 8.129 km with a continental shelf of 4,14,868 sq. km. Its marine resources are spread in the lndian Ocean, Arabian Sea and in the Bay of Bengal. It has an Exclusive EconomicZone of 2.02 million square km comprising 0.86 million sq. km on the West coast, 0.56 million sq. km of the East coast and 0.60 million sq. km around Andaman and Nicobar Islands, with a harvestable fishery fishery potential of 3.9 million tonne