Major and minor fisheries harbours of India 1. Fisheries harbours in Maharashtra

Maharashtra is one of the major maritime states in India with a coastline of 720 km. There are five maritime districts viz. Thane, Greater Mumbai, Ralgad. Ratnaglri and Sindhudurg from where the fishing vessels operate (Fig. 1). The state jointly with Gujarat contributed about 8.5 lakh tonnes of marine fish in 1994 which formed 36 % of the total marine fish production of India

Growth, mortality and stock assessment of two perches moontail bull's eye Priacanthus hamrur (PerciformeslPricanthidae) and thomycheek grouper Epinephelus diacanthus (Perciformes/Serranidae) from Bombay waters

Based on the data collected from 1989-n the growth, mortality and stock assessment of P. hamrur and E. diacanthus were calculated. The von Bertalanffy's growth functions worked out for P. hamrur were as follows Lro=360 mm, K=O.64 per year and that of E. diacanthus were Lro=494 mm and K=O.59 per year. Based on these calculations the growth of P. hamrur at the end of I-IV years works out to be as 171,260, 308 and 334 mm. The length attained by E. diacanthus at the end of I-IV years of its life works out to 223, 345, 414 and 451 mm respectively. The mortality coefficients - Z, M and F were worked out 2.24,1.13 and 1.11 for P. hamrur. The same for E. diacanthus was calculated as 1.74, 1.1 and 0.64 respectively. Stock assessment study shows that there is no decline in the catch at the present rate of explOitation. However, even if the efforts are trebled, the increase in the catch will not be proportionate and returns are not remunerative

Stock assessment of Loligo duvaucelii (D'Orbigny)in Bombay waters

Ld&o drrvweliJ forms 7.8 % of t 4 trawl landin@ 3 Bombay. The von Bertalariffy growth Parameters ate La = 323 mm, K = 0.448 (annual) and t, =i 0.0244 years. Tbe total mortality e i e n t for the years 1980284 is 1.83 and the estimated mturaI mortality is 1.1. The standing stock and the annual stock in the present fishing ground is 990 tonnes and 2,150 t respectively. Tho yield is 721 t, which indicrltes that there is furtber scope for the sxploitatioa of bI&o hwwiII by the tmwIen

A prawn with double rostrum

During routine examination of prawn samples from offshore catches on the 8th December, 1968, afternoon, the authors came across a male specimen of prawn having an additionail rostrum (Fig. a & b). In all other respects the specimen has identical characters of Parapenaeopsis stylifera (M. Edward)

Cephalopod resources revealed by exploratory surveys in Indian seas

The areawise and depth wise cephalopod catches of fishing vessels of Government of India and some Agencies which conducted exploratory fishing in offshore areas have been presented and discussed. The exploratory fishing by Government of India vessels in Bombay-Gujarat region during 1977-80 yielded a maximum of 7,609 kg of cephalopods a year at a catch rate of 6.8 kg/h. The highest catch rates were recorded from the area 19-70 and the depth zone 80-89 m. In Visakhapatnam region the cephalopod catch was poor during 1968-75 but during 1977-80 the annual catch increased to 3,283 kg. The most intensively fished area was 17-83. The catch was composed of four species of cuttlefishes and three species of squids. The results of trawl surveys in other parts of Indian waters are also dealt with

Estimates of growth, mortality, recruitment pattern and MSY of important resources from the Maharashtra coast

Based on the data collected from the year 1987 - 1991 the growth, mortality and recruitment pattern of eighteen species of fish, two species of cephalopods and four species of penaeid prawns have been presented in the present communication_ The total mortality coefficient, (Z) varied from lowest of 1.20 for O.cuvieri to a highest of 10.78 for P.stylifera. The natural mortality coefficient, (M) varied from 0.52 for T. thalassinus to 3.44 for S.crassicornis. The average annual yield of eighteen species of fish, four species of prawns and two species of cephalopods are 65,083, 38,404 and 11,373 tons as against the MSYof 83,023, 72,460 and 10,475 tons respectively. The MSY estimated for the total fish stock is 1,77,753t where as the present yield is 1,14,859t. This indicates that higher yield can be obtained by increasing the effort

By catch of shrimp trawlers in Greater Bombay

The introduction of mechanized trawling operations, Maharashtra, with a coast line of 720 km, occupies an important placp in the export oriented prawn fishing industry of India. The state stands second in penaeid prawn landings with an annual average (1971-80) of 27,000 tonnes, contributing to 25% of the all-India catch of penaeids. Sassoon Dock and New Ferry Wharf are two important bases in Greater Bombay for commercial trawling. The present account attempts to give a picture of the trawl fishery with special reference to prawns and by-catches during 1979-82

Distribution of finfish resources along southeast coast of India in relation to certain environmental parameters

This paper embodies the distribution pattern of major finfish resources along the southeast coast of India as observed during the cruises operated by FORV Sagar Sampada. A total of 16 cruises (1985-90) operated along latitude 7° 15'- 15°00' N and longitude 75°50'- 82°3r E hauled a total catch 37.5 tonnes with a catch rate of 537 kg/hr. The catch was constituted mainly by threadfin breams (43%), perches (14%), barracudas (9.72%), carangids (8.56%) and elasmobranchs (4.81%). Seasonally higher catch rates were obtained during July- September period. Depth range of 60 - 80 m had denser population of finfish resources. Water temperature and salinity appeared to influence the distribution of major finfishes more than dissolved oxygen. Groups such as threadfin breams were found preferring cooler waters of Wadge Bank area, while barracudas appear to occupy warmer waters of Gulf of Mannar

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

Present status of exploitation of fish and shellfish resources: Squid and cuttlefish

A great bulk of the cephalofKxls exploited in India, mostly as by-catch, is landed on the west coast with the three maritime States of Kerala, Maharashtra and Gujarat accounting for the lion's share. Over 70% of this is obtained in trawl, while the rest is taken in artisanal fisheries, besides some exclusive fisheries of localised nature. During February 1984 to August 1988, on the west coast as a whole, the post-monsoon season (September-February) is the best period for cephalopod landings accounting for an average of 63% of the annual production, while premonsoon season (February- May) is the next productive and the monsoon season (June-August) is the least. Fishery in the monsoon season is active only at Vizhinjam with the opearation of large number of artisinal gear; however the cephalopod catch is much less than in other seasons. Loligo duvauceli is the single species that constitutes the squid fishery on the west coast, while Sepia pharoonsis and Sepia aculeala mainly form the cuttlefish fishery. There is no significant variation in size range or maturity conditions of the component species of squid and cuttlefish in relation to the seasons. The possible effect of fishing during monsoon on cephalopod resources is discussed