Estimates of optimum fleet size for the exploited Indian shelf fisheries

A characteristic feature of marine fish production in India is its annual fluctuations, as vividly shown by the statistics of production for the past four decades. Marine fisheries still remain open access and suffer from overcapitalization. About 2,43,000 fishing vessels (1,82,096 artisanal craft, 26,171 motorised craft and 34,571 mechanised craft) exploit this area, where the estimated annual potential is 2.2 million, tonnes. A conservative estimate of investment on fishing implements (craft as well as gear), at current prices is about Rs. 33.4 billion, but the return per unit investment seems hardly viable. Unhealthy competition and unregulatedfishing may decimate the exploited stocks and therefore, the question of decidingthe optimum size of fishing fleets which wouldallow sustainable yields becomes very relevant

Emerging Pattern of Exploitation of the Marine Fishery Resources of the Inshore Waters of India with Particular Reference to Low Energy Fishing

Marine fish production has registered an average annual growth rate of 9.8%. The unusual abundance of pelagic resources like oil sardine and mackerel in 1989 and a consistently increasing trend in the yield of carangids have been also responsible for this increased production. Introduction of trawling in early seventies gave a sudden upward push in the production and it got stabilized

Demersal Fish Assemblages of the Southwest Coast of India

Demersal surveys from the southwest coast of India were analyzed to determine the general pattern of distribution of demersal species assemblages in the area. Season¬ality is pronounced, indicating three major periods, pre-monsoon, monsoon and post-monsoon. Each of the periods is characterized by different oceanographic circulation patterns that mainly determine the pattern of distribution of species assemblages. Spatial analysis confirmed that the Wadge Bank has the highest po¬tential for producing good quality fish. Region-wise analysis of data indicated that maximum effort and highest landings are from the known grounds along the south¬west coast, although certain northern areas were also found to be fairly productiv

Stock assessment of the Indian oil-sardinella (Sardinella longiceps) off the West Coast of India

The Indian oil-sardinella (Sardinella longiceps Val .) has traditionally played a critical role in the marine fishery economics of India, and in particular in the State of Kerala. It's production on the west coast of India exhibits large fluctuations over the years, though it continues to be commercially the most important and abundant pelagic resource (Table 1). These fluctuations have attracted the attention of many research workers. As early as 1910 Hornell attributed them to changes in diatom production or food availability to the fry and the prevalence of favourable hydrological conditions. Kesteven (1967) was of the view that the fluctuations are related to shifts in the migratory path of the fish, causing variations in the accessibility of the stocks to fishing due to the limited range of the fishing operations

Status, prospects and management of small pelagic fisheries in India

The annual small pelagic fish production increased from 0.30 million mt during 1950-54 to 1.24 million mt during 1996 along the Indian coast. The 4 fold increase was possible due to several technological advancements. The potenrial yield from the pelagic resources of the EEZ is estimated to be 2.2 million mt. As there is no further scope for increasing the production from the inshore waters, there is need to bring the outer shelf and oceanic waters into increasing levels of exploitation

Tidal waves cause damages to coastal villages in Kerala

The article reports on the damages caused by giant tidal waves to coastal villages between Aarattupuzha (Alleppey District) in the south and Nattika (Trichur District) in the north for a distance of about 150 km along the Kerala coast. The giant tidal waves struck hard against the shore and rolled over into the low lying areas filling the sea water in the huts, wells, paddy fields etc. The damages were the minimum where ever the sea walls were present. But such calamities are unpredictable, hence the practical solution to such sudden natural calamities is to protect the coast line by constructing sea wall wherever the same is not present

Marine Fisheries along the Southwest Coast of India

Marine fisheries production in India has increased from 0.5 million t in 1950 to 2.47 million t in 1997. The gross value of fisheries landings in India was US$2.37 billion in 1997. The contribution of fisheries to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has risen from 0.7% in 1980 - 81 to 1.2% in 1994 - 95. The contribution to agricultural GDP has risen from 1.9% to 4%. Fisheries production also plays a critical role in food security and livelihood in rural area

Trophic Model of the Coastal Fisheries Ecosystem of the Southwest Coast of India

The Ecopath approach and software were used to construct a trophic model of the coastal fisheries ecosystem of the southwest (SW) coast of India. The model consisted of 11 ecological groups and used estimated landings from all areas along the southwest coast (based on the sample surveys conducted by Coastal Marine Fisheries Research Institute for the years 1994, 1995 and 1996). The trophic model suggests high catch levels, particularly for the large and medium predators, demersal feeders and detritivores. The biomass estimates in the trophic model were comparable to the biomass estimates from trawl surveys based on the swept area method for the southwest coast

Zooplankton abundance in the continental shelf waters of the northeast coast of India

Higher concentrations of zooplankton standing stock and population occurred in the region off Chilka lake and Paradip (19° 10'N-19° 55'N and 85°09'E-86° 50'E) during January and off Visakhapatnam (17°30'N- 18°28'N and 83°14'E- 84°29*E) during November and April. The most productive period along the northwestern part of the Bay of Bengal was the northeast monsoon season (October-January) followed by the premonsoon season (February-May). High abundance of copepods, chaetognaths, siphonophores, cladocerans, fish larvae, planktonic molluscs, amphipods, foraminifers and larval polychaetes constituted the northeast monsoon maximum. Very low biomass values were recorded during the southwest monsoon season (June-September). The neretic zone up to 50 m depth was rich in zooplankton population during northeast monsoon and further to a lesser extent up to 100 m during the premonsoon season. However, a steady decline was evident with increasing depth zones. The less saline northern part exhibited remarkable differences in the abundance of the population and standing stock in such a way that 63% of the total was confined to the northern region. Fish eggs were predominant during February-May and larvae in July and January-February. The peak period of the zooplankton population coincided with the maximum landings of the pelagic and demersal fishery resources of the northwestern coast of the Bay of Bengal