The Fishery Oceanographic Research Vessel Sagar

Sampada has continued regular fishery oceanographic

cruises within the Exclusive Economic zone of India

during the period January 1985 and completed 20

cruises by September 1988 off the east and west coasts

The highlights of results of these cruises are briefly mentioned in this brochure- It is hoped this

information would help in augmenting marine fisheries resources of the country

CMFRI, Kochi

CMFRI Digital Repository

CENTRAL MARINE FISHERIES RESEARCH INSTITUTE C Q C H T N - 31 FORV SAGAR SAMPADA CRUISE HIGHLIGHTS JAN 1985 to SEP 1986 FOREWORD The Central Marine Fisheries Research Ins t i tu te , Cochin has been Ident i f ied as the nodal organ isat ion bv the Indian Council of Agr icu l tura l Research, New Delhi to manage the sc ient i f ic programmes of the Fishery Oceanographic Research Vessel, Sagar Sampada, owned by the Government of India (Department of Ocean Development) , The vessel, equipped for col lect ion of marine fisheries resources, oceanographic and meteorological data In the Exclusive Ecoiiom'C Zone of India, s tar ted regular cruises from January 1985 and completsd 20 cruises by September 1988 of f the eaet and west coasts . The h igh l ights of results of these cruises are br ie f ly ment ioned in this brochure- It is hoped th is in format ion wou ld help in augment ing marine f isheries resources of the r o u n t r y . (P. S. B. R. JAMES) DIRECTOR COCHIN-31 CENTRAL MARINE FISHERIES 20-10-1986 RESEARCH INSriTUTE COVER PICTURE : FLESIDFENAEUS EDWARDSIANUS FORV SACAir SWUWtO^ ^ H W I I U B I f T y OF RESULTS The following is a brief account of the salient features of the vessel, her capabilities and highlights of the results of operations carried out during the 20 cruises conducted from January '85 to September -86-^SSEL AND HER CArAMLIT in FORV Sagar Sampada (OAL 71 -SOm) is essentially a stem trawler designed for research on the living resources and the environment in the Exclusive Economic Zone of the country and tfie contiguous ocean areas-The vessel can conduct multi-disciplinary studies using latest generation equipments supported by a computer* system-Cruisins rang* of th« vassal is 18,000 n. miles at a speed of 12 knots. Navigational aquipmants other than the normal complement include satellite navigator, and automatic visual directloi* fmdar- Naviga-tional data can be coded w i ^ the efectronic data Processing system-Accommodation is for a total complement of 59 persons including 12 scientists. Fishing capabilities include bottom trawling, midwater and pelagic trcwiing and also long lining. The vessel, in addition to manual control from the deck has an auto trawl system to electrically control shooting, trawling and hauling of fishing nets from the bridge-There is a helicopter pad and hangar at the stern-Laboratory and research facilities include a common laboratory on the main deck (Deck 4) for physical, chemical and biological work- A rosette array of 12 water sampling bottles are used to collect water samples for hydrographic studies- The system is linked to the computer facility- The various parameters like temperature and conductivity against depth can be read on the display screen and also can be recorded on diskettes for future use. Wet and dry fish laboratories and aquarium are located below (Deck 3). Catch from the deck are passed on through the deck hatch and conveyor system to the wet fish laboratory. The aquarium has twelve 300 I capacity tanics supplied with sea water from the inlet in the bow of the ship, with also a reservoir tank of4m> capacity-Aquarium can be used as a closed recycling system or open flow-through system-There is a plankton winch on port side for biological oceanography work. Acoustic detection and electronic data processing rooms with the computer are located above (Deck 6). The electronic data processing is a master facility used as a service centre for all data collected in other laboratories by the six desk top computers-The Radio isotope laboratory equipped with a Geiger counter and monitor, is located on deck 3-Meteorological data monitoring room is located on deck 6, where weather chart is obtained by facsimile recorder through satellite communications and radio transmission. There is also a meteorological telemetry buoy (WADI buoy) with sensors connected to computers through VHF station for measuring wind speed and direction, water and air temperature etc. Acoustic Instrumentation comprises of $ scientific echosounders of frequencies l 5 , 3 8 and 120 kHz of which one is connected to an integratpr, for quantifying densities- Prints puts of basic data are obtained through the computet sVstent^ -, There are photographic and reprographic facilities onboard. „ ; . j fj Management of the>; vessfl:- 7 j The Central Marine Fisheries Research Instit-tue (ICAR) is the nodaV Agency responsibler fop the planning aruJ execution of the, various seien tific programmes of FOpV Sagar Sampada,, i<v consultation with a Copirtiittee j formed for jthe purpose-The vessel is .-niaiptained , and run b y j h e ,, Shipping Corporation of India on behalf p.f,'the Department of Ocean Development- Apart frdifi the major participation in the scieatific ..proQTa-mmes of the vessel by CMFRI andj GIFT,-otfefr concerned institutions and Universities are also encouraged to make use Of this natibn*tdfE«^ftty. - t - u:Ji, The CMFRI fiUs the positions of i^ tji»e;T,c^cK ;. officers and almost all the crew for Jht,'>i^hjnge and support for scientific equipmenti-Ci^ftions; ^ during the cruises- Recruitment of the permanent complement for this work is under way-Programmes executed: The vessel conducted 20 cruises from Febr^ uary. 1985 to September, 1986 spending 39$ days at sea and covering a track distance of 105250 km (56708 n.m). The Exclusive Economic Zone of the country including the Laccadives archipelago and the Andaman sea were surveyed by the vessel. The equatorial waters were surveyed for the oceanic resources-The technical programmes carried out inclu-ded the following, using different equipments indicated. Rosettej water£sampler Hydrography Plankton Deep scattering layer Productivity Fish distribution _ Rossette array of water samplers • - -Bongo 60' net - Issac kid mid water trawl - C-14 technique - Acoustic surveys with Echosounders, 3 sonar and echO'integrator. - Fishing with pelagic trawl and bottom trawls. Meteorology -Automatic weather rec-order and 'Wadi Buoy-The details of stations occupied during the afore-mentioned 20 cruises are as follows: Rosette casts Plankton Issac Kid midwater -trawl Midwater trawl Bottom trawl 690 678 630 210 126 Acoustic surveying was conducted by contin-uous operations of the sounders during the cruises-Autoanalyser for sea water analysis Titration equipments on board Meteorological telemetry buoy (Wadi buoy) User Agency Participation in the cruises of F O R V Sagar Sampada during the first 20 cru-ises from Feb- '83 to Sept- '86. SI No- Name of Agency Scientist man days 1 . 2 . 3 . 4 . 5. 6 . 7-8 Central Marine Fisheries Research Insti tute Central Inst i tute of Fisheries Technology National Institute of Oceanography Zoological Survey of India Space Applicat ion Centre National Physical Oceanographic Laboratory Fishery Survey of India Indian Insti tute of Technology, Madras 3003 579 98 86 43 51 72 20 9 Konkan Krishi Vidyapeeth 10- Fisheries Col lege, Mangalore 1 1 - University o f Cochin 12- University of Kerala : 13. Fisheries College, Tuticorin 14. Annamalai University 15. University of Madras 16. Andhra University 17- Berhampur University 30 24 109 50 12 107 44 47 28 4781 In addi t ion, 18 plirt icipants (lOCyUNESCO/ DOD workshop on dcean Engineering, Madras, March - April '86) f rom different nat ional i t ies -Egypt, Malaysia. Indonesia, Pakistan, SriLanka, Turkey^ Iran, Phil l ippines, Thailand, Tanzania, Malagache, Mauri t ious. West Germany and India-had a training cruise off Madras on 1 8 ^ March 1986. Trawl net w i th a bumper catch HIGHLIGHTS OF RESULTS FORV Sagar Sampada conducted few trial cruises in January 1985, off Cochin, and after this launched the regular programmes of f ishery resources survey in the EEZ, alorig wi th studies on the environment-One of the important f indings during the cruise in January '85 on the S- W- coast was the locat ion o f deep sea prawns, plesiopenaeus edwardsianus and Acanthephyra sp. at a depth o f 870 m off Trivandrum- The former is the f irst authentic record of this very large sized species f rom this region-Tha coverage made in February '85 in the Cochin-Goa sector caught the cutt lef ish. Sepia pharaonis f rom depths 54-240m- The gudgeon. Cheiiodipterud sp. and the bulls eye. Priacanthus hamrur dominated the catches from deeper waters- Among the mesopelagic f ishes the lantern f ish. Diaphus splendidus formed the major com^tfnent-During the cruise in February - March '85 on the N. W. coast, large number of f ish eggs and larvae were observed over the Angria Bank, Fish catch on deck suggesting that several species of fishes spawned in the area at this time- Spawning ground of ribbon fish (Trichiurus haumcia) at 47 m depth off Veraval was indicated- Similarly, a nursery ground for juvenile Lactarius sp. at 100 m depth off Okha was observed- Low surface temperature profile in the northern latitudes of the area surveyed was associated with large swarms of pelagic tunicates and poor fish biomass. The survey in April '85 on the SW and SE coasts showed that the demersal fish components of the S- W. coast were mainly lizard fishes (Saurida spp.). threadfin breams (Neniipt«rus spp-). scads and squids and of the S-E-coast, threadfin breams, silver bellies Lciognathus spp. and the silver biddy Pentaprion sp- The pelaoic resources taken were composed of red shrimps, oceanic squid (Symplectoteuthis ouianiensis, light fishes (Gonostomatids), lantern fishes (Myctophids) and the swarming oceanic crab, Charybdis cdwardsii, the latter particularly from the S. W- coast- The upper layers of water over the Wadge Bank were cooler as compared to that of Pt- Calimere - Madras region. Catch of deep sea prawns and lobsters In July '85 acoustic survey indicated abundance of whi tebai t (Stolcpherus spp. ) . In the Gulf o f Mannar at 40-41 m depth- A good resource of trumpet f ish (Family : Macrorhampho-sidae), and the deep sea lobster(Pu«rulus sewelli) were located at 200 m depth on ^the Wadge Sank Extensive swarms of oceanig crab were noticed st 80 m depth of f An jengo. This survey also indicated good catfish concentrat ions at 50m depth of f Cochin. The monsoon cruise in July '85 off the S W-coast revealed the abundance of bulls eye of f Cape Comorin- The oceanic crab was the important component in the pelagic t rawl col lec-t ions, which also included juveniles o f squids m d prawns such as Hymenopenaaus sp. and Pasiphaea sp- Mesopelagics included the lantern fishes Diaphus and Myctophum and prawns (Family : Pasiphaeidae) in the southern sector and tunicates, euphausids, siphdnophores and crusta-cean larvae in the northern sector> The cruise which covered the EEZ of f the cen-tral sector of the west coast in August -85 sighted large tuna shoals o f f Goa (69»00 E-yCOO'E) along the 15° N (at. in the oceanic waters- Simila-9 Catch Of squids and cut t le- f ishes riy shoals of f ly ing gurnards (Dactyloptena orient-aiis) were also noticed in the area- Several spec i -es of juveni le fishes, eel larvae, oceanic crabs and Acetes sp. were also located during th is cruise. Survey of the North west coast in September '85 showed that the demersal resources included lizard fishes, r ibbon f ishes, threadfin breams, the king f ish (Rachycentron sp-) and cut t le fishes in 88-93m depth- Je l ly f ish, lantern f ishes, t ight fishes and juveni le squids formed the important compon-ents in the mesopelagic catches- Fish larvae were present in 75% of the zooplankton samples. The coverage of the north west sector, Kandla-Ratnagiri in October -85 indicated the presence o f oceanic squid mainly in the o f f shore waters bet-ween Bombay and Goa. The demersal resources included bul ls eye, lizard f ish , threadfin bream and several species of cut t le f ish belonging to the genus Sepia- Large number of f ish larvae and juveni les were col lected. Tuna shoals, accom-panied by f locks of b i rds, were sighted north of Goa. Survey of the Goa-Cochin sector by end of October '85 indicated good concentrat ions of 10 surface f ish shoals at 250-320 m depth south-west o f Goa- Tuna shoals were sighted southwest of Mangalore. Biomass was found to be higher in the nearshore waters than in the oceanic waters. Salinity was higher north o f 13° N compared to the southern area. The survey of the outer continental shelf and slope of the entire west coast in November •85 located the abundance of phyllosoma larvae of lobsters in the offshore waters (around 75m depth) of f Kerala and Karnataka coasts- Among the dominant species of pelagic fishes caught were Cubiceps sp-, Psenes indicus and juveni les of carangidsi, catf ish, threadfin bream, ribbon f ish and bul ls eye dominated the demersal catch-During the survey of the Laccadives archipelago in Dec '85-Jan '86 per iod, concentrations of young ones of tunas, bil l f ishes, wahoo (Acanthocybium sp.) . carangids, lut ianids. f lat f ish (Psettodes sp ), le iognathids, balistids and Polynemus sp were found . In the survey of the equatorial region of the Indian ocean (OSoOO'N to 03° OO'S; 76° 00 ' E to 86° OO'E) in Jan-Feb. ' 8 6 , lantern fishes formed the major group in the pelagic t raw l , forming 57% of the catch- Large squids (Ancistrochelfus iesueuri) weighing about one kg or more were seen in some of the hauls along w i th young ones of other oceanic squids-During the cruise on the east coast cover ing pt- Calimere to Paradip in Feb-March '86, i t was found that perches, carangids, Pentaprion so -and goat fishes (Upeneus sp-) had wide distr ibut ion in the area- In pelagic t rawl lantern fishes consti tuted 35-95% in 75% of the stat ions. Survey of the shelf and slope waters o f f Madras coast in late March revealed dense coricentrations o f the oceanic crab, almost all of them females, in berried condi t ion-The cruise which covered the eastern Bay of Bengal and Andaman waters in March-Apri l '86 found the thermocline at 75.,100m- Several wi^ll known mid and deep water species o f f i sh , prawns and cephalopods were encountered in the catches-The cruise in the upper Bay of Bengal in May 86 apart f rom locating the concentrations of d i f ferent commercial f ishes, such as cat f ish . H mackerel, bul ls eye and scads, also found squids and alima larvae of squilla in good numbers-In June '86 in the lower Bay of Bengal, lantern fishes and l ight fishes as we l l as the usual communi ty o f deep water fishes were encountered in abundance- Some rare species o f deep sea fishes l ike Astronesthes sp. and Benthodes-mus sp. were located during this cruise-The cruise during lata June '86 located abundance of f ish larvae in areas around 20m depth along the S W coast- A l ima larvae were very common in the of fshore waters in the region-A long the central west coast, occurrence of young ones of several species of f ish, squids and prawns were recorded in the f i rs t half o f Ju ly '86-Thermocline Level was at about 40 m depth-The survey covering the Laccadives archipe-lago in July-August '86 revealed the presence of a dominant oceanic squid component in the catches and w ide spread occurrence of young tunas- Thermocline depth was at about 65m-Acoustic survey in Aug-Sept "86 revealed good pelagic and bot tom f ish recordings in the Gulf o f Mannar, western side o f Wadge Sank, and off Calicut and Mangalore. Good aggregation o f whi tebai t was located of f Manapad in Gulf of Mannar- Many surface tuna shoals were recorded in the oceanic waters, south of the Bassas de Pedro Bank- Very dense concentrations (1 -9 tonnes/hour) of threadfin bream, cutt le f ish and squids were located on the western Wadge Bank and between Mangalore and Calicut- Good recordmgs of Bulls eye were observed off Marmagoa- Entire shelf was covered w i t h low oxygen cold upwel led waters upto 30m depth and the distr ibut ion and abundance of threadfin bream, bulls eye, and cephalopods appear to be related to the hydrographic condi t ions prevail ing-12 HIGHLIGHTS-IN A NUTSHELL First authentic reccrd of the large deep sea prawn Piesiopenaeus edwardsianus at 870 m depth off Trivandrum. Location of : spawning ground of several species of fishes over the Angria Bank. Spawning/nursery grounds of r ibbon f ish of f Veraval at 47 m depth-Nursery ground of young Lactarius 100 m depth off Okha-Extensive swarms of oceanic crabs along the SW coast during the SW monsoon season-Large tuna shoals during post monsoon t ime off Central west coast-Abundance of lobster larvae in the offshore waters (75 m) along Keraia-Karnataka coast in November. A varisty of juveni le fibhes, especially tunas. • • in the Lakshadweep area in Dec-January and Ju ly -August periods, and dominant oceanic squid component in July-August per iod. The presence of large quantities of lantern fishes in the lower Bay of Bengal and equat-orial region during Jan - February per iod. Confirmation of the phenomenon cf the seasonal concentration of whitebaits in the Gulf of Mannar during the SW monsoon season. Large concentrations of trumpet fishes at 200 m depth and very high concentration of threadfin bream (1-9 t/hr), cut t ie fibh and squids in the Wadge Bank in Aug-September per iod. The' 'presence of large concentrations of berried oceanic crab during January-February along the SE coast-13 

FORV Sagar Sampada-

Cruise highlights Jan 1985 to Sep 1986

http://eprints.cmfri.org.in/5483/1/6_FORV_Sagar_sampada_cruise_Highlights.pdf

FORV Sagar Sampada- Cruise highlights Jan 1985 to Sep 1986

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