Bull’s eye landings off Saurashtra reached a peak of 3813 tons in 1999 with a
catch rate of 4.3 kg per haul. The group is represented by a single species,
Priacanthus hamrur (Forsskal). Gut content analysis revealed P. hamrur to be
a carnivorous fish with a preference for pelagic crustaceans and fishes. Spawning
females were encountered from March to December and the length at first
maturity of female P. hamrur was 198 mm. Recruitment to the fishery takes
place with two peaks annually - one in January-February and a minor one in
October-November. A common length-weight relationship for both sexes was
obtained with a = 3.481x105 and b = 2.83498. The von Bertalanffy growth
equation was derived as Lt = 360.35 [1-e-0.56(t+ 0.1013)] and the length attained by
the fish at the end of 1 to 4 years were estimated as 165, 249, 296 and 324 mm.
The length growth performance index was obtained as !’ = 4.86 and the
longevity, tmax was estimated as 4.44 years. The mortality co-efficient Z, M and
F were 2.35, 1.14 and 1.21, respectively and exploitation rate, E was 0.51. Stock
assessment studies reveal that the present average annual catch can be increased
by 764 t to reach the MSY of 4996 tons
