Puducherry Union Territory has 45 km of coast

which extends from Kanagachettykulam in the north

to Murthykuppam in the south and contributes around

5% to the total marine fish catch of the country. The

average annual catch was 15,492 t during 2005 –

2009. One of the most significant development in

the marine fisheries sector observed in recent years

is the large scale introduction of ringseine boats for

commercial exploitation of pelagic fish resources,

which is also observed along the coast off

Puducherry

Mohan, S

Mohanraj, G

Poovannan, P

Rajapackiam, S

Ravindran, M

Srinivasan, G

Thirumilu, P

Vasu, R

CMFRI Digital Repository

Marine Fisheries Information Service T&E Ser., No. 208, 2011 9L. duvauceliS. aculeataS. pharaonisS. inermisOctopus spp.MonthsJan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Aug Sep Oct Nov DecCPUH(kg/h)3.02.52.01.51.00.50.0Fig. 10. Period of abundance of cephalopods as per CPUHfrom Maharashtra (2000-2009)Fig. 9. Carch of Sepia aculeata by trawlers at NFWAccording to Nair et al. (1992), the seasons forcephalopod fishery are the pre-monsoon (February-May), the monsoon (June-August) and thepost-monsoon (September-January).  As per theCPUH estimated for all the commercialy importantspecies (2000-2009), it was observed that the peakperiod for squids is pre-monsoon, cuttlefish is post-monsoon and Octopus almost throughout the year.A major peak period of abundance for L. duvauceliwas observed during March- April and a minor peakin October, while for all the three cuttlefish speciesnamely S. aculeata, S. pharaonis and S. inermis,  thepeak period of abundance was in the month ofOctober.  Octopus species showed period ofabundance in April (Fig.10) Silas et al., 1985)presented a detailed account of fishery ofcephalopods at Mumbai and a very interestingseasonal pattern in cephalopods was observedwherein squids dominated the cephalopod catchduring the period January to May and cuttlefisheswere abundant during the period September toDecember.  A similar trend was observed by Kuber(1987) from Mumbai waters and the present studiesalso revealed a similar pattern.From above mentioned observations oncephalopod fishery of Maharashtra State, if can beinferred that as the demand is increasing,over-exploitation due to increased fishing pressureis possible, which may ultimately lead to stockdepletion.  It is suggested that measures should betaken at this stage for rational exploitation of thisimportant resource and therefore it is imperative toevolve effective fishery management measures forjudicious exploitation.Emerging ringseine fishery of oilsardine  (Sardinella longiceps)off Puducherry coastG. Mohanraj, P. Thirumilu, P. Poovannan, S. Mohan, G. Srinivasan, S. Rajapackiam,M. Ravindran  and  R. VasuMadras Research Centre of CMFRI, ChennaiPuducherry Union Territory has 45 km of coastwhich extends from Kanagachettykulam in the northto Murthykuppam in the south and contributes around5% to the total marine fish catch of the country. Theaverage annual catch was 15,492 t during 2005 –2009.  One of the most significant development inthe marine fisheries sector observed in recent yearsis the large scale introduction of ringseine boats forcommercial exploitation of pelagic fish resources,which is also observed along the coast offPuducherry.  The operation of indigenous shore seine(Thallu valai in Tamil) has virtually come to a haltdue to introduction of ring seine nets (Surukku valaiin Tamil).  In order to help the fishermen who arewholly dependent on the shore seine operations, thescheduled banks have come forward with creditMarine Fisheries Information Service T&E Ser., No. 208, 201110Table 2. Month-wise catch (t) and composition (%) during  2010Species April May June July August SeptemberCatch (t) % Catch (t) % Catch (t) % Catch (t) % Catch (t) % Catch (t) %Oilsardine 1755 78 3840 80 1555 81 219 73 138 92 72 90Mackerel 135 6 384 8 77 4 12 4 3 2 4 5Tunas 225 10 288 6 134 7 60 20 8 5 2 2Carangids 67 3 240 5 78 4 6 2 0 0 1.5 2Anchovies 45 2 0 0 58 3 0 0 0 0 0 0Other fishes 23 1 48 1 18 1 3 1 1 1 0.5 1facilities to both individual and fisheries co-operativesocieties for acquiring ring seines units.  The ringseine operation is restricted to area offVeerampattinam and Periyakalapattu near thePuducherry Fisheries Harbour, mainly due toavailability of infrastructural facilities viz., berthing,ice plants, cold storage, freshwater, diesel pumps,trucks for transportation etc.The Indian oilsardine, Sardinella longiceps,which contributes 15 to 20 % to the total marine fishlandings in India and which occurs in large shoalsalong the south-west coast was reported only as straycatch from the east coast before 1980.  There wasno report of  heavy catch of the oilsardine fromPuducherry coast in ringseine except the report ofChidambaram (Mar. fish, Infor. Ser. No. 61) on theunusual occurrence of the oilsardine in gillnet catchesduring the period Oct. - Dec. 1983. The present reportgives a brief account of the unusual landing ofoilsardine in bulk quantities by ring seines atPuducherry Fisheries Harbour during April –September, 2010.Mode of operationThe ring seines are either operated from boatswith wooden or fibreglass hulls with an overall lengthof 38 to 43 ft. The knotless synthetic net has a lengthof 400 to 600 m and a height of 50 m.  About 40brass rings are used for pursing the net. Crew ofringseines varies from 20 to 25 excluding crew(2-3) of a carrier boat, which is employed during thepeak fishing season to cope up with transport of fishfrom the fishing ground to the landing place.  Nearly15 ring seiners operated off Puducherry coast forthe first time during April – Sept. 2010. The time takento complete a haul varied from 1 to 3 h dependingupon the catch.  On an average 3-4 hauls were madedaily. As there is a heavy demand to sell fish catch inthe morning, atleast 1-2 hauls were made and thefish is sent immediately by carrier boats for betterfinancial returns.Composition of catchBy and large, oilsardine, mackerel, tunas,carangids, anchovies and other fishes constitutedthe major catch of ring seine.  The estimated catchof ring seines during the study period is shown inTable I.Table 1. Estimated landings of ring seines and CPUE(in tonnes) at Puducherry Fisheries Harbour duringApril– Sept, 2010Month Effort (units) Catch (t) CPUE (t)April 450 2250 5.0May 600 4800 8.0June 480 1920 4.0July 300 900 3.0August 150 150 1.0September 100 80 0.8The catch of 2250 t in April increased to 4800 tin May and thereafter gradually declined to 80 t inSeptember.  A similar trend was noticed in CPUEalso; with catch of the highest 8 t recorded in Mayand the lowest 0.8 t in September.Month-wise catch and percentage of fish groupscaught by  ringseine is shown in Table 2. The catchof oil sardines ranged from 72 to 3,840 t (73 to92 %), mackerel from 3 to 384 t (2 to 8 %) and tunasbetween 2 and 288 t (2 to 10 %).  The carangids,anchovies and other fishes contributed 1 to 6 % ofthe overall catch.Marine Fisheries Information Service T&E Ser., No. 208, 2011 11Truck loaded with ringseine Boat with ringseine in the harbourCarrier boat with oilsardine catch Iced sardine being loaded into the truck at PuducherryFisheries HarbourBiological note on the important commercialspeciesSardinella longiceps : Length ranged from 137 to178 mm with the dominant mode at 167 mm.Preponderance of females over males was observedin all the months except  July.  Mature females werefound throughout the period except May.Rastrelliger kanagurta : Size ranged from 170 to235 mm with majority of them in the 220 mm size group.Euthynnus affinis : Size ranged from 240 to 510 mm.EconomicsBased on the auction proceeds at the landingcentre, the total amount realized during April-September worked out to Rs. 24.7crores with amonthly revenue of Rs. 0.2 to 16 crores.  The averagereturn per boat/day was estimated as Rs.1,23,550/.Mackerel fetched the highest price with an averageof Rs.100/kg. Price per kg for oilsardine wasRs. 20/-, tunas Rs.30/-, carangids Rs.50/-, anchoviesRs. 40/- and others Rs.20/-.  This formed about 60%of the total annual income.  Category-wise catch andtotal value realized are given in Table 3.Table 3. Category-wise catch (t) and value (Rs. in crore)Species Catch (t) Value in Rs. croreOilsardine 8176 16Mackerel 615 6Tunas 717 2.2Carangids 395 2Anchovies 103 0.5Other fishes 94 0.2Marine Fisheries Information Service T&E Ser., No. 208, 201112Oilsardine fetched Rs.16 crores, followed bytunas (Rs. 6 crore), mackerel (Rs. 6 crore), carangids(Rs. 2 crore), anchovies (Rs. 0.5 crore) and otherfishes (Rs. 0.2 crore).  Though April – May was thelean period for trawlers, the indigenous fishermenwere able to earn a good income during this periodthan earlier years, on account of this fishery.As there was an unusual heavy landing ofpelagic fishes and high economical returns, manymore ring seine units are likely to be operated in thesame area in the coming months.  Hence, a detailedinvestigation on the effect of purseseining onconstituent species is warranted for sustaining thepelagic fishery resources of the state.Whale shark  landings in Uttar Kannada, KarnatakaMiriam Paul Sreeram, V. S. Kakati, N. G. Vaidya, C. K. Dinesh and S. V. PaiKarwar Research Centre of CMFRI, KarwarThe whale shark, Rhincodon typus Smith, 1828,has a circumglobal distribution in tropical and warmtemperate seas. Since May 2003 it has been includedunder Appendix II of CITES, making the trade of thisspecies regulated. The status of this species hassince then been upgraded from “Data deficient” in1996 to “Vulnerable” in 2000 by the IUCN. Currentlyit is protected under Schedule I Part II of the WildlifeProtection Act of India, 1972.Two instances of the landing of whale sharkshave been observed in the Uttar Kannada District inthe 2007-09 period. Both landings were recorded inthe month of January, with one on 27.01.07 atBaithkol, Karwar and the second at Gabitwada nearAnkola on 31.01.09. The specimen landed at Baithkol(Fig. 1) was brought in by fishers who found itentangled in a bottom set gillnet at approximately45 m depth off Karwar Lighthouse. It was dragged toTable 1. Morphometric parameters of whale shark specimen landed in Uttar Kannada (2007-09)Morphometric measurements (cm) Jan 2007 Jan 2009(cm) (% TL) (cm) ( % TL)Total length (TL) 259.1 100 427 100Standard length Not recorded 320 74.9Head length ,, 72 16.9Snout to first dorsal ,, 183 42.9Snout to second dorsal ,, 259 60.7Snout to pectoral ,, 82 19.2Snout to pelvic ,, 196 45.9Snout to anal ,, 220 51.5Length of first dorsal fin 33.02 12.7 45 10.5Base length of first dorsal fin 25.4 9.8 Not recordedLength of second dorsal fin 20.32 7.8 ,,Base length of second dorsal fin 10.16 3.9 ,,Length of pectoral fin from angle of inner base to tip 50.8 19.6 69 16.2Pectoral fin base length Not recorded 37 8.7Length of pelvic fin ,, 19 4.5Pelvic fin base length ,, 15 3.5Eye diameter ,, 5 6.9 (% HL)Inter orbital space ,, 80 18.7Gill slits 05 05Ribbings Not recorded 08

Emerging ringseine fishery of oilsardine (Sardinella longiceps)

off Puducherry coast

http://eprints.cmfri.org.in/8885/1/208-4.pdf

Emerging ringseine fishery of oilsardine (Sardinella longiceps) off Puducherry coast

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