Hither to comprehensive data on the various types of baits used for capture of predatory fish and selective action of different hooks for bottom-drift-long lines is conspicuous by its absence. In the present studies attempts were made to evaluate the effectiveness of three types of baits and four sizes of hooks. Significant results obtained during the course of these investigations are presented in this communication

Deshpande, S.D.

Kartha, K.N.

Ramarao, S.V.S.

Aquatic Commons

T E ES LTS f FT-LO G-LI 
OPERATE OFF 
EFE E CE 
ITS 
SELECTI E 
IC 
Of 
KS SE 
* K. N KARTHA, S. D DESHPANDE AND S. V. S. RAl\fARAO 
Central Institute of Fisheries Technology Sub-station, Veraval 
Hither to comprehensive data on the various types of baits 
used for capture of predatory fish and selective action of diffe-
rent hooks . for bottom-drift-long lines is conspicuous by its 
absence. In the present studies attempts were made to evaluate 
the effectiveness .of three types of baits and four s1zes of 
hooks. Significant results obtained during the course of these 
investigations are presented in this communication. 
INTRODUCTION 
The drift -long -line fishing for pre-
datory fishes is known all along the Indian 
Coast from very early times is a fact and 
needs no special emphasis. Surprisingly 
enough, no systematic work seems to have 
been carried out for assessing the effecti-
veness of certain types of baits and hooks 
in vogue, except as a passing reference by 
Ayyangar(1922), Hornell (1916, 1938, 1950), 
Sorley (1932), Devanesen and Chidambaram 
(1951), Gopinath (1954), Chacko et. al. 
(1955), (1956), Gokhale (1957), JJhn et. al. 
(1959) and Kaikini (1960). Balasubramanyan 
(1964, 19642) during his survey of line fish-
ing along Madras coast has described the 
types of baits commonly employed by the 
fishermen and their efficiency in capture 
of certain varieties of fish. During the pre-
sent studies the authors attempted to evolve 
a suitable bottom- drift longline gear for 
capture of predatory fish like elasrnobranchs, 
eels, cat fishes, perches and sciaenids pla-
cing special emphasis on evolving an effect-
ive bait as weU as correct sive of hook to 
be used for the varieties mentioned. 
MATERIALS AND METHODS 
Fishing trials were conducted during 
the year 1964 ~ 1965 in Veraval waters at 
depths ranging from 13 to 36 metres. The 
grounds fished were same as described by 
Deshpande and Kartha (1964). 
Investigational fishing vessel 'Fishtech 
IV' described by Deshpande and Kartha 
(op. cit. p. 185) was employed for conduct-
ing fishing operations. 
The design and constructional details 
of. the gear and accessories used during 
* Present address: Central Institute of Fisheries Technology, Cochin 
VoL X No 2 1973 105 
Kartlla, Vest'lpande, & 'Ramarao: On tfte results of 6ottom-dri{t-long-lines oPe1·ated off Veravalmitn 
particular reference to selactioe action of 5aits and fioolb used 
3M 
n MAINUN! " Q.S Ml -~RANCHLIHE c-.;: 27M -HOOK 
NO. <e,S,Cr,7. 
Text Fig. 1: Showing constructional and operational details of bottom-drift-long line. 
the course of present studies are illustrated 
in Text Figure I. 
Three types of baits viz. prawn, cuHle 
fish and 'dhoma' (Otolithus Sp.) were select-
ed and used as whole fish. 
The lines were operated as bottom-drift 
long lines. The shooting as well as hauling 
-in operations of the entire gear was carried 
out foHowing the method described. by 
Deshpande et.al. (1970). On completion of 
shooting operation the boat along with the 
longline gear was allowed to drift with the 
current for 3 to4 hours (Text Figure 1). 
Particulars such as the fish caught, bait 
and hook to which it was hooked were 
recorded during the course of hauling -in 
operations. 
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 
A total of 5700 hooks were operated 
during the course of entire experimentation 
and landed a total catch of 2997 kg. Par-
ticulars of the varieties of fish caught along 
with their number and weight on scrutiny 
are presented in Table No. I. 
Eight varieties of fish were caught 
106 
during the entire period of experimentation. 
Percentage composition of the catch landed 
reveals that elasmobranchs constituted 
78.5% of the total catch followed by cat 
fishes and eels with 7.4% and 7. 3% respe--
ctively. The remaining catch of 6.8% acco-
unt for perches, chorinemus and sciaenids. 
The average catch per hundred hooks dur-
ing the course of present trials when cal-
culated works out to 52. 6 kg. 
Catch efficiency of different baits. 
To. study the comparative efficiency 
of three baits viz. prawn, cuttle fish 
and srnaH sciaenids a total of 2190 hooks 
of No. 5 specification were operated dur-
ing the course of actual fishing operations. 
The results on analysis are tabulated in 
Table No. H. 
The catch per hundred hooks baited 
with prawn, cuttlefish and 'Dhoma' when 
worked out comes to 65 kg., 115,7 kg. and 
141.6 kg. respectively. Taking into consi-
deration the total catch landed by each 
bait it can be deduced that 'Dhorna' as a 
bait appears to be most effective of the 
three, with cuttle fi.sh ranking second in 
performance. Hooks baited with prawns 
proved to be less effective. The catch data 
FISHERY TECHNOLOGY 
1{artfia, 'Desftpande & Ramarao: On tlie results of 5ottom-drift-long-lirres operated of/ V eraval witlt 
particular reference to selectioe action of IJaits and fr.oofb used 
TABLE I SHOWING THE VARITIES OF FISH CAUGHT ALONG WITH THEIR 
NUMBER, WEIGHT AND PERCENTAGE IN THE TOTAL CATCH 
S. No. 
2 
3 
4 
5 
6 
7 
8 
Variety 
Sharks 
Skates 
Rays 
Eels 
Cat fishes 
Perches 
Chorinemus 
Sciaenids 
Total 
No. 
172 
57 
163 
58 
83 
28 
8 
52 
621 
Weight (kg.) % 
439 14.7 
899 30.0 
1013 33.8 
218 7.3 
222.75 7.4 
74.50 2.5 
58.00 1.9 
72.75 2.4 
2997.00 100.00 
TABLE JI SHOWING THE CATCH LANDED BY BOTTOM-DRIFT-
LONG-LINE WITH THREE BAITS 
Bait used Prawn Cuttle-fish Sciaenid 
S. No. Name of the fish No. 
1 Sharks 24 
2 Skates 9 
3 Rays 21 
4 Eels 9 
5 Cat fishes 15 
6 Perches 3 
7 Chorinemus 5 
8 Sciaenids 14 
Total 100 
when subjected to further analysis, on 
qualitative basis, revealed that skates, cat 
fishes and perches were landed more by 
hooks baited with cuttle fish where as 
'Dhoma' proved to be effective for capture 
of sharks, rays, eels a·nd big sciaenids. 
Chorinemus sp. seems to have shown a 
definite preference for prawns. 
Selectivity of hook 
The remaining operations with bottom 
VoL X No. 2 1973 
Wt. (kg.) No. Wt. (kg.) No. Wt. (kg.) 
61 26 122.5 98 245 
130 21 346 14 212 
126 24 170 43 281 
36.5 5 16.5 38 150 
46 43 114.5 17 52 
8 13 32.5 5 13.5 
35 1 6 2 17 
12 5 2 20 21 
454.5 138 810 237 991.5 
-drift long -lines were conducted to assess 
selective action of hook on the catch. Four 
sizes of M ustad, round bent, sea hook rang-
ing from No.4 to 7, were employed and 
care was taken to use the same type of 
bait on aU the sizes of hooks during each 
operation. The information gathered during 
the course of field trials on analysis is 
shown in Table No. III. 
It would be evident from Table-III that 
107 
'Kartl1a, Vesf1pande & 'Ramarao: On tf1e results of 6ottom-drift-long-lines oPerated off V erapal witfi 
particular reference to selective action of 15aits and fwofts used 
TABLE III SHOWING EFFECTIVENESS @F DIFFERENT HOOKS 
Size of hook No.4 
S. No. Fish caught No. Wt. (kg.) No. 
1 Sharks 1 0.25 10 
2 Skates ] 15.00 7 
3 Rays 19 169.00 20 
4 Eels 1 
5 Cat fishes 1 
6 Perches 3 
7 Sciaenids 5 
Total 21 184.25 47 
hook No.5 ,landed the maximum catch. 
The average catch per hundred hQoks in 
respect of hook No.4, 5, 6 and 7 when cal-
culated come to 20.5 kg., 30.9kg., 16.47kg. 
and 14.47kg. respectively, thereby showing 
hook No.5 as the most effective. Further, 
qualitative analysis of the catch data reve-
aled that Elasmobranchs were invariably 
caught in aU sizes of hooks. Table - III 
also indicates that No. 5 hook was most 
effective f.Jr capture of skates whereas 
rays were caught more by No. 4 hooks. 
Sharks caught by all the four sizes of 
hooks were small in size and formed a 
negligible percentage of the total catch. 
Eels and cat fishes were caught more by 
No.6 hook while the quantity of perches 
landed by hook No. 5 and No.6 was more 
or less the same. Catch of big sciaenids 
('Ghol') shows that its landing was more 
by hook No. 5only. 
SUMMARY 
The Communication · deals with the 
results obtained during field operations 
with bottom-drift longlines operated in 
Veraval waters during the years 1964-65 
and at depths ranging from 13 to 36 metres. 
A total of 5700 Mustad, round bent, sea 
108 
No.5 No.6 No. 7 
Wt. (kg) No. Wt. (kg.) No. Wt. (kg.) 
6.25 8 2.75 5 1.25 
108.00 1 19.00 4 69.00 
129.00 22 92.00 14 46.00 
1.00 3 8.00 2 6.00 
4.00 7 6.25 
7.00 3 7.50 1 6.00 
23.00 4 12.75 4 2.00 
278.25 48 148.25 30 130.25 
hook No.4, 5, 6 and 7 were operated and 
landed 2997 kg. of fish. Taking catch per 
hundred hooks as a unit for comparison 
it was observed that 'Dhoma' among the 
three baits arid hook No, 5 among 4 types 
of hooks used were most effective for 
capture of predatory fishes. Certain pre-
ferences for bait and hook were also 
noticed. Eight varieties of fishes were 
caught during the entire period of experi-
mentation. Percentage composition of the 
total catch landed revealed that elasmo-
branchs constituted 78.5% of the total 
followed by cat fishes and eels with 
7.4% and 7.3% respectively. The remaining 
catch of 6.8% comprised of perches, cho-
rinemus a·nd sciaenids. 
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT 
The authors are thankful to Shri 
G. K. Kuriyan, Senior Fishery Scientist cum 
Head of division, Craft and Gear, Cen-
tral Institute of Fisheries Technology, Er-
nakulam, Cochin for his valuable sugge-
stions and encouragement during the co-
urse of the work. 
FISHERY TECHNOLOGY 
'Kartlta, Vesltpande, & 'Ramarao: On tlte results of Gottom-drift-long-lines operated off Veraoal roitfi 
particular reference to selo:ctive action of 5aits and fiool?,s used 
REFERENCES 
Ayyangar, R. 1922 Madras Fish. Bull. : 15 
Balasubramanyan, R. 1964 Fish. Tech. 1, 
(I) : 41. 
Balasubramanyan, R. 1964 Ibid : 80 
Chacko, P. I. and Shariff, A. T. 1955 Ind. 
Com. Journ. : 66. 
Chacko, P. I. and Rajendran, A. D. 1958 
Reports and year book, April, 1954 
March, 1965. Department of Fisher-
ies, Madras. 
Chacko. P. L, Rajendran, A. D. and Ma-
hadevan, S. 1956 Ibid. 
Deshpande, S· D. and Kartha, K. N. 1964 
I. P. F. c- Proc., II (2) : 184. 
Deshpande, S. D., Ramarao, S. V. S. and 
Sivan, T. M. 1970 Fish. Tech. (2) 
Devanesen, D. W., and Chidambaram, K. 
1948 ''The commou fishes of Madras 
VoL X No. 2 1973 
Presidency''. Government Press, Ma-
dras. 
Gokhale, S. V. 1957 "Fishing gear of Sa-
urashtra region". Gujarat Government 
publication. 
Hornell, J. 1916 Madras Fish. Bull., 
(8) : 23 
1938 Madras Fish. Bull., I 
1950 "Fishing in many waters". 
University Press, Cambridge. 
John, V, Chacko, P. I., Venkataraman~ R. 
and Shariff, A. T. 1959 ''Report cf 
fishing experiments in the off-shore 
waters of the Madras State" -Gover-
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Kaikini, S. S. 1960 Ind. J. Fish. 1, 
: 348. 
Sorley, H. T. 1932 ''Marine Fisheries of 
Bombay Presidency'•. Goverment 
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109 


On the results of bottom-drift-long-lines operated off Veraval with particular reference to selective action of baits and hooks used

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On the results of bottom-drift-long-lines operated off Veraval with particular reference to selective action of baits and hooks used

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