Trawl fisheries sector account more than 50% of the marine fisheries production of India. Annual average fish landing from trawlers was 17, 21, 000 t (2008-2011), which formed around 51 % of the marine fish landing of the coast. In this about 51% of the catch was contributed by the west coast and remaining by the east coast of India. Recent studies of the trawl fishery in India have shown that incidental catches/low value bycatch (LVB) landing and utilization has increased over the period of time. The present study is based on the data collected from major trawl landing centres along the coast of India during the period 2008-2011.The estimated landing of low value bycatch (LVB) in trawl fisheries, increased from 14 % in 2008 to 25 % in 2011, which is reflected as reduction in discard volume by trawlers. On an average the highest quantity of LVB landed was in Veraval (50,000 t) and in Mangalore, LVB landing increased from 3% in (3000 t) in 2008 to 26 % (12,000 t) in 2011.In Mumbai, the percentage of trash fish landed remained around 5% during the study period. In Calicut, the LVB landed in 2011 contributed 26% to the total landings by the trawl. In Kochi, Kerala the total LVB landed in 2011 was 1,992 t forming 7.2 % of the total landing. In Chennai, Tamilnadu, the LVB landing which was 13 % in 2008 increased to 17% in 2011, while in Visakhapatanam, Andhra Pradesh, LVB landing showed a steady increase from 2% in 2008 to 21% in 2011. The landing centre price for LVB showed an increasing trend due to increased demand for trash fish for the production of fish meal and fertilizer. The dominance of finfishes in LVB found to increase the value of LVB and the value realized for 30,000 t of LVB in Mangalore in 2011 ( Rs.280 million) was more than that realized for 50,000 t of LVB in Veraval (Rs.200 million). A disturbing trend observed from the studies in Mangalore was that, the sardines in trash fetches higher price in some seasons (upto Rs.16/kg) compared to a lower price when landed in fresh form, and the percentage of sardines in LVB is found to be very high (24% in 2010). This trend may cause a severe threat to the protein availability to the rural poor. Looking at the trend of trawl landing during 2008-2012, it is seen that even though the trawl landing showed an increase over the period of time, the edible portion of the trawl landing did not show any significant increase rather showing general declining trend. Study on the bycatch from different centres along the coast of India showed that as many as 237 species / groups of marine fauna with juveniles of commercially important fishes were landed as LVB. Increase in utilization of LVB (which was discarded earlier) from trawl fishery, a trend which is market driven and its implication on the ecosystem and marine fisheries production of the country is discussed in this paper.
ABSTRACT:The ridgeback shrimp Solenocera choprai has emerged as one of the important commercial species in 60-100 m depth zone off Karnataka coast, India, since 1993. Studies were conducted on S. choprai to understand its reproductive biology which can help in formulating policies for management of the species. The diagnostic features of reproductive morphology of the species were studied and illustrated in detail. Based on the coloration and size of the ovary and ova diameter variations, five stages of maturity in female S. choprai were identified. The mature ova are fully yolked with diameters between 0.24 and 0.35 mm. Size at maturity (50%) has been estimated at 54.5 and 66.5 mm total length (TL) in males and females, respectively. The gonadosomatic index (GSI) showed an increasing trend according to the advancement of maturity of the ovary, and monthly mean GSI showed a positive correlation with monthly percentage of spawners. Solenocera choprai was found to be a continuous breeder with two peaks: a major peak in November and another extended peak during January-February. The estimated numbers of ova in the mature ovary were 38 532 and 133 689 in shrimps measuring 80 and 110 mm TL, respectively. A sigmoidal increase in the femaleto-male sex ratio with increase in size was noticed in the species. A c 2 -test showed that the annual distribution of females and males is not significantly different from a 1:1 ratio at the 1% level.
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