DNA barcoding was successfully used for the accurate identification of chondrichthyans in the Indian commercial marine fishery. About 528 specimens of 111 chondrichthyan species and 34 families, collected from the Indian EEZ, were barcoded for a 655 bp region of the mitochondrial gene cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (COI). Generally, five specimens per species were barcoded, but numbers ranged from 2 to 13. The average Kimura 2 parameter (K2P) distance separating individuals within species was 0.32%, and the average distance separating species within genera was 6.73%. Ten species were suggested as putative new species requiring formal descriptions. Based on the morphology and molecular support, 11 elasmobranch species were confirmed first records for Indian waters. The present study confirms the ability of DNA barcoding for the accurate identification of sharks, rays, and their products from Indian waters.

Fishery, diet composition and reproductive biology of the dolphinfish Coryphaena hippurus (Linnaeus, 1758) landed along Karnataka Coast during 2013-15 were studied. The estimated average landing of the species in India during the study period was 7975 t of which Karnataka contributed 2.73% (218 t). The fish is mainly exploited by gillnet and also by troll lines operated from trawlers. A few stray specimens were also landed by purse seines. The fork length (FL) was in the range of 32-128 cm and fishes in the length range (FL) of 55-90 cm dominated the catch, contributing 79.8% of the total landings. The most dominant prey item, in terms of occurrence (70.57%) and weight (83.18%) were finfishes followed by cephalopods (19.62% by occurrence and 13.66% by weight) and crustaceans (7.01% occurrence and 1.32% by weight). The index of relative importance (IRI ) values were 85.3, 13.39 and 0.68% respectively for fish, cephalopods and crustaceans respectively. Sex ratio (1:2.05) indicated dominance of females in the fishery. Presence of mature and spent specimens throughout the year suggests that the species spawns all through the year. Peak spawning period was from June to September. This coincided with gradual increase in gonadosomatic index (GSI) values ahead of May which reached a peak during August-September.

Gulf of Mannar Ecosystem (GOME) covers an area spread over Rameswaram and Kanyakumari for about 19000 km 2 and lies between 78°11'E and 79°15' E longitude and 8°49'N and 9°15'N latitude. The 21 coral islands form a network of habitats for different kinds of fishes and marine organisms.

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Summary Length‐weight relationships (LWRs) were estimated for five needlefish species such as Ablennes hians (Valenciennes, 1846), Tylosurus crocodilus (Péron & Lesueur, 1821), Tylosurus acus melanotus (Bleeker, 1850), Strongylura leiura (Bleeker, 1850), and Strongylura strongylura (van Hasselt, 1823). Specimens were collected on weekly basis from Cochin Fisheries Harbour (Lat. 09056′327″N, Long. 76015′764″E), Munambam Fisheries Harbour (Lat. 10010′965″N, Long. 76010′258″E), Kalamukku (Lat. 09059′924″N, Long. 76014′564″E) and Chellanam (Lat. 09047′950″N, Long. 76016′551″E), between October 2015 to August 2017. Fish were captured by traditional long liner (hook no. IX‐XIV) and ring seiner (mesh size 8–24 mm). The estimated allometric co‐efficient b values ranged from 3.063 (Tylosurus acus melanotus) to 3.962 (Strongylura leiura) and r2 values ranged from 0.850 (Tylosurus acus melanotus) to 0.992 (Tylosurus crocodilus). All the LWRs were highly significant, with p < .001. In addition, the study provides the first estimate of LWR for Tylosurus acus melanotus and new estimate for other four species of needlefish.