Indian Journal of Geo-Marine Sciences

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Understanding the population parameters for unicorn leatherjacket, Aluterus monoceros (Linnaeus, 1758) exploited along the Western Bay of Bengal


Affiliations
1 Visakhapatnam Regional Centre of ICAR-Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute, Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh – 530 003,, India
2 Mangalore Regional Centre of ICAR-Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute, Mangalore, Karnataka – 575 001,, India
3 ICAR-Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute, Kochi, Kerala – 682 018,, India

Information on age and growth for monocanthid species globally is limited. Aluterus monoceros forms an important fishery in the northern Indian Ocean; however, information on its population dynamics is sparse, as the species has not been explicitly studied. This study elucidates the population parameters from 1031 individuals landed in the multi-day trawl fishery along the western Bay of Bengal from January 2017 to December 2019. Total length ranged from 21.5 to 64.4 cm with a mean of 47.54 cm. Von Bertalanffy growth equation was Lt = 67.67 [1 – e –0.32 (t + 0.0592)]. The fishery was dominated by 3 and 4-year-old age classes and the estimated lifespan was 9.32 years. Recruitment was observed throughout the year and was bimodal, with the major pulse from October – February and the minor pulse from April – June producing 52.44 % and 36.24 %, respectively of the annual recruits. Natural mortality, fishing mortality and total mortality per year were 0.66, 0.55 and 1.21, respectively. Exploitation ratio was 0.45 and exploitation rate was 0.32. Though the species is currently underexploited, considering their lower capture sizes and their occurrence as by-catch in the trawl fishery, precautionary approach is suggested with management measures targeted at protecting their early life history stages.
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  • Understanding the population parameters for unicorn leatherjacket, Aluterus monoceros (Linnaeus, 1758) exploited along the Western Bay of Bengal

Abstract Views: 129  | 

Authors

S Ghosh
Visakhapatnam Regional Centre of ICAR-Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute, Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh – 530 003,, India
M Satishkumar
Visakhapatnam Regional Centre of ICAR-Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute, Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh – 530 003,, India
H M Manas
Visakhapatnam Regional Centre of ICAR-Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute, Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh – 530 003,, India
P Rohit
Mangalore Regional Centre of ICAR-Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute, Mangalore, Karnataka – 575 001,, India
A Gopalakrishnan
ICAR-Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute, Kochi, Kerala – 682 018,, India

Abstract


Information on age and growth for monocanthid species globally is limited. Aluterus monoceros forms an important fishery in the northern Indian Ocean; however, information on its population dynamics is sparse, as the species has not been explicitly studied. This study elucidates the population parameters from 1031 individuals landed in the multi-day trawl fishery along the western Bay of Bengal from January 2017 to December 2019. Total length ranged from 21.5 to 64.4 cm with a mean of 47.54 cm. Von Bertalanffy growth equation was Lt = 67.67 [1 – e –0.32 (t + 0.0592)]. The fishery was dominated by 3 and 4-year-old age classes and the estimated lifespan was 9.32 years. Recruitment was observed throughout the year and was bimodal, with the major pulse from October – February and the minor pulse from April – June producing 52.44 % and 36.24 %, respectively of the annual recruits. Natural mortality, fishing mortality and total mortality per year were 0.66, 0.55 and 1.21, respectively. Exploitation ratio was 0.45 and exploitation rate was 0.32. Though the species is currently underexploited, considering their lower capture sizes and their occurrence as by-catch in the trawl fishery, precautionary approach is suggested with management measures targeted at protecting their early life history stages.