On the introduction of Tilapia (Tilapia mossambica Peters) as a tuna live-bait in the island of Minicoy in the Indian Ocean

Tuna fishing by pole and line around Minicoy in the Indian Ocean is carried out by the islanders ,with bait fish collected from the lagoon (Jones 1958). The tuna caught is mostly the oceanic skipjack Katsuwonus pelamis and occasionally the yellow fin, Neothunnus macropterus (Jones and Kumaran 1959). During the fishing season the availability of adequate supplies of bait fish is the most important deciding factor in the successful operation of the fishery. The non-availability of bait fish as it sometimes happens restricts fishing activity to a minimum as the fishermen have to devote much time on bait collection even if tuna shoals occur in abundance in close proximity into the island.