Sciaenid fishery resources of the Gulf of Mannar and Palk Bay

The Gulf of Mannar-Palk Bay area, forming the southern sector of the east coast of India, harbours \nmany species of sciaenids, including some commercially valuable forms like Pseudosciaena diacanthus, P. \naneus, Otolithes argenteus, Johnius maculatus, etc. Until a decade ago, this resource remained poorly tapped \ndue to lack of fishing facilities proper for its capture. Since the establishment of the Government of India \nOffshore Fishing Station at Tuticorin and Indo-Norwegian Project at Mandapam, trawling grounds for sciaenids \noff the Pinnakayal estuarine region in the Gulf of Mannar and Vaigai reverine area in the Palk Bay \nhave been charted. Catch tiends by indigenous and mechanised crafts in centres like Sippikulam-Vaipar, \nVembar and thakarai indicate the presence of good fishing grounds for the sciaenids. Further work of \ncharting these grounds in the Gulf of Mannar-Palk Bay area, particularly off river mouths and estuaries, \nremains to be carried out in order to have an adequate knowledge on the distribution and abundance of this \nresource. The indication is that the present level of exploitation can be increased further without fear of \ndepletion.