The present status of ribbonfish fishery in India

The ribbonfishes, of the family TrichiurkJae, an Important \ngroup of food fishes in India, registered an average annual \ncatch of 53.475 tonnes during 1970-81. In this period, forming \n4.25% of the total marine fish catch, thsy formed the 7th \nexploited fish group in the order of predominance. \nThere are 8 known ribbonfish species in India (an identification \nkey to the species is given in the beginning of thearticle) \nThe information available on the various aspects of biology of \neach of these species is summarised, which clearly indicates \nthat while our knowledge on the biology of Trichiurus lepturua, \nLepturecanthus savale, Eupleurogrammus nwticus and Eupleurogrammus \nglossodon is considereble, we know little about \nthe other species. \nTraditionally, the ribbonfishes are caught by boatseines, \nshoreseines, bag nets and gill nets, operating from nonpowered \ncountry crafts. But, during the last two decades, the small mechanized vessels (10-15 m long, with 15-100 hp engines) \nthat are operating otter trawls, too, are increasingly landing \nribbonfish. The fishery is confined to the depth-zone usually \nshallower than 50 m. T. lepturus, the most widely distributed, \nforms the mainstay of the ribbonfish fishery, contributing to \nthe bulk of the landings along almost all our coastline. Data \non spatial and seasonal variations in abundance, size and age \ncomposition in the commercial catches and diurnal movements \nand depthwise distributions of shoals of this species are \ntherefore reviewed. \nStock assessment studies show that, in the shelf region \nfrom Ratnagiri on the west coast round to Gulf of Mannar on \nthe east, there had been an average standing stock of 67,200 \ntonnes of ribbonfish (mostly L Lepturus) in 1972-75, which is \nabout 4 times what was actually landed from the region during \nthe period. \nIt therefore follows that a doubling of the catch will not \nadversely affect the stock in the region. Studies on the population \ndynamics of T. lepturus from the Kakinada area during \n1967-71 has shown that the fishing mortality and the exploitation \nrates are low, at 0.3 and 0.17 respectively. The average \nannual stock and average standing stock along the Andhra and \nTamil Nadu coasts are estimated at 85,000 and 48,000 tonnes, \nrespectively, for T. lepturus, against an estimated annual \naverage catch of 14,400 tonnes during 1967-71. It thus appears \nthat the stock of T. lepturus along the east coast also is likewise \nunderfishad, \nThe need for extension of fishing operations into the \nExclusive Economic Zone with larger vessels, equipped with \nsuitable gears like bottom and pelagic trawls, is emphasized- \nSuggestions on future lines of research are given.