Marine Resource Surveys by Drift Gill Net in the Bay of Bengal

This paper presented the first time survey of marine resources in the Bay of Bengal in terms of catch composition; Catch per unit effort (CPUE) and catch per unit area (CPUA) by drift gill net (DGN). The survey was conducted in eight stations of three sub-areas during October–December 2007 under the mission of BIMSTEC collaborative project. The fishery research vessel, M.V. SEAFDEC (cruise No. 75-1/2007) was deployed in the proposed survey. A total catch of 137.60 kg from 108 fishing hours composed of 15 fish species (99.60 % by weight) and one piece of diamondback squid (Thysanoteuthidae: Thysanoteuthis rhombus) was captured (0.40 % by weight). The highest catch species of marine resources was skipjack tuna, Katsuwonus pelamis, (42.96 % by weight). The CPUE was ranged from 0.15 to 2.08 kg h-1 and gave the average of 1.22 kg h-1. The CPUA was ranged from 1.297x10-4 to 1.651x10-3 kg m-2 of net area and gave the average of 8.809x10-4 kg m-2 of net area. Average catch was not shown significant different among the three survey areas. Skipjack tuna was also the most important economical species (66.72 % IRI) and widely distributed in the survey area especially in area A. Silky shark (Carcharhinus falciformis), which was the second