Exploratory trawl fishing in Bombay - SaurashtraWaters during 1968-70

The paper deals with the exploratory trawl fishing conducted in Bombay- Saurashtra waters by the Bombay-based vessels of the now Exploratory Fisheries Project, Government of India, during 1968-70. The detailed study is based on the trawling data in respect of M. T. KALYANI IV and M. T. KALYANI V, as tlKse vessels have done extensive fishing, covering larger number of areas frwn Goa to Dwaraka, used the same type of gear and have identical specifications. The areawise abundance and seasonal distribution of 10 categories of fishes in 8 major areas, where a fishing effort of more than 100 h each was expended, are examined. The monthly variation in abundance and depthwise distribution of 5 groups of quality fishes in two most intensively fished areas (18-72 and 19-71) and in one area (22-68) rich in these fishes are studied. The results of these studies are compared with, and discussed in the light of the earlier findings.