Population dynamics of lizard fish Saurida tumbil (Teleostomi/Synodontidae) from Mumbai, west coast of India

Employing FiSAT technique the growth, mortality and relative yield per recruit of Saurida tumbil (Bloch) is reported in the present communication. The asymptotic length (L∞) and growth coefficient (K) were estimated as 605 mm and 0.73/y respectively. The total, natural and fishing mortality coefficients were 4.59, 1.20 and 3.39 respectively. The exploitation rate (U) and exploitation ratio (E) were calculated as 0.73 and 0.74 respectively. The length at first capture was 223 mm. The relative yield per recruit and biomass per recruit was estimated from the knife-edge selection of size at first capture. Emax was obtained at 0.58. The yield isopleth diagram shows that eumetric fishing can be achieved at E of 0.65 and Lc/L∞ ratio of 0.38. The catch has shown fluctuations in the recent years and maximum length has already shown a decline indicating signs of growth overfishing. As the exploitation ratio is also very high, reduction in efforts is necessary.