Trawl Fishery of Juvenile Fishes along MangaloreMalpe Coast of Karnataka and its Impact on Fish Stock

The article presents the quantitative and seasonal variation in percentage of juveniles in \nthe commercial trawl fishery of Mangalore and Malpe in 2006 and discusses the possible impacts \nof juvenile fish fishery on fish stock in terms of quantity and value. Twenty finfishes and five \nshellfishes were identified in which considerable quantity of juveniles were caught, and the \njuvenile fishery is making notable impact on adult fishery. To understand the impact of the \nfishery of juveniles in a holistic manner, the species of juveniles caught by trawlers are categorized \ninto three groups: I) both juveniles and adults are caught mainly by trawls II) juveniles of the \nspecies are caught in trawl, whereas their adults are targeted by gears other than trawl and III) \njuveniles of the species are caught by trawls regularly, but their adults are rarely caught or not \nfigured in the fishery of the region. Detailed studies on the length-frequency distribution of \nimportant species were carried out to find juvenile percentage by weight, number, and months of \nabundance of juveniles.