ELEFAN Based Population Dynamics of Bombay Duck, Harpadon nehereus Inhabiting the Marine Waters of the West Coast of India

We studied ELEFAN based population parameters from length-frequency data for Harpadon nehereus collected from different landing centres along the west coast of India. We analyzed the size structure and estimated growth parameters, recruitment, mortality and exploitation rate using FiSAT-II software. The asymptotic length (Lµ = 366 mm), growth coefficient (K = 0.98 year-1), total mortality (Z=3.32 year-1), natural mortality (M=1.6375 year-1), fishing mortality (F=1.6825 year-1), growth performance index (Ø = 3.12) and exploitation ratio (E = 0.51) were worked out for the species. The exploitation ratios were computed as Emax= 0.661, E10= 0.568, E50= 0.345. The length at first capture (Lc50) was estimated at 163.44 mm. The present value of E was found close to appropriate fishing pressure on the stock and a further increase of fishing pressure is not recommended.