Analysis of Temporal Patterns of Ichthyofaunal Bycatch Landed Along the Thoothukudi Coast, Gulf of Mannar, India

• Published in: Thalassas : revista de ciencias del mar Vol. 39; no. 2; pp. 513 - 526
• Main Authors: Santhoshkumar, S., Jawahar, P., Srinivasan, A., Jayakumar, N., Subburaj, A., Karuppasamy, K., Srihari, M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cham Springer International Publishing 01.10.2023; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Biodiversity; Bycatch; Bycatch excluder devices; Coastal Sciences; Coasts; Commercial fishing; Earth and Environmental Science; Earth Sciences; Fish; Fish & Wildlife Biology & Management; Fisheries; Fishers; Fishery resources; Fishing; Fishing gear; Food chains; Freshwater & Marine Ecology; Juveniles; Livelihoods; Marine & Freshwater Sciences; Marine fishes; Oceanography; Predators; Research centers; Taxonomy; Trawlers; Trophic levels; Wind; India; Thoothukudi; Temporal; Ichthyofaunal; Diversity; Trawler bycatch
• ISSN: 0212-5919; 2366-1674
• DOI: 10.1007/s41208-023-00534-9

Bycatch is a significant concern in the global fisheries that catch the undersized and uneconomically important fishes in the fishing gears and question the sustainability of fishery resources for the future. The present study investigated the temporal patterns of bycatch landed from the trawlers operated off Thoothukudi Coast, Gulf of Mannar, India. The results revealed that bycatch was constituted by 184 species belonging to 12 orders, 68 families and 128 genera. Among the bycatch, Perciformes and Clupeiformes constituted the major number of fishes. The most common finfish bycatch in the trawlers was Parupeneus indicus, Zebrias quagga, Selaroides leptolepis, Odonus niger and Leiognathus elongatus . Analysis of temporal patterns of bycatch revealed that the maximum numbers of species were found to be in the post-monsoon of 2018. Considering the trophic level, top predators (38.04%) were contributed most of the catch. The bycatch of small-sized fishes and juveniles of significant growing fishes are playing a prominent role in the food chain. The large catch of these fishes adversely affects the fishery resources and thereby affects fishers' livelihoods. It is time to enforce strict implementation of bycatch reduction devices and mesh-size regulations to conserve the fishery resources.