Length‐weight relationships of five needlefish species from Kerala waters, south‐west coast of India

• Published in: Journal of applied ichthyology Vol. 34; no. 1; pp. 190 - 192
• Main Authors: Roul, S. K., Retheesh, T. B., Ganga, U., Abdussamad, E. M., Rohit, P., Jaiswar, A. K.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01.02.2018
• Subjects: Ablennes hians; Allometry; Fish; Fisheries; Length-weight relationships; Species; Strongylura leiura; Strongylura strongylura; Tylosurus acus melanotus; Tylosurus crocodilus; India, Kerala
• ISSN: 0175-8659; 1439-0426
• DOI: 10.1111/jai.13527

Summary Length‐weight relationships (LWRs) were estimated for five needlefish species such as Ablennes hians (Valenciennes, 1846), Tylosurus crocodilus (Péron & Lesueur, 1821), Tylosurus acus melanotus (Bleeker, 1850), Strongylura leiura (Bleeker, 1850), and Strongylura strongylura (van Hasselt, 1823). Specimens were collected on weekly basis from Cochin Fisheries Harbour (Lat. 09056′327″N, Long. 76015′764″E), Munambam Fisheries Harbour (Lat. 10010′965″N, Long. 76010′258″E), Kalamukku (Lat. 09059′924″N, Long. 76014′564″E) and Chellanam (Lat. 09047′950″N, Long. 76016′551″E), between October 2015 to August 2017. Fish were captured by traditional long liner (hook no. IX‐XIV) and ring seiner (mesh size 8–24 mm). The estimated allometric co‐efficient b values ranged from 3.063 (Tylosurus acus melanotus) to 3.962 (Strongylura leiura) and r2 values ranged from 0.850 (Tylosurus acus melanotus) to 0.992 (Tylosurus crocodilus). All the LWRs were highly significant, with p < .001. In addition, the study provides the first estimate of LWR for Tylosurus acus melanotus and new estimate for other four species of needlefish.