Search

India's vast exclusive economic zone (EEZ) with its rich bounty of living and non-living resources, offers a great opportunity to expand its economy and food security, and could enable sustainable development and create resilient jobs. Marine fisheries, mariculture and marine bioprospecting are significant sectors which could act as the next big drivers of the GDP and public welfare. Marine biodiversity documentation sporadically requires innovative techniques using genomics in combination with underwater imagery to cover the full spectrum of marine living resources. Deep waters beyond 500 m depth are not optimally exploited and offer immense scope for commercial exploitation. The mariculture sector, despite the wide array of candidate species, is still in its infancy and requires the use of genetic engineering to develop breeds suitable for the mariculture systems. Employing new analytical technologies and a wide range of 'multiomics' tools can enhance the bioprospecting of numerous marine living resources, which have the potential to unravel hundreds of new compounds for human well-being. Ascertaining the continuity of the blue economy demands judicious management of oceanic resources through innovative and sustainable practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Parilia alcocki is a deep-sea crab inhabiting the continental shelves and slopes of the eastern Arabian Sea and western Bay of Bengal at a depth of 128–457 m. No published information is available on its population characteristics and sexual dimorphism. The present study provides the first-ever insight into the population differentiation and sexual dimorphism in P. alcocki using Geometric Morphometric Analysis (GMA) of carapace and chela shapes. The Arabian Sea population possessed carapaces with a more pointed anterior and a rounded posterior margin as compared with the Bay of Bengal population. When chela shapes are compared, the Arabian Sea crabs possess an elongated, narrower arm, and shorter pollex. The observed shape variations could be attributed to heterogeneous habitat conditions in these regions which influence feeding and predation. Sexual dimorphism in carapace shapes was indiscernible. However, males exhibited wider intra-specific variations in carapace shape and show a larger average and maximum size for linear carapace measurements. Also, male crabs possess elongated and narrow arms and shorter pollex, whereas the females have a broader and shorter arm and longer pollex, indicative of classical sexual size dimorphism. Our study confirmed the suitability of GMA to understand the ecological and biological characteristics and trait-habitat linkages of P. alcocki. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Catch trends of bottom trawl fauna off Goa, India were investigated at fortnightly intervals from February 2006 - May 2008 with the exception of June - October months (monsoon). Inter-comparison of faunal abundance data obtained during February to April months of 2006, 2007 and 2008 indicated that abundance during 2006 and 2008 were significantly higher as compared to 2007. Available fish landing data for the region also corroborated this trend. The dominance of sub-adults among stomatopods during post-monsoon season (November - January), juveniles and sub-adults among prawns during premonsoon (February - May), indicated recruitment to the fishery. Comparison with 40-year-old published data indicated significant reduction in the overall yield (P = 0.043; a = 0.05). Additionally, yields of 12 out of 15 fish groups across the demersal trophic spectrum decreased significantly (P = 0.031; a = 0.05). However, catches of miscellaneous species increased 17 times, and were dominated by pufferfishes. The profusion of pufferfish is attributed to the perennial breeding habit of these fishes combined with increased removal of potential predators such as sharks and catfishes. Marine Trophic Index (MTI) and Fishing-in-Balance Index (FiB) decreased at rates of 0.017 and 0.016 per decade, respectively, implying that sustained fishing pressure over the next few decades could lead to potential trophic cascade and dominance of resilient opportunistic species such as puffers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intensive mechanized fishing has induced marked alterations in coastal marine ecosystems resulting in proliferation of low-value, nuisance species in marine fish catches. Assessment of 75 shrimp trawl catches taken in the near-shore waters off Goa, west coast of India during active fishing periods from 2006 - 2008 revealed that the demersal pufferfish, Lagocephalus spadiceus constituted ≈ 27 % by weight of the trawl catch during January - March, and its catch was inversely related to prey and predator species. Sub-tidal rock reefs and submerged rocky patches in the study area offer suitable substrates for spawning, and the predominance of adults during these months suggesting spawning migration. Comparison of the present data with published literature indicates a significant reduction in puffer predators (catfishes). Excessive removal of highvalue predators favours the proliferation of pufferfish and its establishment as a meso-predator, probably triggering a potential trophic cascade. The paper discusses the role of removal of High Trophic Level (HTL) species in the proliferation of a meso-predator and its impact on ecosystem function. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the first observation of a rare deep-water stenopodidean shrimp, Engystenopus palmipes Alcock & Anderson, 1894 (Crustacea: Decapoda) from Southeastern Arabia Sea, India, supplemented with notes on its diagnosis, and geographical distribution, is reported. A single specimen of E. palmipes was collected using Expo model trawl net onboard the Fisheries Oceanographic Research Vessel Sagar Sampada from a depth of 610 meters. Previously reported from the Western Pacific, Australia, Madagascar, and off Sri Lanka, this is the first report to the Indian waters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]