OBSERVATIONS ON THE FISHERIES OF MULLET AND SCOPE FOR ITS CULTURE IN GULF OF KUTCH

N. D. CHHAYA, A. U. BUCH AND K. R. NARAYANAN Marine Biological Research Station, Port Okha

ABSTRACT Fisheries of mullets, gear and tackle used, and scope for mullet culture in the Gulf of Kutch are discussed.

INTRODUCTION Mullets have a wide distribution in the Indo--Bangladesh area. They are caught in varying degrees along the sea coast, in estuaries, creeks, bays and lagoons. Though they form a very little percentage (0.37%) of the total fish catch in , they are important as a source of livelihood for thousands of fishermen families in selected areas and in fish farming. Mullet landings of Gu­ jarat form more than 25% of the mullet catch of India. Gulf of Kutch accounts for more than 50% of the total mullet landings of . The Gulf of Kutch lies between 68° 20' E. to 70° 40' E. longitude and 22° 15' N. to 23° 40' N. latitude. It is fringed by in the north and Jamnagar district in the south. It offers a coastline of about 560 km with about 5,000 sq. km of fishing area. The coastline is studded with estuaries (seasonal and perennial), creeks, lagoons and other shallow water areas suitable for culture practices. Even though mullet fishery is the major fishery in these two districts, little information is available about it. Bhasfcaran et al (1970) and Narayanan et al (1975) have made some observations on Mugit seheli (Forskal) fishery and mullet fry resources of Dwarka-Okha area. Luther (1973) has discussed gray mullet fishery resources of India and very peripherally mentioned that the mullet landings of Gujarat form 31% of ithe total mullet landings of India. Though considerable work regarding mullet fry resources has been done in Bengal (Gopalakrishnan 1968, Bhanot 1970, Thakur M.S., Jhingran and Natarajan 1970 etc.), little or no data ragardmg mullet fry is available in Guja­ rat. Hence, it was decided to look into the mullet fisheries of this area and the potential of mullet culture.

FISHERIES The main landing centres are Okha, Bet Balapur, Dwarka, Salaya, Sikka, Sarmat, Bedi, Sachana, Jodiya and Navalakhi along the southern coast of ^e 48 CHHAYA, BUCH AND NARAYANAN Gulf (Jamnagar district) and Jakhau, Laeja, Mandvi, Modwa, Zarpara, , Shekhadia, Luni, Bhadresar, Tuna and Kandla on the northern coast of the Gulf (Kutch district). An intensive sample survey of the area showed that the mullet fishery of the Gulf of Kutch is supported by the following eight species. Scientific name * Common local name Mugil parsia Hamilton Karochi, Cheri, Mugil macwlepis Smith Karochi Mugil waigiensis (uoy and Gaimard) Motda Mugil seheli Forskal Mankan Mugil cephalus Linnaeus Bodka, Bodki Mugil cunnesius Valenciennes Pamiya, Pamiyo Mugil fade Forskal Thramsi, Thramchi Mugil carinatus Valenciennes Chori

* Nomenclature is based on Jhingran, V. G. (1975), Fish and fisheries of India. Hindu­ stan Publishing Co., : 28-29. Of these, M. parsia forms more than 65% of the mullet landings. M. macwlepis, M. waigiensis and M. seheli are next in importance. M. cephalus, M. cunnesius, M. fade and M. carinatus form the remaining bulk. However, M. carinatus is landed in negligible quantityl. Except for M. seheli which is normally available in Dwarka region only. All the species of mullet, excepting M. seheli, are available all along the Gulf of Kutch throughout the year with a peak in winter (January). M. seheli which is normally available in Dwarka region only, however, is caught during the winter months only (Bhaskaran ct al. 1970.) M. fade is rarely caught in the open Gulf and is very infrequently seen along Kutch coast. On the Jamnagar side it seems to be confined to certain pro­ tected pockets which are directly or indirectly connected with the Gulf. M. tade is generally found in abundance at the salt water condensers of M/s. Tata Che­ micals around Mithapur near Okha. M. cephalus and M. macrolepis generally inhabits the Gulf and the creeks situated nearer the main coastline of Gulf. M. parsia and M. waigiensis are common in the bays. Also the total mullet landings are between 200 to 600 m. tons along the southern coast and about 200 m. tons on the northern coast of the Gulf (Table 1).

GEAR, TACKLE AND FISHING OPERATIONS Generally no fishing craft is used for mullet fishery except in case of M. seheli. If at all a boat is used it is a common dugout boat for taking the net or for collecting the fish. In the fishery for M. seheli, plankbuilt boats or at times dugouts are used. Two to four boats take a number of gill nets of 5 cm (or varying from 2.5 cm to 5 cm) mesh size and encircle the fish scoal. Then one FISHERIES OF MULLET 49

TABLE 1. Production of Mullets in Kutch and Saurashtra Zone.

Mullet landing in Kutch Total fish production in and Saurashtra zone Kutch and Saurashtra zone 1960-6] 540 49,050 1961-62 698 67,230 (App.) 1962-63 496 62,118 1963-64 591 61,765 1964-65 418 64,167 1965-66 944 79,907 1966-67 894 71,647 1967-68 859 78,963 1968-69 809 76,748 1969-70 905 84,504 1970-71 1,012 91,002 1971-72 1,480 90,866 1972-73 1,274 97,426 ~ 1973-74 1,844 1,27,683

Source: Annual Administrative Reports, Guj. Fish. Deptt., 1960-1974. of the boats goes inside the circle, and the fishermen inside and outside the circle start beating the water with oars and/or bamboo sticks. With this agitation of water, the fish try to escape and get caught in the nets. One such operation lasts for about an hour and fetches between 20 to 40 kg of fish. This observa­ tion is in slight variation when compared to the description given by Bhaskaran et al (1970). For the other species of mullet two main types of gear are used namely, 'Rachh' and 'Wada.' 'Rachh' is a small meshed (about 5 cms) stake net which is also called 'Patti' or 'Ad.' This is operated in the intertidal areas, the fish being caught facing the shoreline. 'Wada' is tm enclosure in the intertidal region with its opening facing the shoreline. 'Wadas' are peculiar to this region. Usually, the 'Wada' is made up of stones available locally. In order to prevent small-meshed netting is set to line the 'Wada.' The height and width of 'Wada' is app. 1-1.33 m and 50 m respectively. When sea water enters the 'Wada' during high tide, the fish also gain entry into the 'wada.' But when the fish get caught in the stake net or get stranded on the mud inside the 'Wada' from where they are collected manually. Sometimes, 'Wada' is formed temporarily by small-meshed stake net with the help of bamboo sticks (Fig. 1). Barnacles, other shells, calcium carbo­ nate, etc. fill up the spaces between the stones of the 'Wada.' The bag part is locally called ^Bodi;' each side wall is called 'Giyo' whose extremity touching the shoreline is called the 'Gunner.' The fish usually get collected in the bodi portion of the net. CHHAYA, BUCH AND NARAYANAN

SeAWARD SIDE SEAUVRD SIDE

-BO 01 -BODI

«Y0- 6IY0

SHORE LINE SHORE UNE (A) (B)

FIG. 1. A diagrammatic sketch of a stakenet '"Wada" and its variation

SCOPE FOR CULTURE A random survey of the southern coast of the Gulf of Kutch indicates the availability of large quantities of mullet fry. At Okha, Samrasar, Kathumba, Bedi, Sikka, Jodiya and Navalakhi, collections made for about li to 2 h with a small drag net, immediately after the peak of hightide or at the time of the incoming tide, easily fetch more than a 1000 fry. Many times, more than 3,000 fry were collected in the same unit of time during the incoming tide. The fry usually Include different species of mullets and of some perches. The Gulf has a large number of low-lying s-aline swamps, marshes and creeks which could be converted into mullet farms at low coast. A small attempt has been made by the Fisheries Department of the Gujarat State in collaboration with M/s. Tata Chemicals Ltd., Mithapur, to culture mullets in the salt water con­ densers between Mithapur and Okha. A yield of around 100-150 kg per hectare, without supplementary feeding or protection from poaching, was obtained. It is possible to tripple this yield with more protection to the farm area.

REMARKS It is, thus, apparent that there is a scope for improvement of mullet fishery in the area. It is a poor man's fish and is available almost all round the year and thus acquires great importance in this scarcity prone protein deficient area. Extensive and intensive study of mullets in relation to their feeding, re­ production and migration in the Gulf could be very valuable. Establishment of a string of mullet farms along the Gulf coast line and fishing with bigger, better and mechanised crafts with gears like moving bag net and gill net can be too positive direction by which mullet landings can be improved. The fishermen of this region are not exposed to culture practices. They also need training in operation of mechanised boats. A training centre in the area is envisaged or batches of fishermen may be sent to various centres where such training is imparted. FISHERIES OF MULLET 51

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The authors wish to express their sincere thanks to Shri Moosa Raza, I.A.S., former Commissioner of Fisheries, and to Sri. K. V. Navathe, Dy. Com­ missioner of Fisheries, Gujarat State, for facilities received. The first two authors are grateful to M|s. Tata Chemicals Ltd., for all help and co-operation. Mr. K. M. Parmar typed scripts efficiently and in time.

REFERENCES ANON. 1975. C.M.F.R.T. Newsletter, No. 1, Jime-September. ANON. 1960-1974 Annual Administrative Reports, Fisheries Department, Government of Gujarat, . BHANOT, K. K. 1971. Observation on the availability of brackishwater fish seed in Matlah estuary around Port Canning. J. mar. biol. Ass. India, 13(2,): 274-278.

BHASKARAN, M., P. GOPALAKRISHNAN AND M. CHANDY. 1970. "Mankan" Fishery of the Dwarka coast. Indian J. Fish., 17, 169-172. GOPALAKRISHNAN V. 1973. Fishery resources of the Hoogly-Matlah estuarine system and its relation to fisheries of Bay of Bengal. Proceedings of symposium on tlie Living Resources of the Seas around India. Cent. iVIar. Fish. Res. Inst., Cochin, 373-385. JHINGRAN V. G. AND A. V. NATARAJAN. 1970. Role of Chilka lake fisheries in develop­ ment of coastal aquaculture in Eastern India. Proc. Indo-Pacific. Fish. Coun. 14th session, IPEC/C 70/SYM: 29. LUTHER, G. 1973. The Grey mullet fishery resources of India. Proceedings of symposium on the Living Resources of the Seas around India. Cent. Mar. Fish. Res. Ins., Cochin. 455-460.

NARAYANAN K. R., A. U. BUCH AND P. K. EAPEN. 1975. Observations on the mullet fry resources of Okhamandal. Seafood Export J., 7(3): 17-20.