Crustacean Bycatch from Trawl Fishery Along North Tamil Nadu Coast
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Indian J. Fish., 61(2) : 7-13, 2014 7 Crustacean bycatch from trawl fishery along north Tamil Nadu coast S. LAKSHMI PILLAI, SHOBA JOE KIZHAKUDAN*, E. V. RADHAKRISHNAN AND P. THIRUMILU* Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute, P. B. 1603, Ernakulam North P. O., Kochi – 682 018 Kerala, India *Research Centre of Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute, 75, Santhome High Road, R. A. Puram Chennai - 600 028, Tamil Nadu, India e-mail: [email protected] ABSTRACT Monthly and seasonal diversity of crustacean bycatch landed by trawl at the Chennai Fisheries Harbour from June 2005 to December 2009 is discussed. Seventy to eighty percent of the catch from the trawlers is made up of finfish, both commercial and non-commercial, and other resources like molluscs, crustaceans, and echinoderms. Crustaceans find a prominent place in the low value trawl bycatch that is usually landed in a state of decomposition and fetches only very low price. About 53% of the crustaceans in the bycatch are crabs, followed by stomatopods (23%) and shrimps (18%). A total of 64 crustacean species were recorded which include 37 species of brachyuran crabs, 1 species of anomuran crab, 16 species of shrimps, 2 species of lobsters and 8 species of stomatopods. Univariate and multivariate analysis was done for monthly and seasonal data sets. The Shannon-Weiner diversity index (H) ranged from 3.13 to 5.53 and species evenness (J) 0.92 to 0.99 for monthly data sets. Species richness (d) was highest (10.28) in July 2008. Seasonal diversity indices revealed Shannon-Weiner index to range from 4.76 to 5.59, species richness from 7.18 to 10.71 and Evenness Index (J) from 0.94 to 0.98. Cluster analysis showed that species assemblage co-occur in a parallel manner across months and seasons. Keywords: Bycatch, Chennai, Cluster analysis, Crustaceans, Diversity index Introduction the catches of commercially valuable shrimp species. This highly valued resource has been relegated to a Trawl fishing along the north Tamil Nadu coast is done mere 7-10% of the total trawl landing at Chennai during by trawlers operating from Chennai. The coastal fishing 2005-2009. More alarming is the fact that shrimps grounds lie in the depth range of 10 to 70 m at a distance and other crustaceans find a prominent place in the of 15 to 80 km from the shoreline, extending between low-value trawl bycatch that is usually landed in a state of Ongole in south Andhra Pradesh and Nagapattinam to the decomposition and fetches only very low price. Another south of Chennai. Although commercial trawling targets matter of concern is the presence of a high percentage penaeid shrimps, about 70-80% of the catch is made up of of juveniles of almost all major commercially important finfish, both commercial and non-commercial, and other crustaceans in the bycatch. Studies on the diversity of resources like molluscs and echinoderms. While early bycatch (Bijukumar et al., 2007; Murugesan et al., 2013) accounts of shrimp trawl in Indian waters do not give an from trawl are meager from the Indian coast even though estimate of the actual finfish catches or discards, in the there are quite a number of publications from other last two decades, shrimp trawling has been redefined as countries (Griffiths and Simpson, 1972; Maharaj and trawl fishing, with a major turnabout towards utilisation of finfishes and other marine resources caught in the shrimp Recksiek, 1991; Liggins et al., 1996; Ye et al., 2000; Costa trawl. et al., 2008; Paighambari and Moslem, 2012; Kazemi et al., 2013). Griffiths and Simpson (1972) have stated Over-exploitation of shrimp resources of particular that for most penaeid shrimp fisheries, bycatch is the main grounds has probably paved the way for a reduction in component of trawl catches, at 75-95% of the total weight. S. Lakshmi Pillai et al. 8 Klima (1976) deduced that the shrimp fisheries in the represented chiefly by juveniles and decomposed western central Atlantic region discarded approximately specimens (7 genera and 13 species) of Metapenaeus spp., 1 million t of finfish annually. The paper attempts to Metapenaeopsis stridulans, Parapenaeopsis spp., provide information on the monthly and seasonal diversity Trachypenaeus spp., Solenocera crassicornis and of crustacean bycatch in trawl landings at the Chennai Parapenaeus longipes. Lobsters, represented by Fisheries Harbour from June 2005 to December 2009. the scyllarid lobsters Petractus rugosus and Thenus unimaculatus formed about 6%. Materials and methods Monthly diversity All the crustacean specimens collected by fortnightly sampling from Chennai Fisheries Harbour Maximum number of crustacean species (44) were identified to species level and their numbers and were recorded during July 2008 and minimum (9) individual wet weights recorded. Month-wise and during April 2006. Shannon-Weiner diversity index season-wise trawl landing data were subjected to univariate (H’Log 2) was highest (5.53) during July 2008 and least analysis for species diversity, species richness and (3.13) during April 2006. The range of the index denotes evenness in the crustacean population using PRIMER-6 that the crustaceans landed at the Chennai Fisheries software. Multivariate analysis was employed to assess Harbour are diverse in nature. Shannon–Weiner Index whether similarities exist in the distribution and abundance affects both number of species and evenness of their of population during different months and seasons of population, diversity increases as both increase. For 2005-09. The Shannon-Weiner index (H) and Pielou’s individual year from 2006-2009 (Table 2), the index was evenness index (J) were used to evaluate relative highest during July and lowest in April. Low H’ value abundance and evenness of species diversity. Bray-Curtis during April may be due to low intensity of trawl fishing similarity was performed to assess natural grouping (trawl ban along Tamil Nadu coast commences from of crustaceans during different months and seasons. April 15th every year and lasts up to 30th May). During In the analysis, fourth root transformation was used to 2007-09, low H’ value was recorded in August in 2007 increase the influence of rare species. Identification of the and 2008, and in February in 2009 which may be due to crustaceans, in the laboratory were carried out following the dominance of one or few species (P. argentatus during Chhapghar (1957), Sakai (1976), Galil (1994, 1997), (Ng August 2007, C. hoplites in August 2008 and A. alcocki et al., 2008) for brachyuran crabs, Holthuis (1980), Perez and O. nepa in February 2009). Diversity is said to be Farfante and Kinsley (1967) for prawns and Ahyong maximum when all species that make up the community (2001) for stomatopods. are equally abundant. Species richness (d) was 10.28 during July 2008 and lowest (2.4) during April 2006 thus Results and discussion clearly giving the variation in species richness between different months. Maximum Evenness index (J) was in Species composition October during 2006-2009 which means that species are Sixty four species of crustaceans were recorded during evenly distributed during the month. The species richness the 50 month study period, of which 53% were brachyuran and evenness during certain months might be due to large crabs, represented by a wide range of 21 genera and 37 scale periodic migration, influenced by slight change in species (Table 1). The major species of commercially water temperature. Warmer temperature, availability and important brachyuran crabs in the landings were Portunus stability of food result in high level of diversity. sanguinolentus, Portunus argentatus, Portunus gladiator, The results of cluster analysis done to find out the Charybdis lucifera and Charybdis hoplites, represented nature of groupings of crustaceans during various months mostly by juveniles. Fig. 1 illustrates selected crustaceans are presented in the dendrogram (Fig. 2). in the bycatch. The family Portunidae comprised of 13 species. Calappa and Portunus were the species rich The analysis gave a clear pattern highlighting the genera represented by 6 and 5 species respectively. Two similarities in distribution and abundance during the species belonged to the family Matutinae, 4 to Xanthidae, study period. The similarity in species composition 5 to Parthenopidae, 1 to Dorippidae and 1 to Corystidae. and abundance was in the range of 36.18-60.48 with an Stomatopods (23%) were another important group in average similarity percentage of 46.84. Populations of the bycatch consisting of eight species viz., Oratosquilla March 2006 and 2007 formed a group with maximum nepa, O. woodmasoni, O. holochista, O. gonyptes, similarity of 89.53% which got linked with March 2008 O. quinquedentata, Harpiosquilla harpax, H. annandeli at a similarity of 76.44%. January 2006 and 2007 formed and H. raphidae. Shrimps, forming about 18%, were a group at a similarity of 82.09%. Cluster analysis shows Crustacean bycatch from north Tamil Nadu 9 Table 1. Crustaceans landed in trawl bycatch at Chennai Fisheries Harbour during 2005-09 Species TL (mm) Species TL (mm) Penaeidae Xanthidae Metapenaeus dobsoni 38-71 Liagore rubromaculata 32-63 Metapenaeus monoceros 55-110 Demania armadilius 27 Metapenaeopsis stridulans 39-88 Demania baccalipes 38-43 Parapenaeus longipes 38-50 Halimedia ochtodes 42-95 Parapenaeopsis maxillipedo 40-69 Matutidae Parapenaeopsis stylifera 60-95 Ashtoret lunaris 28-56 Matuta planipes Solenocera crassicornis 28-56 Dorippidae Sycionia lancifera 30-48 Dorippe frascone 50-73 Trachypenaeus