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BONY

Loc. names : Barn, Sankh (Sin); Saang, etc.(Bal)

FAO names : En - Pike congers Fr - Morénésoces Sp - Morenocios

Size : Max.: to 250 cm

Fishing gear : Caught with longlines , draftiest and trawls

Habitat and biology . Found on the continental

shelf and slope. inhabiting shallow waters are known to be nocturnal and to feed on bottom-living fishes and

Interest to : Muraenesox species constitute the bulk of caught in , but catch statistics reported by the Handbook of Fisheries Statistics of Pakistan (1973-83) include Conger species as well. Annual catch figures range from 350 t (1980) to 3 921 t (1982). They are good food fishes and sold mostly fresh, dry- salted or used as bait for shark fishing

Congresox talabonoides (Bleeker, 1853)

Synonyms : Muraenesox talabonoides (Bleeker, 1853) Loc. names : Barn, Sand (Sin); Saang, Tayabi saang, Barn (Bal) Pike (En)

FAO names : En - Indian pike conger Fr - Morénésoce indien Sp -Morenocio indio Size : Max.: 250 cm; common to 180 cm Fishing gear : Caught mainly by lobeline , driftnets and trawls at night Habitat and biology : Lives on soft bottoms in coastal waters to about 100 m depth; also in estuaries. Feeds mainly on bottom-dwelling fishes and on crustaceans

Muraenesox cinereus (Forsskål, 1775)

Synonyms Muraenesox arabicus (Schneider, 1801)

Loc. names : Bam, Sankh (Sin); Barn, Saang, Tayabi saang (Bal) Silver conger eel (En)

FAO names : En - Daggertooth pike conger Fr - Morenesoce dague Sp - Morenocio dentón

Size : Max.: 200 cm; common to 150 cm

Fishing gear : Caught with longlines and handlines, driftnets, bottom set gillnets and trawls.

Habitat and biology: Found on the continental shelf and slope. In shallow

waters, known to be nocturnal. Feeds on bottom-living fishes and crustaceans. Sexually ripe specimens found in November to January on the Baluchistan coast.

Interest to fisheries : Separate statistics are not officially reported for this dorsal view of head species. However, Burney et al. (1985) report total landings of about 746 000 t for the Baluchistan coast in 1983. Dry-salted for export to . Also used as bait for shark fishing

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BONY FISHES

MURAENESOCIDAE Muraenesox bagio (Hamilton-Buchanan, 1822)

Synonyms Muraenesox yamaguchiensis Katayama Takai, 1954

Loc. names : Bam, Sankh (Sin); Bam, Tayabi saang (Bal)

FAO names : En - Common pike conger Fr - Morénésoce commun Sp - Morenocio común

Size : Max.: 180 cm; common to 150 cm

Fishing gear : Caught with driftnets, long- lines and trawls width about 10 or 11 times in head length interorbital Habitat and biology : Lives on soft bottoms, down to 100 m depth. A nocturnal species feeding mainly on bottom-dwelling and on crustaceans

dorsal view of head

CONGRIDAE

Loc. names : Bam, Sankh (Sin); Bam, Saang (Bal)

FAO names : En - Conger eels Fr - Congres Sp - Congrios

Size : Max.: to 80 cm

Fishing gear : Caught on hook and line and in trawls

Habitat and biology : Conger eels occur from the coast to deep waters of the shelf and slope. They are mostly active at night, hiding in burrows during daytime. They feed on bottom-dwelling organisms

Interest to fisheries : These fishes are valued as food and are sold mostly fresh.

Conger cinereus cinereus Rüppell, 1828

Synonyms Conger cinereus Rüppell , 1828

Loc. names : Bam, Sankh (Sin); Bam, Saang (Bal)

FAO names : En - Longfin African conger

Fr Congre oiro

Sp - Congrio de aleta larga ()

Size : Max.: 80 cm; common to 50 cm

Fishing gear : Caught mainly by hook and line

Habitat and biology : A common reef species, mostly active at night. Feeds on small reef organisms

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BONY FISHES

CONGRIDAE lepturus (Richardson, 1848)

Synonyms : None

Loc. names : Bam, Sankh (Sin); Bam, Saang (Bal)

FAO names : En - Slender conger Fr - Congre gracile Sp - Congrio coludo

Size : Max.: 40 cm; common to 30 cm

Fishing gear : Caught with fine-meshed trawls

Habitat and biology : Lives offshore on sandy and muddy bottoms. Feeds on bottom-dwelling crustaceans

Interest to fisheries : No special but appears regularly in the catches. Marketed mostly fresh. roof of mouth

ARIIDAE

Loc. names : Khagga, Singhara (Sin); Kun (Bal)

FAO names : En - Sea Fr - Mâchoirons Sp - Bagres

Size : Max.: to over 100 cm total length

Fishing gear : Bottom trawls, bagnets, dipnets. stake traps, shore seines and on hook. and

Habitat and biology : Sea catfishes are mostly marine but occur also in brackish and fresh waters. They are usually confined to muddy coastal waters to 50 m depth, but a few species are caught at greater depths. The sharp pectoral and dorsal fin spines can inflict painful wounds

Interest to fisheries : The sea catfishes may occur in large quantities and their flesh is said to be good. They are usually marketed fresh, but also dry-salted for export to Sri Lanka, and used for the production of fishmeal. The combined catches of ariid catfishes reported by the Handbook of Fisheries Statistics of Pakistan (1973-83) range from 7 382 t (1983) to 28 642 t (1978) with an average of 16 952 t

Arius maculatus (Thunberg, 1792)

Synonyms : falcarius Richardson, 1844

Tachysurus maculatus (Thunberg, 1792)

Loc. names : khagga, Singhara (Sin); Aasi, Raingi Spotted (En)

FAO names : En - Spotted catfish Fr - Machoiron tacheté Sp - Bagre manchado

Size : Max.: 61 cm; common to 40 cm

Fishing gear : Caught with bagnets, dipnets, bamboo-stake traps and with line gear

Habitat and biology : Found in inshore waters and estuaries. Feeds on inverte- brates and small fishes. Full maturity is attained by males and females at about 16 cm length - 1 9 -

BONY FISHES

ARIIDAE Arius platystomus Day, 1877

Synonyms : Tachysurus platystomus (Day, 1877)

Loc. names : Khagga, Singhara (Sin); Khaggi (Bal) Flat-mouth catfish (En)

FAO names : En - Flatmouth sea catfish Fr - Mâchoiron canard Sp - Bagre pato

Size : Max.: 15 cm; common to 10 cm

Fishing gear : Caught with bottom trawls, stake traps, shore seines, set bagnets and on hook and line

Habitat and biology : Lives close to the coast, in marine waters as well as in estuaries

Arius tenuispinis Day, 1877

Synonyms Hemipuniclodus tenuispinis Misra, 1976 Tachysurus tenuispinis (Day, 1877)

Loc. names : Khagga, Singhara (Sin); Kun (Bal)

FAO names : En - Thinspine catfish Fr - Mâchoiron aiguillette Sp - Bagre aqujilla

Size : Max.: 36 cm; common to 25 cm

Fishing gear : Caught with bagnets, dipnets, bamboo-stake traps and on hook and line

Habitat and biology : Common in marine coastal waters, to about 50 m depth

Arius thalassinus (Rüppell, 1837)

Synonyms Arius serratus Day, 1877 Tachysurus serratus (Day, 1877) Tachysurus thalassinus (Rüppell, 1837) thalassinus (Rüppell, 1837)

Loc. names : Khagga, Singhara (Sin); Kun (large), Kup-a-go (Bal) (En)

FAO names : En - Giant catfish Fr - Mâchoiron titan Sp - Bagre titan

Size : Max.: 185 cm; common to 70 cm

Fishing gear : Caught with bottom trawls, gillnets, bamboo-stake traps, with hand- lines, longlines and on hook and line

Habitat and biology : A marine species, often found in estuaries and brackish water, but never entering freshwater. Feeds on , and other crustaceans, but also on fishes and molluscs. Sexually ripe adult juvenile specimens found in January and April. Mass spawning occurs in the last week of March and first week of April along the Baluchistan coast - 20 -

BONY FISHES

Other species of Ariidae ARIIDAE

teeth on roof of mouth dorsal view of head

teeth on roof of mouth

dorsal view of head

Arius arius Hamilton, 1822 Threadfin sea catfish Bagga, Singhara (Sin) Bargai (Bal) size: to 20 cm

Arius caelatus Valenciennes, 1840 Engraved catfish Bagga, Singhara (Sin) Shazada, Siah-gosh khaggi (Bal) size: to 45 cm

teeth on roof of mouth

dorsal view of head

Arius crossocheilus Bleeker, 1846 Roughback sea catfish teeth on roof Bagga, Singhara (Sin) dorsal view of head Bargai (Bal) of mouth size: to 40 cm

Arius dussumieri Valenciennes, 1840 Blacktip sea catfish Bagga, Singhara (Sin) Gallo (Bal) size: to 30 cm - 21-

BONY FISHES

Other species of Ariidae ARIIDAE

teeth on roof of mouth

dorsal view of head

teeth on roof of mouth Arius sagor (Hamilton, 1822) Sagor catfish Khagga, Singhara (Sin) Bargai (Bal) size: to 45 cm

Arius sona (Hamilton, 1822) Sona sea catfish Khagga, Singhara (Sin) Torro gallo (Bal) size: to 90 cm

teeth on roof of mouth dorsal view of head

Arius subrostratus Valenciennes, 1840 Shovelnose sea catfish teeth on roof Bagga, Singhara (Sin) of mouth Kun (Bal) size: to 30 cm

Arius sumatranus Bennett, 1830 Goat catfish Bagga, Singhara (Sin) Matar (Bal) size: to 30 cm - 22 -

BONY FISHES

ARIIDAE

Batrachocephalus mino (Hamilton, 1822)

Synonyms : None

Loc. names : khagga (Sin); Chonaro (Bal) Beardless sea catfish (En)

FAO names : En - Beardless sea catfish

Fr - Mâchoiron i mberbe Sp - Barge lampiño

Size : Max.: 25 cm; common from 8 to 10 cm

Fishing gear : Caught with bottom trawls, gillnets, bamboo-stake traps, hook and line and lobeline

Habitat and biology : A marine species, occurring in shallow coastal waters, estuaries and tidal rivers

Osteogeneiosus militaris (Linnaeus, 1758)

Synonyms : Osteogeneiosus sthenocephalus Day, 1877

Loc. names : khagga, Singhara (Sin); Kun (Bal)

FAO names : En - Soldier catfish

Fr - Mâchoiron soldat Sp - Bagre soldado

Size : Max.: 35 cm; common from 20 to 26 cm

Fishing gear : Caught with seines, dipnets, bamboo stake traps and on hook and line

Habitat and biology : A marine coastal species, occur- ring also in estuaries and river mouths, mostly in turbid

waters. Feeds on invertebrates and small fishes

PLOTOSIDAE

Loc. names : Bam-khagga (Sin); Robila (Bal)

FAO names : En - Eel catfishes Fr - Balibots Sp - Patunas

Size : Max.: to over 40 cm

Fishing gear : Caught with bottom trawls, seines, traps and on hook and line

Habitat and biology : Found in coastal waters, including reef areas, estuaries and tidal pools. Feed on crustaceans, molluscs and fishes. The dorsal and pectoral spines are venomous and may inflict painful wounds.

Gregarious in habits, the juveniles of P. limbatus form large aggregations

Interest to fisheries : Species of this family do not form the object of a special fishery and some fishermen dread handling them. The flesh is said to be delicate in taste - 23 -

BONY FISHES PLOTOSIDAE Species of Plotosidae

Plotosus limbatus Valenciennes, 1840 Darkfin eel catfish size: to 41 cm

Plotosus lineatus (Thunberg, 1787) Striped eel catfish size: to 30 cm

This species has been often misidentified as P. canius which may also occur in the area. In P. canius the

maxillary barbels extend to the pectoral fin base

CHANIDAE Chanos chanos (Forsskål , 1775)

Synonyms None

Loc. names : Ghonshi (Sin); Murro, Murra (Bal)

FAO names : En - Milkfish

Fr - Chanos

Sp - Chano

Size : Max.: 180 cm; common to 100 cm

Fishing gear : Caught with scoopnets, dragnets, setnets and traps

Habitat and biology : This is a coastal species, entering estuaries, fresh waters and lakes. The eggs are found at

The occurrence of fry seems to be restricted to specific sea. The larval stages shift slowly toward the coast.

areas of the Indo-Pacific region (i.e. ., southern and Sri Lanka, , etc.). The distribution of the

species seems to depend on the temperature and on predators. Feeds on bottom invertebrates. Much experimental data are available on this species but very little is known of its biology and life cycle in its natural

habitat (see FAO Synopsis No. 4 (1960) for further information) Interest to fisheries This species is very important in many countries of the Indo-Pacific region where it is cultured in ponds and tanks. In Pakistan it is occasionally caught and sold fresh

SYNODONTIDAE

Loc. names : Koniari (Sin); Bombala (Bal)

FAO names : En - Lizardfishes

Fr - Anolis Sp - Lagartos

Size : Max.: Some species may exceed 45 cm

It is accidentally caught with bottom trawls Fishing gear :

Habitat and biology : They are bottom-dwelling fishes, found around coral reefs and on open flats to about 500 m depth. Most species are fish eaters and they usually wait motionless to seize the prey with a rapid motion

Interest to fisheries : There is no special fishery for any of the species of this family and there are no separate

statistics reported. If caught it is marketed fresh or used for fishmeal. The flesh is said to be of good quality

and flavour although quite bony. Saurida undosquamis and S. tumbil are the most widespread and abundant, as well as the largest, members of the family

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