Barn, Sankh (Sin); Saang, Etc.(Bal)
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click for previous page - 16 - BONY FISHES MURAENESOCIDAE 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. Species inhabiting shallow waters are known to be nocturnal and to feed on bottom-living fishes and crustaceans Interest to fisheries : Muraenesox species constitute the bulk of eels caught in Pakistan, 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 eel (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 Sri Lanka. Also used as bait for shark fishing - 17 - 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 fish 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 (Africa) 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 - 18 - BONY FISHES CONGRIDAE Uroconger 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 fishery but appears regularly in the catches. Marketed mostly fresh. roof of mouth ARIIDAE Loc. names : Khagga, Singhara (Sin); Kun (Bal) FAO names : En - Sea catfishes 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 : Arius falcarius Richardson, 1844 Tachysurus maculatus (Thunberg, 1792) Loc. names : khagga, Singhara (Sin); Aasi, Raingi Spotted catfish (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) Netuma thalassinus (Rüppell, 1837) Loc. names : Khagga, Singhara (Sin); Kun (large), Kup-a-go (Bal) Giant catfish (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 crabs, prawns 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.