The Pelagic Fisheries Resou rces of District, , South *

S . Lazarus and J. J . J oel'- Vizhinjam Research Cent:e of Cen lral Marine Fisheries Research Institute, Vizhinjam

ABSTRACT west monsoon (June) and extends up to the end of the northeast mons oon, K~nyakuma ri district has a 67 .59 km (December). coastline comprising 43 fishing villages w ith a total f ishermen population of The important fishing craft and gear about 0.15 million of which about one in the district, sea sonal and reg ional. t hird is actually engaged in fishing. var iations of the fishery, important· The average annual pelagic fish landing species exploited, and disposal, utili­ of the district is about 19,8 51 ton ne s, zation and marketing of th e catches about 50% of w hich being clupeoids. are briefly described. The fishery' The other important groups contribnting potential of this area i neluding the to t he f ishery are carangids (19% ) and productivity of the Wadge Ba nk an d trich iuri ds ( 17% ). Scombroids account the different methods suggested for the for 11 % and whitefi sh, filefish, dolphin­ exploitation of the immense wealth of fish, barracuda. grey mullet, halfbeak this are a are rev iewed. The existing and garfish toget her form about 3%. facilities for the fishermen labour are Pel agic fish form the dominant catch noted, further needs discussed and (about 90% ) o f the total landings on suggestions given for the fisheries the coa st. Boat seine, drift net, gill development of the area. net, hooks and line and Katchal bring 98% of me district's pelag ic fi sh catch INTRODUCTION and the rest of the quantity is by shore (lat. between seine. The mai n fishin g se ason com­ 8 ° 5' and 8° 21 ' N and long, between mences w ith the onset of the south- 77° 6' and 77° 34' E) is situated on the southern extremity of the Indian penin­ • A n abstract o f this paper has been sula and has a coa!\!line of 67.59 km published (Abstract No . 30) in the e

Nlay, 1979 33) Polikarai, 34) Kesavanputhenthurai. :;< ji1':C' 35) Puthenthura;, 36) Pallam, 37) :oR Melamanakudi, 38) Keezhamanakudi. n~_c 3 39) Kovalam. 40) Cape Comorin...... ---... ,. 41) Chinnamuttom, 42) Leepuram • 43) Vattakottai.

The Kuzhithurai, Valliyar and Pazhayar rivers join the sea on the westcoas! of this district. It receives the two monsoons. the southwest (June·Septem­ ber) and the nort heast (September­ December), There are 43 fishing villages with a total population of about 0 ,15 million census) of whom about V~lIi r i ~r (1971 one third is actually engaged in fishing. Cape Comorin, Muttom, Kadia­ patnam. , Enayamputhenthen· thurai and are the important fishing centres, The fishery of this district was dealt with by Chacko and George (1958) and Padmanaban (1966) and the fishery of Cepe Comorin by Chacko et 81 (1967). The present report for the period. 1969-71 is more in the ~ G'l l>c >? ...... _. from of a supplement to the above z' z-" o , reports but limiting itself to the pelagic ::o:r- ~ 8.20 fisheries, besides highlighting interestin" informations not dealt w ith before. Fig. 1. KANYAKUMARI DISTRICT.­ The recent findings of the Pelagic Fishery Pro ject have revealed the high FISHING VILLAG ES fi5hery pc:ential of this region. The 1) Neerodi, 2) Marthandanthurai, existing facilities for the fishing labour 3) Vallavilai, 4) Iraviputhanthura;, in the district are encouraging though 5) Chinnathurai I. 6) Thoothoor, requirements are still more V'lthich ar& 7) Poothurai, 8) Eramanathurai, 9) Then' pointed out in this paper. ngapattinam, 10) Ramanthurai. 111 Enayamputhenthurai, 12) Enayamchinna­ MATERIAL AN D METHODS thurai, 13) Enayam, 14) Melamidalam, The fishery data collected during 15) Chinnathurai II, 16) Naduthurai, the period, 1969-71 by the Fishery 17) Keezhamidalam, 18) Kurumpanai, Data Centre of the Central Marine 19) Vaniakkudi, 20) Kodimunai. 21) Fisheries Research Institute adopting' Colachel, 22) Kottilpadu, 23) Puthoor, the stratified multi-stage sampling design, 24) Peri avila;' 25) Chinnavilai, 26) (Banerji. 1971; Banerji and Chakraborty, Kadiyapattanam. 27) Muttom, 28) Mela­ 1972; Kutty et al. 1973) from the basis hurai, 29) Pillathoppu, 30) Azhikkal. of this account. Statistics and other 31) , 32) Peri akadu, particulars relating to the fishermen

10 Seafood Export Journa population, craft, gear etc. were obtained the average being 19,850.92 metric tons­ through the courtesy of Tamil Nadu From the estimated monthly pelagic State Fisheries Department at catches (Fig. 2) it is evident that the and Colachel and the Indo-Belgian year 1971 was more productive than 1969 and 1970. Clupeoids formed the Project at Muttom and they pertain to major catch (50.8%) and the other. the end period of the present report. groups in the order of abundance were' The particulars discussed under the carangids, trichiurids, scombroids and subtitles, 'Exist ing Facilities' and ' Further others (Fig. 3). Requirements-Concluding Remarks ' re­ l ate to the year p.nding 1977. The 98% of the district'S pelagic catch' stretch of 9.59 km of the district from was rea lised by other units and their Cape Comorin to Vatlakatlei is referred CPUE together for the study period to as easicoast and that from Cape varied from 1.2 to 171.6 kg with the· Comorin to Neerodi (58.00 km) as west­ mean value at 28.1 kg. The main craft coast. The catch per ur,it effort (C PU E) employed was the raft type catamaran was estimated separately for shoreseines (Bal and Banerjee, 1971; Nair. 1958) . and collectively fa, all other gear types Mechanised catamarans, doris boats and (boat seine, drift r.et, gill net. hooks plank-built and dug-out canoes were­ and line and Kachal) designated herein the less important crafts. Only 2% of as 'other units' for all discussions. the catch was landed by shore seines The pelagic fishes are discussed under five broad groups: 1. Clupeoids (forms 44 of the order Clupeiformes), 2. Carang ids, 42 d . Trichiurids and 4. Scambroids 40 -- 1969 (forms of their respective families, 3.9 ------1970 namely, Carangidae, Trichiuridae and 3. -1911 ~ 34 Scambridae) and 5. others, designated ... 32 herein is for further reference to the Z 30 collective miscellaney of whitefish ~ 29 .. (Lactar;us) , filefishes (Odonus, Suffla­ t- 2. \ .. "\, men, Pseudobal;stes), dolphinfishes c Z4 ,, ~ 22 ,, (Coryphaena) barracudas (Sphyraena), 020 , z , grey mullets (Mug;I), halfbeaks (Hewir­ " 19 , hamphu;) and garfishes (8elone). Pa rt "16 of the brief note dealing w ith Wadge 2. 14 , Bank shall be viewed as parenthetical 12 f 10 : since it ca nnot come under pelagic fishery. ·4:Lf~~~"" t __ ~~~~".;;'_ ..~.,_ ..~!~ "J __ ~ __ _ SOME GENERAL ASPECTS OF J FMAMJJASOND THE PELAGIC FISHERIES IN THE DISTRICT The annual pelagic fish landings Fig . 2. Est imated monthly pelagic fist.. of this district were estimated to range landings. at Kanyakumari dist-­ from 16,991.16 to 21,838.75 metric rict for the years 1969, 1970' tons based on 'he three years' data, and 1971.

May, 1979 11 -eT al (1972) brings appreciable quant­

"70 ities of nutrients to the surface layers resulting in the heavy growth of planktonic organism w nich subseq uently spreads seaward with the surface currents. This might be the reason for the appearance of fish shoals in the coastal waters soon after the monsoon. More informations on the seasonat Variations of important groups are I' 71 available in Table 4 .

~ Trichiu rids, le sser saradines, caran­ OTHE'S.. """ gids and wolfherrings (Chirocentridae) • T. IC HIURIDS wefe landed in large quantities along .... C LUPEOIO S the eastcoast. Whitebaits (Stolephuus) SCONSJtGItIS and scombroids w ere the dominant I catches of the westcoast. Oil sardine. Hilsa. tunas. mackerel. Coryphaena. Sphyraena. Mugil. filefishes. halfbeaks Fig. 3. Group-wise contribution to the an_d garfishes were not recorded from pelagic fishery of Kanyakumari the eastcoasl. It may be of biological district for the years 1969. importance that juveniles of the Indian 1970 and 1971. mackerel. Rastrel/iger kanagurta ranging in total length 5-13 cm were encountered which realised a CPUE of 11.3 to 194 kg in bo.t seine and shore seine in large (mean 62 kg). Th e principal gear used numbers during June-July of all three for shore se ine was plank-built or years. Bulk catches of seerfishes land ed dug-out canoe. The operation of shore at Colachel and whitefish at Multom seine was confined be tween Kadia­ might indicate their concentrations in patnam and Neetodi because of the specific grounds off these centres. rock·free coastline. The Kachal described The- difference in rhe magnitude of by Bennet (1967) was t he gear operated catch composition of speci es between exclusively for the filefishes. Odonus the two coasts is given in Table 3. and Sufflamen. The detai Is about the important crahs and gears are given SPECIES EXPLOITED in Tables 1 and 2 respectively. The informations on species t::x­ plaited including other species recored. SEASONAL AND REGIONAL percentage in total pelagic catch. period VARIATIONS of occurrence, important fishing region s. Although pelagic fi shery operated gears employed and price range ap­ throughout the year. the main season pended in Table 4 preclude a text on generally commenced with the onset this subject. Supplimentarily. Table 5 of th.e southwest monsoon and extended gives t he scientific and local names of upto the end of the northeast monsoon. commonly known species. Average The vertical mixing in the Arabian sea monthly estimates of different varieties ~uring the monsoon. according to Nair for the three years are presented in Fig. 4.

May. 1979 13 in cured condition than when frest.

•\ __ C~IWCC(l'T~1\lS were sun-dried. salt-cured or frozen • ;: \ - CT>«;'110 In times of glut. quantities above th& :' ~ - ____ _ 1 \.<1:.0.\

./ \ _ ....C Kt~(~ demand for local consumption w ere cured by any of these means. The '.0 important markets for fresh fish are Vadaserry, Monday Market, Friday Market, Thoduvatti and Kaliakkavillai in o. ~ - the district itself. Part of the seerfish catch was packed in ice and sent to Trivandrum, Changanaserry and Kottayam markets in and Tirunelveli in Tamil Nadu . The bulk of the cured • - T~ OC ~ OU~'GS ______CAR... G IOS product was transported to Tuticorin , _ 5£Ellfl5>

M • M o II ~ by the Kottar Social Service Society Fisheries Development Projects-KSSS. for short) distributed 100 Evinrud e fig. 4. Average month-wise es timated motors of 8 and 10 HP to the fisher· landings of pelagic fishes based men at Muttom in 1970. These out­ on the three years' catch data board engines w hen fitted to the local' (1969-71 ). catamarans served to expand fishing activities in areas unapproachable by DISPOSAL - UTILIZATIO N - MARKETS ordinary catamaran. A detai led stati s­ The catches were usually disposed tical ana l ysis of the results of mecha­ by 'auctioning and then transported to nisation of catamarans at Muttom for interior markets by he ad loads, cycles, the period January-December 1970 was bullockcarts, motor vans and lo rries. ,published in a KSSS' s report (Pelzer, A small fish market is situated at Or ' 1971). In spite of the advantages, thEt nearby every landing centre. Certain mechanisation has not had the desired q uality fishes which fetch more income effect on the fisherlllen. Financial

14 Seaf cod Export Journal indisposition to meet the incidenta l project has also observed the bulk of problems like maintenance, nonavailabi­ the fish biomass and the highest esti­ lity of spare parts in time, rising fu el mate of whitebait (0.82 million tons) £ost and to some extent the negligence in the region 8 °· gON during June to on the part of fishermen seem to be August with more concentration east the reasons. Th e project also provided of 7r30' E long. (See Fig. 1), The initially four 21 feet doris boats of region of highest abundance for what 12 HP diesal engines. These boats are gro~uped as 'other fishes' (horse have the advantages of streamlined mackerel, tuna, other pelagic fishes body, retractable propeller for beaching and bottom fishes) also occur in the ·the boat easily like catamaran, low oil area 8° - g o N during March-August, consumption and provision of a sail. These findings point towards the poten­ Moreover, since the convenience of tial resources of Kanyakumari district, employing many gear types from doris 8°5'_8°21'N (Fig. 1) , The three year boat makes its utility available during data analysed in the present report all seasons there is great demand for also to some extent substantiate these these boats and more are being con­ findings though landings were mostly structed by the KSSS with secondhand from within about 15 m depth, engines . One of India's richest fishing gro­ The investigations of the Pelagic unds, the Wadge Bank (r20'N, 7r52'E), Fishery Proj ect (PFP) si nce 1971 have about 10,000 sq. km in area, 56 km­ thrown up several interesting findings south of Cape Comorin is at present on the pelagic fish resources of the underexploited A brief compiled account .southwestcoest and the southern !iP( ~ about Ihe earlier wadge Bark fishery of the eastcoast of India. The most appears in the edition of Gulland (1972) . important finding is that there exists Fishermen from certain villages of the in the sea between Ratnagiri and district (Kanyak umari, Colachel, Kurum-· Tuticorin a sufficiently large resource panai, Puthenthurai, Kollenkod e) operate of Stolephorus (whitebait) at 10-50 m hooks and line during February to April bottom depth. This resource is at pre­ and land mostly pe rc hes (Lutianus. sent exploited to a small extent-Jb.e Serranus, Lethrinus), This fishiog method bulk of the whitebait st ock is focnd ( is locally known as Thangal meaning to concentrate during July-August in 'halt' or 'stay', since the fishing the region south and southeast of involves an overnight halt around the Cape Comorin (7°_9°N) i~ pIOC.SS bank. There is no recOld of the quantity of southward displacement beginning landed. The highest organic productiorl in May from higher latitudes of the in the westcoast recorded by Nair westcoast. The behaviour and shoaling et al (op. cit.) is from the Wadge Bank ·characteristics of whitebait are given area for • stalion 90 m d epth, the J in a report of the project (Report No. column production being 4.55g C n' I day 5, p 35). Menon and George (1965) in September, 'Dory fishing' or mother­ while discussing the possibilities of ship operation (Bhatia, 1950 and .exploiting this resou rce and the pros­ Gopinath, 1954) can be a suitable pects of disposing the exploited recom­ method to exploit the immense wealth mend bottom Q I' mid-water trawl with of this area. The PFP's findings (re­ high opening for this fishery. The ferred to earlier) also include spotting

May, 1979 15- ~f a big concentration of young rib­ The housing schemes undertaken. bonfishes Trichiurus haume/a) in March by the government and the KSSS are 1973 at 250 m depth on the southern a boon to the lesser income group. 693 side of the Wadge Bank. Presence houses constructed under socia-econo­ of this presumable nursery ground is mic pragrammes with an expenditure­ suggestive of the possibility of more of Rs. 31 .8 lakhs have been distributed to pelagic fish re sources in the bank fishermen families. Anti sea erosion apart from its already established wall s are being raised at vulnerable plentitude of perches and snappers parts like En ayam , Puthenthura and (Gulland, op. cit.). Muttom with aid from the Government of India. A compensation of Rs . 5000/ ­ for loss of life while engaged in fish­ EXISTING FACILITIES ing and grants for damage and loss of The awareness of the importance fishing implements are in operation by of fisheries in the district is encoura­ the government. ging, Fisheries, as a subject is taught in the All Saints High School at Muttom. FURTHER REQUIREMENTS­ A Fishermen Training Centre at Colachel CONCLUDING REMARKS imparts training to 50 students per The overall trend towards fisheries period of course. There are two boat in the district is encouraging, but not building yards, one a private concern ' to the extent of being complacent. at Nagercoil, the district's capital town The requirements are shill more. The and the other at Colachel under half ice plants and cold storage plants are a miliion jobs programme; the latter insufficient to meet the needs especially is at present not functioning. A nylon during peak fishing season . Lack of oet making factory is to be started freezing plants (the only plant at Mut­ at . tom has been diverted to other purposes). must be given due consideration by 4 governmen t and private ice plants entrepreneurs for new installations. with a net ca paci ty of 40 tonnes, and There are at pres'ent 465 ordinary me­ 3 government cold storage plants to­ chanised boats while the actual require­ gether having 20 tons capacity are ment is for more. Inadequate berthing scattered in 7 differen t centres of local places, storage plants etc. have driven importance. these boats outside the district for fishing and landing. Provision of such. A District Fi shermen Co-operative facilities should naturally attract more Federation and a Coperative Fish people to invest on mechanised vessels. Marketing Union are centred at Nager­ And since mechanised crafts can extend <:oil with the latter having its unit at the area of operation beyond the Kaliakkavillai. Other than 41 (marine) traditional fishing grounds to harvest Fisheries Co-operative Societies and the rich grounds now known to exist, their units, other organisations like a substant;al increase in catch can b .. Processing, Boa t Operating, Boat Build­ normally expected. This envisaged in­ ing a.nd Boat Servicing Societies, one crease wi,U refl ect in the socia-economic "i n each is catering service with a loan state of the fisherfoik of this area. <>f Rs . 9.19 lakhs under the govern­ The majority of fishermen com­ ment's half a million jobs programme. munityof this district are Catholic Chri-

May, 1979 17 stians and the' rel igious he'ad of each be summarily stated here that the vita' village. the Priest or Father wields much need of this hour is to extend the i nfluence on the people in all aspects area of operation further interior at the .of w elfare. Any Fislleries Extension right season w ith effective crafts and Programme carr ied to these villages gears. In this co ntext the words for through the Fathers and the Co-opera tive the final call can be borrowed fro m Societies or simila r organisations w ill the New Testament (St. Luke 5:4) - effectively pave the way to get the fisher­ " ..... Launch out into the deep and men labour harnessed in more profitable let down you r nets for a draught". rational means at fishing; because com:Jrehensive knowledge on the ACKNOWLEDG EM ENTS productive areas. the relevant types of Our sincere thanks are due to crafts and' gears and other modern Dr. S. Z. Qasim. former director. an d methods 'of fishing are no in significant Dr. E. G. Silas. present director. Central. requirements for the fishermen whose Marine Fisheries Research Institute. unfortunate handicap is largely ignorance. Cochin-18 for their kind encourage­ They need knowledge. More knowledge ments. We are grateful to (late} to ue the earned money too. Dr. ' K. V. Sokharan and Dr. M. D. K. Kuthalingam for offering valuabl<> To wind up the discussion it may suggestions.

REFERENCES

.ANONYMOUS. 1974. Prog ress Report. Pelag ic Fishery Project. No. 6. 141 pp. BAL, D. V. AND S. K. BANERJI. 1951 . Fishing craft and tackle of Indian Seas_ Handbook on Indian Fisheries. Govt. of India Publication: 98-104.

'BANERJI. S. K. 1971 . Fishery Statistics. Food and Agricultural Organisation of the United Nations. Pub!. No. 10/FCj DEV/71 /5, 15 pp.

AND D. CHAKROBORTY. 1972. On the estimation of yield from exploited marine stocks with reference to South Eas t Asi a. Proceeding. Symposium o~ Living Resources of the Sea s around India. C. M. F. R. I. Spl. PUbl.. 176-183. BENNET P. SAM. 1967. Kachal. a tackle for File-fish (family Balistidae: ' Pisces). J . Bombay not. Hist. Soc .• 64 (2): !.·377-380

BHATIA. D. 1950. Occasional paper. I. P. F. C.

CHACKO. P. I. AND S. GEORGE. 1958. An appraisal of the sea fisheries resources of Kanyakumari district, Madras Fisheries Marketting Report No. III (Government of Madras). 11 pp.

; r ~ " :. CHACKO. P. I.. J. B. ABRAHAM. R. SRINI VASAN, N. RADHAKRISHNAN NjllR AND R. ANANTANARAYANAN. 1967. On the fish landings and fi,s,t)ery t re nd at Cape Comorin. Madras J. Fi sh. 3: . 121-139.

Seafood EXpOlt Joumal (JOPINATH. K. 1954. A note on some deep sea fishing experiments off th.,. South-Western coasts of India. Indian J. Fish. 1 (1 & 2) : 163-181.

·GULLAND. J . A. 1971. The Fish Resources of the Oce an. FAO. 1971. 100-101.

I

MENON. DE VIDAS M. AND K. C. GEORGE 1975. White bait resources of the· South-west coast of India. Seafood Export Journal. Vol. VII (1) January. 1975.

PADMANABHAN. A. 1966. Fisheries in Kanyakuma,i District. The Ind ustries Seminar Kanyakumari Di strict Souvenir. No. 1966.

PELZER . KNUT M. 1971. A statistical study of mechanisation of f ishing crafts at Muttom. Re port on Ph ase I. Kottar Social Service Society. Kanyakumari. District. 63 pp.

PRASAD. R. R. AND P. V. RAMACHANDRAN NAIR. 1963. Studies on organic production 1. Gulf of Mannar. J. mar. bioI. A ss. India. 15: 1-26.

:PRASAD. R. R.• S. K. BANERJI AN D P. V. RAMACHANDRAN NAIR. 1970. A quantitative assessment of the potential fishery resources of the Indian Ocean and adjoining seas. Indian J. Anim. Sci . 40 (1): 73-78 .

.RAMACH AN DRAN NAI R. P. V .. SYDNEY SAMUEL. K. J. JOSEPH AND V. K. BALA­ CHANDRAN. 1972. Pri mary Production and potential fishery resources in t he seas around India. Proc. Symp. on the Living resources of the seas around India . 184-198.

VENK/UARAMAN. G. AND K. C. GEORGE. 1964. On the occurrence of large concentrations of file-fish off the Kerala coast. India. J. mar. bioI. Ass. India. () (2). 321-323 .

• May. 1979 19 \ t-.l o rABL~ 1. DETAILS OF CRAFTS USED FOR PELAGIC FISHERIES IN KANYAKUMARI DISTRiCt

S ize Cost HP Area of Total Craft Local Name Name of wood (feet) IRs. ) operation no. in operation

Dug-out Vallom ·or Aini (Artocarpus hirsuta 18-30 3500 to Between 23 caneos Thoni Lank) 5500 Kadiapattinam Elavu (Bombax malaba­ and Neerodi ricus D. C.) Mavu (Mangifer~ndica Linn. ) Plank-built Kattu Aini (Artocnrpus hirsuta 25-32 2000 to Between 254 Canoes val:om Lank) 3000 Kadiapattinam Mavu (Mangifera indica and Neerodi Linn.) Non-mechanised Kattumaram, Cillai (Albizzia lebbok) 12-25 400 to Throughout the 14789 catamara ns Maram Perumaram L~ ilanthus 1500 district malabarica D. C.) Mullu elavu (Zanthoxvlum ,hetsa D. C.) Murukku (Eruthrina stricta Roxb) en Panjelavu (Eriodendron) (D ., anfractuosum D. C . 0' ~ Mechanised Engine As in non -mechanised 18-25 4000 to 8-12 HP Muttom 100 m catamarans maram catamaran 5000 Petrol x u o Mechanised Bottu Aini, Thekku, Venthekku. 19-32 36000 to 49 HP Cape comorin, Muttom, 414 boats Plywood cabi 55000 Colachel and Kodimunai -t­ o c: Doris boats Country wood 21 13000 to 12 HP Throughout the district 4 .,:; 25000 Diesel ~ Iv TABLE 2. DETAILS OF GEARS USED FOR PELAGIC FI SHERIES IN KANYAKUMARI DISTRICr

GOu T Loc al r, amo Net ma ter ial (Cost Rs.) Net size M es h size Princ ipal species caug ht Total no. in (inch) operation

Shore seine Kara m adi Coire ro pe and 2000·2500 2500· 2750' 0.3 to 36 Clupeoids and Scombroids 549 Kara vala c<>lton threa d thro' 0.7, Kamba vala 6,9 and 24.

:.epat• seine ThallU madi Coir rope and t to 108 Clupeoids, Trichiuri ds 1188 and Lactarius. "- M ad i vala cotton thread 500·600 400' thro' t , it and 18.

Gill nets a. Kocha vala o r Cotton 250 250 X 9' t Stolephorus 769 Netholi vala ..-3 Sardines, Du ssu mieria spp. 930 b. Cha la va la Cation or nylon 450 250 X 9' and Decapt e,us spp. c. Vala vala Cotton or nylon 450·500 250 X 9' l t ~h irocentru s sp. 841 d. Kuthippu vala Cotlnn or nylan 450·500 250 X 9' 1 Lac t arius, mack erel and 124 e. Th athu va la Cotton 250·300 250 X 9' Decapterus spp. ~- it M edian size clupeoids and 309 other varieties of that size. en .,co Hooks and Chooda or Nylon (Kangoos) 75-100 1300·2000' 150- 300 Carangids, Scombroids and 3357 0 Thoondil Hooks Lea ther jackets -0 line or cotton "- - -- m >< Drift net Vali vala Nylon No.6 3500·4000 3000 X 60· 4- 6 Scombroids and Carangid s 2036 "0 0 Pattu vala 80 knots -'- 0 c Bag net Kachal Cotton or nylon 20·25 100 metre 1 Lea ther jackets 292 :; '" TABLE 3. AVERAGE PERCENTAGE COMPOSITION OF PELAGIC FISH LANDINGS OF THE TWO COASTS OF KANYAKUMARI DISTRICT

.Name ot fish Gulf of Mannar Region Arabian Sea Region (Cape to VattakoUai) (Ca pe to Neerodi)

Chirocentrus 13.4 1.7

Oil sardine 0.1

Le sser sardines 23.5 12.9

Stolephorus 5.1 27.5

Dussumieria 2.0 3.0

Thrissocles 1.4 3.0

Hilsa 3.4

{)ther clupeoids 0.1 0.9

Caranx 16.5 17.0

Chorinemus 4.8 0.4

{)ther carangids 0.1 0.2 Trichiurus 27.1 14.1

Mackerel 0.4 Seerfish 5.6 7.5

Tunas 4.5 Coryphaena 0.1

tlactarius 0.4 1.1 1 .1 Mugil 1.0 ·Filefish Hemirhamphus and Belone 0.2 1.0 ·Sphyraena

UW Y. CFllTRAl MARml IE 23 .May;·. • 1979 t l!SEA RGH 1NSmuT1':. I!JtrWtJLAU• COCHIN ·682018. INDI A. t" TABI E 4. DETAILS OF SPEC IES EXPLOITED IN KANYAKUMARI DISTRICT "' % in Period of Important Gears lotal occurrence fishing emp loyed Price I kg Groups su b-groups species Other spec ies recorded I I plegic (peak period region (main gear (A s. p) catch underlined under! it:led

CLUPFO IDS Whitebaits 230 Year rOllnd W caast Gill net , .00-1.75 Stalophorus bataviensis. S. andhraensis. S. buccaneeri. Sep-Oct Boat seine S. devisi S. commersoi. S. indicus. Feb-Jul Share seine S. macrops Sardines 15.2 Mar-May E caast Gil net 1.50-3.00 Sardinella dayi. S. culpeoides. S. fimbriata. Oct-Nov Boat seine S. gibbosa. S. sirm S. longiceps. S. sirdensis Shore seine Wolfherrings 4.3 Oct-Jan E coast Drift net 1.50-3.50 Chirceentrlls dorab. Gill net C. nudus Other clupeoids nussumieria. Herklotsichthys. 8.3 Year rallud E & W Boat seine 1.25-2.00 Hilsa. Opisthapte'.':'s ~ Sep·Jan coasts Shore seine Pel lana. Thrvssa Gill net

CARANGIDS 185 Year round E coast Hoaks & line 1.00-3.00 en Shore seine Cl> Carangoides mal ~ .~arieus. Alepes djeddaba. A. kalla. Aug-Nov <» Boat seine o Caranx ignobili s, Alectis ci li aris . A. indicus, -o a. Dec3pterlls dayi. Atropus "troups. Atule mate. Drift net m ~egalas~s cardyl". Carangaides armata. '0'"o C. ch ry saphrys. C. gymnastethus. C. praeustus, Caranx carangus. -<.... o C. sexfasciatus. Elagatis C ::l bipinnulatus. Gnathanadan <» '" !!:: speciosus, Scomberoides tala, '="'" Selar crumenopthalmus,

~ Selaroides leptolepis,

TRICHIUR IDS 17.0 May-Feb E coast Bo at seine 1.00-2.50 Lepturac8nthus sa vala. J ul-Oct shore seine Trichiurus leplUrus Drift net Hooks & line SCOMBROIDS See lfishes 7.1 Year round W coast Drift net 2.00-3.50 Sco mberomo rus commerson. ----Oct-Nov (Colachel, Shore sei ne • S. guttatus, Muttom, Hooks & line S. lineolatus Kadi apa tnam) Tunas 3.5 Year round Exclusively Hooks & line 1.50-2.25 Auxis rochei, A. thaza rd, Katsuwonus pelamys Apr-May West coast Drift net Euthynnus affinis Sarda orientalis Sep-Oct Shore seine Mackerel Boat seine Rastre lliger kanagurta 0.3 Feb·May Exclusively Shore se ine 2.00-3.00 Oct-Dec W coast Drift net Boat seine OTHERS 2.8 Year round E &W All gears 1.00-3.00 Belone, Coryphaena, Apr- May coasts Hemi rhamphus, Lact arius. , Mugil. Odonus, Pseudobalistes, Sphyrae na. Sufflamen

""CJ> ·ABLE 5. LOCAL NAMES OF COMMON SPECIES RECORDED IN THE CATCHES

Groups I Sub·groups I Species Loea I Name/s

<:LUPEOIDS Whitebaits Neththoli Stolephorus andhraensis, Vella neththoli S. bataviensis, S. macrops ... } S. buccaneeri, S. devisi Karunneththoli S. commersoni, S. indicus Ko neththali -Sardines Ch aala i Sardinella dayi, S. fimbriata, Nachchaala, Maththi chaala . S. gibbosa, S. Sirdensis ... } Reththakkannan chaala

S. clupeoides Pallaamurel S. longiceps Neichaala, Peychaala S. sirm Keerimeen chaala Wolfherrings Chirocen"us dorab, C. nudus Thuppu valia. Pandi vaala, Mullu valla Other clupeoids Dussumieria Mural Thryssa Puravaa Hilsa. Opisohopterus, Pellona Kuththaa

oCARANGIDS Paarai Caranx ignobilis Menjapaarai Decapteru s Koluchaalai M.egala.spis co!dyla Vangadai Scomb ero ides (Chorin em us) Kattaa, Kattaavu Thiriyavu (juveniles) Kannan ko I uchaalai Selar crumenopthalmus

TRICHIURIDS Vaala i ---~ Lepturacanthus savala, Vaalai, Cbaavaalai Trichiurus leptllrus '" }

SCOMBROIDS Seerfishes Scomberomorus commerson (juvenile) Kolli S. gattatus Chatta Scomberomorus (juveniles) Ka reyila 27 :May, 1979 • Tunas Auxis rochei (A. thvnnoides) Urulan choorai A. thazard Eli choorai, Eliyan choorai Euthvnnus affinis Paduvattu choorai Sarda orientalis Neimeen choorai, Varian choorai Mackerel Rastrelliger kanagurta Avila OTHERS Garfishes Belone Koliamllral Halfbeaks Hemirhamphu s Chundanm ural Filefishes Klaththi Odonus Karuppu klathth i Sufflamen Vella klaththi CorYE'.t:.aena Paalaameen Lactarius Kuthippu Mugil Maalaa Sphvraena Cheela. Ooli

TABLE 6. PRICE INDEX OF PELAGIC FISH AT KANYAKUMARI DISTRICT FOR THE YEARS 1969 TO 1971

1969 1970 1971 Average Value Average Value Average Value Name o f fish cost per kg . rea I Esed cost per kg . realised cost per kg. rea I ised Rs. Ps. Rs Ps. Rs. Ps. Rs . Ps . Rs . Ps. Rs. Ps . Chirocentrus 2.50 2368375.00 2.00 1995300.00 2.45 1556387.00 Sardines 1.51 485760.96 1.72 4497696.80 1.90 6218149.00 Stalephorus 1.20 9507276.00 1.50 6002040.00 1.53 4551505.20' Other clupeaids 200 1076780.00 1.73 159737.82 1.70 384572.30 Carangids 1.82 7794805.20 2.10 6851523.00 2.03 6989594.50 Trichiurids 1.75 2947840.00 1.70 4491094.00 1.56 9038967.60 Mackerel 2.11 142319.50 1.91 142275.90 2.05 84296.00 Tunas 2.00 154752000 2.12 1218639.60 2.05 1544675.00 Seerfish 2.66 1757408.80 2.50 3323025.00 2.13 4768111 .50 Othe r Var ieties 1.75 1099140.001.52 867068.80 2.06 871833.20

Total 28727225.46 29548400.92 36008091.30

28 • Seafood Export Journal)