Page 1

OBSERVATIONS ON THE TRAWL-FISHERIES OF

THE BOMBAY AND SAURASHTRA WATERS,

1949-50 to 1954-55

BY R. JAYARAMAN, G. SESHAPPA, K. H. MOHAMED AND S. V. BAPAT

{Offshore Fisheries Research Unit of the Central Marine Fisheries Research Station, Bombay)

CONTENTS

PAGE

I. INTRODUCTION . .

. .

. .

. .

. .

58

II. METHODS OF FISHING BY THE DIFFERENT VESSELS AND

THE MODE OF COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS OF DATA ..

60

III. AREA OF OPERATION

. .

. .

. .

. .

62

IV. FISHING EFFORTS AND TOTAL YIELDS

..

..

63

V. ABUNDANCE OF THE CHIEF CATEGORIES OF FISHES IN THE

DIFFERENT FISHING GROUNDS

..

..

..

65

VI. DEPTH-WISE VARIATIONS IN THE DISTRIBUTION OF THE

MAIN CATEGORIES OF FISHES

. .

. .

. .

97

VII. ABUNDANCE OF THE FISHERIES IN RELATION TO

LIGHT AND TIDE FACTORS

..

..

. . 1 1 2

VIII. RELATION OF THE FISHERIES TO WATER TEMPERATURE .. 117

IX. GENERAL REMARKS

. .

, .

. .

. .

123

X. SUMMARY

. .

. .

. .

. .

. .

130

XI. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .

. .

. .

. .

. .

132

XII. REFERENCES

. .

. .

. .

. .

. .

132

I. INTRODUCTION

A HISTORICAL account of trawling experiments made in Indian waters before

the Second World War is given by Chidambaram (1953). Of these, the

Bombay waters were covered by S. T. Premier in the year 1900, S. T. William

Carrick in 1921-22 and S. T. Madras in 1923. The results of working of

S. T. William Carrick are available in the excellent report of Hefford (1949)

while those of S. T. Premier and S. T. Madras have not been published.

The outcome of these initial trials was not encouraging and it was felt that

trawling might not prove economically successful in the areas worked. A

58

Observations on Trawl-Fisheries of Bombay and Saurashtra Waters

59

reliable picture was, however, obtained of the different species of fishes occur-

ring in these waters during different seasons of a single year.

With the establishment of a pilot Deep Sea Fishing Station at Bombay

by the Government of India in 1946, fishing experiments were renewed with

considerable vigour. To start with, a trawler S. T. Meena and later on two

cutters M. T. Ashok and M. T. Pratap were able to do some survey opera-

tions. The efforts of Meena, however, again proved a little discoiu-aging

though considerable scientific information was collected through these opera-

tions (CMFRS, 1954 and Kristensen, 1953). Meena was decommissioned

in Jime 1949; the cutters Ashok and Pratap taking over subsequently.

These vessels continued otter-trawling operations in the waters off Bombay

and Saurashtra coasts and a Japanese trawler Taiyo Maru No. 17 joined

the trawling fleet in November 1951. Taiyo Maru No. 17 concentrated

on operations on a commercial scale, while the Government vessels con-

tinued to work on the basis of a pilot plan. The commercial venture proved

a considerable success. Encouraged by this, two other trawlers of the

West Coast Fisheries, Cochin, M. T. Kanya Kumari and M. T. Sagar Kumari

also began operating in these waters, though owing to technical difiiculties,

they had to withdraw after some time. During the year 1953-54, the pilot

Deep Sea Fishing Station tried a different fishing method using the trawlers

together as one unit. This method, known as bull trawling, is one in which

the Japanese are considered to be experts and the operation was carried out

imder their technical supervision.

In view of the intensification of the trawling operations, the necessity

arose for the Government to keep track, not only of the fish stocks available

in the different fishing grounds at different seasons of the year but also of

the trends of possible changes from year to year in order that the fishery

wealth may be fully assessed and the interest of the consumer and the industry

alike safeguarded by such protective measures as may become necessary as

a result of continued scientific research. The present paper gives a detailed

analysis of the results of these recent operations up-to-date so that a com-

plete picture of the main categories of the trawl-fisheries in our fishing grounds

may be available for future reference. An attempt is also made in this paper

to understand, in addition to the catch per unit of effort in the different

regions, certain other features of the fishery as were evident from a close

analysis of the catch data.

In assessing the' fishery productivity of the various grounds from the

results of operations,' which have been either purely commercial in character,

or, if exploratory, a • not-rigorously planned one, one is confronted with

60

INDIAN JOURNAL OF FISHERIES

considerable difficulties in arriving at any definite conclusion. In a commercial

enterprise, the fishing captain is likely to touch only those grounds which,

in his opinion, or from his experience are likely to yield a large quantity of

fish. The other areas will remain either untouched or very cursorily exa-

mined during the season and it will not, therefore, be possible to obtain

any estimate of the productivity of those areas. There will thus be a great

deal of unevenness of sampling of these grounds. Notwithstanding the

limitations resulting from uneven sampling the present series of analysis

do provide a fairly reliable picture of the trends of the different fisheries in

the different regions from season to season and year to year. The informa-

tion presented here, although essentially preliminary in character is never-

theless highly valuable.

II. METHODS OF FISHING BY THE DIFFERENT VESSELS AND THE

MODE OF COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS OF DATA

The gear used by S. T. Meena was a Peter-Carey type of otter-trawl. The

cutters, Ashok and Pratap, used midget-sized otter-trawls of the Hoover type till

the end of the fishing season of 1952-53. Subsequently the bull-trawl was used

and the two boats worked together as one unit in the operation. The Japanese

trawler, Taiyo Mam No. 17 and the Cochin trawlers, Kanyakumari and Sagara-

kumari were using Vigneron-Dahl type of otter-trawls. The detailed data of the

last two vessels have, however, not been available to the authors so far.

Table I gives a comparative picture of the capacity of the cutters and Taiyo

Mam No. 17 and also the dimensions of the gear employed by them; the bull-

trawl is described separately in Table I.

Bull-tmwl—The bull-trawl is a two-boat trawl of Spanish origin largely

used at present in Japan and Philippines and is essentially similar to the North

Sea Pareja Trawl (Hickling, 1946 b) and the South American Paranzella (Rounsefell

and Everhart, 1953). The Brazilian two-boat trawl (Conner, 1948) and the

Danish Floating Trawl (Krason, 1949) are somewhat diflFerent, being designed

to fish at surface and midwater. Bull-trawl was used in Indian waters by the

cutters, Ashok and Pratap during the fishing season of 1953-54. In Bull-trawling,

the net is dragged by the two vessels which keep a certain distance apart so as to

spread the two wings of the net properly. Shooting and hauling are done by each

of the boats alternately. The essential difi"erence between this and the otter-trawl

lies firstly in the absence of the otter boards, secondly in the enormous size of the

net itself and thirdly to the presence of very long hunt ropes. The net used by

cutters had the following dimensions.

Length of head rope

.. 191-5'.

Length of foot rope

.. 205-0'.

Size of cod-end mesh

..

2-5".

Observations on Trawl-Fisheries of Bombay and Saurashtra Waters

61

TABLE I

Length

Beam

Draft

Gross Tonnage

Horse power

Trawling speed

Length of Head rope

Length of Foot rope

Length of Hunt rope

Size of cod-end mesh

Boat

Cutters

(Ashok and Pratap)

83'-4"

20'-8"

8'-8"

135-0 tons

240

2-5-3-0 knots

Gear

Hoover Midget

trawl

64'

80'

. Nil (40 ft. legs on

either side of

wings)

3"

Taiyo Maru

No. 11

126'-0"

24'-0"

11'-4"

277-3 tons

550

3-0-3-5 knots

V. D. trawl

122'

162'

55-65 fathoms

2-5"

Collection and analysis of data.—The collection of data was mainly done

during the voyages themselves. The skippers of all the vessels were instructed

to maintain a detailed log of the catches haul to haul, along with other environ-

mental data such as depth, location of haul, nature of bottom, etc., in a standard

form. The correctness of the entries was assured by periodical checking-up of

the procedure by scientist observers who were actually on board during many of

the voyages. The fish catches were examined by these observers both during the

voyages and also at the time of landing of catches. All the authors of this paper

have worked as observers by turns. The raw data were later processed in the

laboratory and final tables of catch per hour according to areas, regions and

depths derived. Considerable biological information was also collected on the

various fisheries, but the same has been excluded from the scope of the present

paper.

In assessing the weights of the fish landings, two methods had to be

followed. In the case of the cutters, the actual weights of the diflFerent categories

6i

IKDIAN JOURNAL OF FISHERIES

caught during the entire voyage were available at the time of marketing of the

catches. The trawlers' logs had recorded the haul-to-haul catches in terms of

numbers and size categories of the different varieties of fishes. The landings by

hauls and areas had to be derived by a process of 'breakdown' of the voyage totals

of the weights of the different categories. This was done on the basis of average

weights of the different size categories of fishes which were obtained by actual

weighing of random specimens. In the case of Taiyo Maru No. 17, a different

method has been followed. An advantage in this method has been that the trawler

was using cases of known cubic capacity for packing the fish in the hold and the

number of cases of each size category of each variety of fish was entered in the

logs for every haul taken. According to the size of the case used in each voyage

an average weight has been assessed per case of fish and this figure used in the

calculation involved in each voyage. It was found that a fair degree of accuracy

was obtained by using this method. Cases filled with different size categories

and varieties of fish were weighed and we were satisfied with the dependability

of the above method. In the case of large fishes such as sharks which could not

be packed in cases, an approximate guessed weight has been used in the reckonings.

III. AREA OF OPERATION

As shown in Fig. 1, the whole fishable region in the Arabian Sea has been

divided into several rectangular areas and numbered, the latitudes and longitudes

being used to demarcate these areas. Each of these areas has a total extent of

600 square miles. Practically all the fishing has been done between Bombay

and the Gulf of Cutch except for a few hauls in the south of Bombay (all vessels)

and north of Cutch {Taiyo Maru No. 17). The areas fished by the different vessels

fall into the following regions:

I. Bombay Region

48, 43, 38, 32, 31, 30.

II. Cambay Region

26, 25, 24, 20, 19, 18, 17, 11, 10.

III. Veraval Region

4, 3, 2.

IV. Porbundar Region

A, B, D, E, H.

V. Dwarka Region

K, L, M, N.

For assessing the fishery productivity of the trawUng grounds, these regions

are of greater importance than the individual areas which are, however, necessary

for a complete understanding of the fishery trends. Until the season of 1952-53,

the cutters have been concentrating mostly in regions I and II. Subsequently how-

ever, practically all the vessels did the major part of their fishing in region V,

which has emerged as one of the best fishing grounds of the Indian coast. The

nature of the sea-bottom in all these grounds is muddy as mentioned by Hefford,

(1949).

Observations on Trawl-Pisheries of Bombay and Saurashtra Waters f

63

68

70

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Fio. 1. Map of the OfTAorc Fishing grounds of the Bombay and Saurashtra coasts showing the diffticr.t

IV. FISHING EFFORTS AND TOTAL YIELDS

A brief account of the operations and results of trawling by S. T. Meena

has been published already (CMFRS, 1954). This trawler was in com-

mission for a total period of 18 months, from January 1948 and took in all

888 hauls. Out of these, only 12 hauls yielded more than 5001b. offish per

areas.

64

INDIAN JOURNAL OF FISHERIES

hour of trawling. Practically all the hauls were taken in regions I and II. Of

the different areas, 11, 18, 19 and 24 (region II) yielded more than 2001b.

of fish per hour (leaving out a few other areas where only a few occasional

hauls were taken). The total quantity caught by Meena for the whole

period was 3,57,724 lb. for a trawling time 2,143 hours and 199-9 days absence

from port. The average catch per hour was 171-Sib.

The following table shows the total fishing effort and catches of the

cutters, Ashok and Pratap for the years 1949-50 to 1952-53 (otter-trawling),

1953-54 and 1954-55 (bull-trawling), and Taiyo Mam No. 17 (1951-52 to

1953-54).

TABLE II

Years

No. of

lays out

of port

Total fish-

ing effort

(hours)

Total

catch

(lb.)

Catch per hour

(lb.)

per boat

I. Cutters* {Ashok and Pratap), otter-trawling

1949-50

242

3,196-3

4,00,896

125-4

1950-51

279

4,532-3

4,24,857

94-0

1951-52

249

4,155-7

4,73,760

114-0

1952-53

309

4,754-5

4,39,656

92-4

II. Cutters (Ashok and Pratap), bull-trawling

1953-54

104

704-9

8,06,400

1,143-9

1954-55

77

300-0

4,68,730

1,562-4

III. Taiyo Maru No. 17, otter-trawling

1951-52

219

2,760-0

21,54,600

782-1

1952-53

230

3,895-3

20,11,740

516-5

1953-54

251

3,859-2

21,21,760

548-5

• Figures represent totals of the two vessels Ashok and Pratap.

It is clear from this table that the yield of Taiyo Maru No. 17 per hour of

trawling was much more than that of the cutters during their first 4 years of

work, (the latter having worked, however, mainly in a different area). The

observations on Trawl-Pisheries of Bombay and Saurashtra Waters

65

yield of the cutters with bull-trawling, on the other hand, showed a pheno-

menal increase not only as compared with their performance in previous years

but also as compared with that of Taiyo Maru No. 17 which was doing otter-

trawling more or less in the same grounds as the bull-trawlers. In com-

paring the productivity of the different regions and years, fishing efforts

of less than 10 hours duration per month are to be considered as insuffi-

cient and are hence marked with asterisks, in the tables. During the otter-

trawling operations of the years 1949-50 to 1952-53 by the cutters, effort

was concentrated mainly in regions I and U (Table Ilia). In region III,

fishing was done in 1949-50 only in October, in 1950-51 only in January

and June, while in 1952-53 only 4-5 hours of fishing was done and that was

in May. A slightly longer fishing was done in this region in 1951-52, namely,

from January to May. In regions IV and V practically no fishing was done

in 1949-50 and 1950-51, and of these two, region V was better fished in the

years 1951-52 and 1952-53. But even here fishing was restricted to the

period, February to May taking the two years together. Table III b

shows that bull-trawling has been concentrated during both the years in

regions IV and V, more so in the latter. In the other regions effort has been

rather scattered and during most of the months, the monthly total effort

has been less than 10 hours. Nevertheless, the effort in some of the months

has been enough to give a reliable picture of the respective regions in those

months. In region IV a better effort was put in during January to March

in 1954-55 than in 1953-54. In region V, the effort has been more sus-

tained in all the months during 1953-54 than in 1954-55. During both

the years, however, the overall bull-trawling activity was restricted to only

a part of the fishing season, namely, December to May while in the previous

years, the activity had extended practically to the whole season. The histo-

grams in Fig. 2 show the total trawUng time of Taiyo Maru No. 17 during

different months of the period 1951-52 to 1953-54 in the various regions.

It is found that in all the 3 years, the maximum effort has been put in

region V, region II coming next during the years 1952-53 and 1953-54.

During several months in regions I, III and IV, the effort has been less than

10 hours. In general, it is seen that effort in regions I to III is more in the

earlier part of the season and towards the end of the season than in the

middle.

V. ABUNDANCE OF THE CmEF CATEGORIES OF FISHES IN THE

DIFFERENT FISHING GROUNDS

An essential part of any modern fishery research programme is the

assessment of the catch per unit of fishing effort in the different fishing grounds

TABLE Ilia

Showing the Fishing EflFort {Trawling hours) of the cutters Ashok and Praiap in various regions

during different months (1949-50 to 1952-53; otter-trawling)

Regions

I. Bombay

II. Cambay

III. Veraval

IV. Porbundar

V. Dwarka

Years

1949-50

1950-51

1951-52

1952-53

1949-50

1950-51

1951-52

1952-53

1949-50

1950-51

1951-52

1952-53

1949-50

1950-^1

1951-52

1952-53

1949-50

1950-51

1951-52

1952-53

Sep.

91-0

, ,

•-

61-0

Oct.

108-1

fc.

170-7

130-8

362-7

• •

375-8

35-3

, ,

, ,

••

7-7*

Nov.

56-5

50-1

32-9

22-9

340-8

532-2

460-4

537-6

..

, ,

, ,

--

* *

--

Dec.

57-4

29-0

59-2

94-9

356-5

550-2

604-1

526-8

, ,

, ,

• •

-•

Jan.

40-0

62-3

214-2

222-8

223-2

475-2

318-4

141-6

24-3

46-5

--

ioi-8

• •

M o n

Feb.

114-2

89-3

118-2

70-4

157-8

464-4

296-1

302-5

, ,

9-5*

•-

127-4

t hs

March

426-4

98-0

430-3

289-8

..

474-1

272-0

484-7

28-6

--

6-2*

45-0

.\pril

117-2

28-0

259-8

95-6

320-8

276-0

221-7

341-6

..

••

••

140-0

97-0

May

119-1

91-0

52-8

90-0

297-0

609-0

91-5

330-5

, ,

14-9

4-5*

18-5

39-3

215-3

June

July

180-8

..

. •

. •

123-5

62-2

144-3

190-2

49-6

..

24-0

- -

1

-•

Aug.

5f

o

>

z

::

§

>

O

2

:: 1

Observations on Trawl-Fisheries of Bombay and Saurashtra Waters 67

TABLE III b

Showing the Fishing Effort {Trawling hours) of the cutters Ashok and Pratap

in the various regions during different months (1953-54 and 1954-55;

bull-trawling)

Regions

I. Bombay ..

II. Cambay ••

III. Verava! ..

IV. Porbundar

V. Dwarka ..

Years

1953-54

1954-55

1953-54

1954-55

1953-54

1054-55

1953-54

1954-55

1953-54

1954-55

Dec.

7

3

1

52

8*

3*

•

5*

•

•

•

8

•

Jan.

14-3

1-5*

18-9

26'0

13-8

12-4

6-7*

11-8

91-9

3 M

M 0 E

Feb.

1.2*

••

1-4*

• .

••

••

65-6

103-4

29-4

ths

March

37-9

5-4*

4-4*

5-0*

11.0

9-7

32-6

95-4

13-5

April

••

• •

3'2*

..

15-9

21-4

30*8

80'2

4-9*

May

33-9

14-7

3-0*

12.5

1.5*

13.2

••

60-0

••

and the following up of the changes in the same from season to season and

year to year. The catch per unit effort is a measure of the available stocks

in the sea and it is this parameter which gives the most important clue for

developing a suitable conservation and management policy for any fishery

(Ricker, 1940 and Rounsefell and Everhart, 1953). It is this same criterion

(and not the total catch) that is valid in comparing the performance of differ-

ent vessels also (Hickling, 1946 b). In view of the fact that trawling opera-

tions have been in progress for a few years in the fishing grounds referred

to in this paper it would be useful to follow the trends of productivity in

the dtfferent regions as seen by the catch rates of the diflFerent trawlers. The

trawling operations during the 6 years from 1949-50 to 1954-55 have been

grouped into three categories mentioned under Section II. They are: (i)

Otter-trawling by the Cutters, using midget-sized Hoover trawl, between the

years, 1949-50 and 1952-53; (ii) Otter-trawling by Taiyo Maru No. 17

using V. D. trawl between the years, 1951-52 and 1953-54; and (iii) Bull

trawling by the Cutters during 1953-54 and 1954-55. Tables V to IX show

the catch-per-hour data relating to all the trawlers and all the years. Figs.

8 to 13 show the relative abundance of the different categories of fishes in

the different regions during the years 1951-52 to 1953-54.

68

INDIAN JOURNAL OF FISHERIES

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FIG. 2. Monthly totals of fishing effort of Taiyo Maru No. 17 in the various regions during

the years 1951-52 to 1953-54.

FIG. 3. Percentage composition of the monthly catches taken by Taiyo Maru No, 17 during

the years 1951-52 to 1953-54—REGION I.

70

INDIAN JOURNAL OF FISHERIES

O 5Q\

2&\

u.

O

is.

H

5a

&s

KARKARA

WAH

DOMA

I I 'I n I

I.I r

I I' r I I I I 1 I

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I I I I I "I I "f

GHOL

DARA

NPjlFB?flMffljlA"olWD|jlFlMlAlMIJiJIAISIo(NblJiriM'IlMlJiJ

19511952.

1953

1954

. . FIG. 4. Percentage composition of the monthly catches taken by Taiyo Maru No. 17 during

the'years 1951-52 to 1953-54—REGION II.

Observations on Trawl-Fisheries of Bombay and Saurashtra Waters 71

RAYS

'dXV-Fi^^

I

I'D

KARKARA

I I I I I I

^

^^T~ I I I I

H

o

'-

DOMA

1„,H,^,,njl

AI

KOTH

I I I r r n 1 I 1 I I I I I I

GHOL

•W~"f^ I I I I I I I

FIG. 5. Percentage composition of the monthly catches taken by Taiyo Maru No. 17 during

the years 1951-52 to 1953-54—REGION III.

50-

ZS-

SHARKS

IIPPIB^

50-

ZS-

X

O

< Z5-\

^^~fl-

I ' I I 1 I I I I I I i"i r r PI II I

RAYS

I J ^ f f I I I I I I I I n I T r I I Ml 1 I I

CAT-FISH

I I I I III I I I'

KARKARA

I I I I Ml I I I

I I I I 11 I r - r i

25-

2S-

25-

I I I I I' I I I • r

KOTH

*

•I I I f"i I I I I T I I I I n I I I I I I I in I I I I

GHOL

I I"! I I I n n I -i 1 'I I I'I 11 I

DARA

>JIDIjlFlMlAlMf3'IJIAISl0INIDiJIF|MIAIMIJIJ-|AI5l6lwll)lJlF|M|AlHlj11

1351195;^

1953

1S5^

FIG. 6. Percentage composition of the monthly catches taken by Taiyv Maru No. 17 during

the y«ars 1951-52 to 1953-54—REGION IV.

Observations on Trawl-Fisheries of Bombay andSaurashtra Waters

73

NIDIJIFiMlAlMfjlJlAlSJOINIDIJIFIMIAlMiJIJlAISIOrNIDIJIFIMIAIMI

19511952

1953

1954

FIG. 7. Percentage composition of the monthly catches taken by Taiyo Maru No. 17 during

the years 1951-52;to 1953-54—REGION V.

TABLE IV a

Showing the catch in lb. of All Fish per trawling hour by the cutters from various regions

during different months (1949-50 to 1952-53; otter-trawling)

I.

II.

III.

IV.

V.

R^ions

Bombay

Cambay

Veraval

Porbundar ..

Dwarka

i

Years

1949-50

1950-51

1951-52

1952-53

1949-50

1950-51

1951-52

1952-53

1949-50

1950-51

1951-52

1952-53

1949-50

1950-51

1951-52

1952-53

1949-50

1950-51

1951-52

1952-53

Sept.

Oct.

93

88

•

-•

• •

•1

47-6

70-1

•9 203-0

71.6

85-0

185-0

25-5*

•-

Nov.

295-5

128-4

45-6

34-6

169-9

125-8

153-6

70-9

• •

• •

!

Dec.

107-5

49-2

151-8

60-7

166-6

125-4

142-1

76-0

--

--

Jan.

138-7

43-4

112-9

71-3

112-8

121-2

100-7

46-5

44*7

64-8

los'-o

i

i

Months

Feb.

107-7

81-3

70-5

55-1

151-2

103-4

101-8

146-2

75-0*

--

131-0

March

98-2

35-0

145-5

95-3

68-4

92-6

116-1

6i-8

9-5*

288-8

April

46-6

79-2

95-0

76-0

87-1

76-4

94-1

92-6

" "

--

153-7

177-0

May

89-6

55-7

31-0

134-7

106-8

86-1

81-6

96-1

22-9

24-9*

34-3

80-6

113-3

June

79-6

63-2

56-9

79-6

70-6

82-5

105-2

July

••

••

••

• -

--

Aug.

1—t

i

z

>

r

2

So

1

en

--

Observations on Trawl-Fisheries of Bombay and Saurashtra Waters 75

TABLE IV b

Showing the catch in lb. of All Fish per trawling hour by cutters from various

regions during different months (1953-54 and 1954-55; bull-trawling)

Regions

[, Bombay

[I, Cambay

III. Veraval

IV. Porbundar

V, Dwarka ..

Years

1953-54

1954r-65

1953-54

1954-55

1953-54

1954-65

1953-54

1954-55

1953-54

1954-65

•Dec.

836-

..

655

•

785

•

«

.

968

i

8*

8*

3*

•8

Jan.

309-4

80-7*

225-1

1,359-2

663-8

1,388-4

1,651-1*

742-0

1,335-1

1,327-1

M 0 n

Feb.

1,137-1*

.•

-•

645-7*

• •

..

-•

1,776-0

1,332-4

3,059-2

ths

March

695-4

..

311-4*

312-5*

1,213-0*

1,423-3

896-6*

1,561-6

1,695-5

1,314-4

April

..

..

..

2,478-8

• •

1,280-2

1,009-2

l,084-8

1,241-8

914-3*

May

536*6

• •

320-1

1,120-0*

668-2

2,246-7*

606-4

• •

1,626-5

••

The study of the catch rate trends of the cutters Ashok and Pratap

during the years 1949-50 to 1952-53 indicates that the yield was rather low

throughout by this method of fishing; the mean annual catch of 'all fish'

ranging from 92-4-125-4 lb. per hour of fishing in all the regions considered

together. In regions I and II where the bulk of the trawling was done,

the ranges are 60-6-113-2 and 92-2-134-2lb. respectively per hour.

The highest catch rate of 186-8 lb. per hour was obtained from region V

in 1951-52. Operations in region V by these boats for the entire period was

rather limited, but still there were sufiBcient indications that these groimds

were richer than the others. While certain trends can be made out regard-

ing the regional, seasonal and year-to-year changes in the diffferent fisheries

of the above four years from the tables, a detailed discussion of the same

is considered unnecessary for the present purpose in view of the fact that

firstly, the yields have been rather low throughout and secondly, the mode

of fishing has changed in the subsequent years making the earlier figures

not comparable with the later ones. The chief annual trends noticeable

may, however, be mentioned here. The dara figures show that the best

yields have been obtained from region II in the first two years, the lowest

and the highest rates being 22-3 and 33-2 lb. per hour respectively, while

CT\

TABLE V a

Showing the catch in lb. of Dara per trawling hour by the cutters from various regions during

different months {1949-50 to 1952-53; otter-trawling)

1.

II.

III.

IV.

V.

Regions

Bombay

Cambay

Veraval

Porbundar ..

Dwarka

Years

1949-50

1950-51

1951-52

1952-53

1949-SO

1950-51

1951-52

1952-53

1949-50

1950-51

1951-52

1952-63

1949-50

1950 51

19B1-52

1952-53

1949-50

1950-51

1951-52

1952-53

Sept.

0

12-7

[\

Oct.

7-4

o'l

29-1

12-0

6-2

28-8

0*

• •

Nov.

44-3

19-3

0

0

36-9

34-7

8-0

6-8

Dec.

40-8

20-1

27-2

6-8

65-8

32-1

47-6

9-4

Jan.

47-0

7-3

12-9

5-1

46-1

22-5

29-2

8-5

i-2

1-9

i-4

••

Months

Feb.

22-7

24-0

15-4

2-8

33-1

26-2

13-7

10-2

'3*

••

34-8

March

19-7

14-6

4-3

9-2

15-7

10-8

II-5

i'e

'6*

158'-2

April

9-4

8-0

1-0

6-5

16-0

15-0

10-4

5-8

••

34-2

59-9

May

12-8

5-8

0-9

10-3

10-4

16-3

7-9

15-9

0

6-7*

6

0

48-6

June

11-6

8-6

4-9

14-6

21-8

11-8

19-3

July

Aug.

5

0

>

z

«-l

0

c

> r

0

"Tj

•n

t/3

X m

2

w

..

Observations on Trawl-Fisheries of Bombay and Saurashtra Waters 77

TABLE V b

Showing the catch in lb. of Dara per trawling hour from various regions during

different months (1953-54 and 1954-55; bull-trawling)

Regions

I. Tombay

II. Cambay

I I I . Veraval

IV. Porbundar

V. Dwarka

1

Y

1953-54

1954-55

1953-54

1954-55

1953-54

1954-65

1953-54

1954-65

1953-54

1954-55

Dec.

47-0*

4.2*

..

0*

• •

• •

..

398-3

••

Jan.

9-4

0*

13-5

3-2

0

0-8

1-5*

0

706-8

338-1

Months

Feb.

0*

••

0*

-•

••

• •

1-2

756-1

1,371-1

March

I M

14-8*

9-3*

0*

8-3

01

15-7

214-2

233-4

April

--

• •

16-3*

• •

3-3

2-8

5-9

243-6

465-9*

May

2-0

11-0

28-0*

1-8

246-7*

8-4

• •

67-4

• •

in the last two years, region V (which ha« not been worked in the first 2

years) has been found to be the richest, yielding between 47-0 and 64-4 lb.

per hour. The yields of region II are lower. Ghol occurred in varying

quantities in all the regions. In regions I and II the catch rates were higher

in 1949-50 and 1951-52 than in 1950-51 and 1952-53. The figures for

perches show very poor yields throughout, the highest figure for all the 4

years being 32-4 lb. per hour (region I, 1950-51). In the case of wam

also, the catch rates have been rather low, the overall catch per hour being

below 201b. except in 1951-52 when 59-4 lb. per hour was obtained in

region I. The first two years were poorer than the next two. Despite the

low catches of the different categories mentioned above, the seasonal trends

of different fisheries in the regions exploited in these years are found to be

more or less similar to those revealed in the subsequent years by the opera-

tion of ihe other trawlers.

" All fish "

Taiyo Maru No. \1—Otter-trawling (1951-52 to 1953-54).—A good

picture of the catch trends, seasonal as well as regional, is presented by the

data of Taiyo Maru No. 11 for the 3 years of her operation in Indian waters.

TABLE VI a

op

Showing the catch in lb. of Ghol per trawling hour by cutters from various regions during

different months (1949-50 to 1952-53; otter-trawling)

I.

II.

III.

IV.

V.

R^ons

Bombay

Cambay

Veraval

Porbnndar ..

Dwarka

Years

1949-50

1950-51

1951-52

19S2-53

194»-50

1950-51

1951-52

19^-53

1949-50

1950-51

1951-52

1952-53

1949-50

1950-51

1951-52

1962-63

1949-50

1950-51

1951-52

1952-63

Sept.

37-7

, .

, ,

••

34-4

, ,

. .

••

••

..

Oct.

8-8

,,

6-6

39-1

21-1

l6-3

8-3

, ,

0

••

Nov.

77-8

26'0

4-7

8-0

42-3

29-4

43-1

13-2

••

••

Dec.

20-0

3-3

19-7

17-6

41-9

27-6

28-8

15-8

••

••

;:

Jan.

38-5

13-4

21-3

23-8

26-9

66-9

30-3

7-4

6-9

13-9

••

35-7

••

Months

Feb.

33-9

19-4

25-4

21-1

49-3

40-0

42-2

48-1

4-0*

••

• •

••

29-9

March

38-0

4-3

35.7

28-1

28-1

42-8

36-0

27-4

• •

'o*

42-2

April

16-9

27-8

20-9

11-6

24-3

26-8

39-1

19-0

• •

44'9

31-4

--

May

24-9

14-1

8-8

12-4

26-7

19-8

32-8

12-2

i^i

0*

6-9

26-0

13-3

1 "

June 1 July

1

16-5

,

,

3

6

25

37

5

32

•6

1

3

1

3

7

Aag.

Z

0

>

j

(--1

: S

r

a

2J

M

:

§

Observations on Trawl-Fisheries of Bombay and Saurashtra Waters 7$

TABLE VIb

Showing the catch in lb. of Ghol per trawling hour from various regions during

different months (1953-54 and 1954-55; bull-trawling)

Regions

I. Bombay

I I . Cambay

III. Veraval

IV. Porbundar

V. Dwarka

Y

1953-54

1964-55

1953-54

1954-56

1953-54

1954-65

1963i^4

1964-55

1953-54

1964-66

Dec.

109-O*

• •

47-3*

..

0*

• .

• •

..

56-8

••

Jan.

42-9

0*

7-0

29-1

72-2

144'6

169-4*

69-5

44-3

67'8

M o

Feb.

0*

• •

..

100-0*

..

• •

111-0

51-3

93-9

n t h s

March

66-4

• •

46-0*

144-3*

104-6*

244-0

149-6*

227-9

201-0

168-6

April

..

t *

.•

608'8*

• •

176-7

280-4

130-1

208-6

48-9*

May

23-0

..

66-6

102-7*

116-2

21.3*

80-6

.-

143-S

• •

The data from region I obtained in all the 3 years show that its overall pro-

ductivity is somewhat less than that of the other regions as revealed by the

relatively lower catch rates. The yields, in general, are much higher than

in the case of the otter-trawling operations by the cutters. The mean annual

ranges of values for catch per hour are (in lb.) 254-4-305-6 for region I,

395-9-563-9 for region II, 490 •8-840-0 for region III, 485-1-794-7 for

region IV and 590-8-883-3 lb. for region V. On a detailed examination of

the values for all the 3 years in all the five regions, it is observed that the

highest yields per unit of effort have been obtained in 1951-52 from all the

regions and the lowest in the year following, namely 1952-53, from the first

four regions, the values for 1953-54 falling in between. In the case of

region V, however, the lowest catch per hour has been obtained in the third

year; the figure for 1952-53 although higher, not appreciably differing from

that for 1953-54.

A comparative picture of the catch rates of all fish by Taiyo Maru No. 17

in the different regions is shown in Fig. 8. The mean monthly ranges of

the yields show certain interesting features. In region I, in most of the

months, the catch per hour falls within the 200-300 lb. range; the extreme

s

TABLE Vila

Snowing the catch in lb. of Warn (Eel) per trawling hour by cutters from various regions

during different months (1949-50 to 1952-53; otter-trawling)

I.

II.

III.

IV.

V.

Regions

Bombay

C ambay

Veraval

Porbundar ..

Dwarka

1949-50

1950-51

1951-52

1952-53

1949-50

1950-51

1951-52

1952-53

1949-50

1950-51

1951-52

1952-53

1949-50

1950-51

1951-52

1952-53

1949-50

1950-51

1951-52

1952-53

Sept.

41-9

16-6

Oct.

6-6

9-0

49-2

3-6

41-9

14-5

0*

Nov.

0

5-9

10-9

11-7

12-9

4-9

35-8

23-8

Dec.

27-3

4-3

18-5

14-9

13-6

13-0

11-5

24-2

Jan.

4-2

3-2

58-8

22-1

1-5

3-3

6-8

7-6

0

5-7

2'-l

••

Months

Feb.

5-8

9-9

7-3

15-9

3-6

3-6

9-8

4-5

'o*

4-8

March

6-1

4-8

89-6

34-9

5-4

13-8

5-5

7-4

'6*

5-5

April

4.7

29-6

58-3

11-6

7-8

16-6

11>8

4-0

• •

i-1

3-5

May

6-3

13-0

12-5

10-2

14-5

18-8

11-3

5-4

6-4

0*

2-1

1-2

3-3

June

2-8

6-6

1-2

6-4

1-7

5-5

7-2

July

Aug.

Z

>

-'Z

o

2;-

>

o

-rt

•n

1

B

Observations on Trawt-fisheries of Bombay and Saurashtra Waters 81

values, however, being 105-1 and 432-7 lb. per hour. The variations in

region II are, on the other hand, much wider, the range being 143 -8-934-7 lb.

per hour. There is one instance where a yield of 1,766-7 lb. per hour

has been obtained, but in this case the total effort was less than 10 hours.

In most of the months, the average yield per hour of operation is more than

300 lb. in this region. In region III, the effort has been more sustained in

the first two years, the average catch per hour of trawling ranging between

256 • 0 and 1,253 - 3 lb. The catch per hour in this region as well as in region II

is much higher in the beginning of the season and towards the end of the

season than in the middle. The results from region IV are comparable to

those of region III, the catch rates varying between 293-3 and 1,357-4 lb.

when the fishing effort was of sufficient magnitude. Owing to the rather

scattered survey of this region no regular trends could be indicated. In

the first year there have been good yields from November to January and

also in June. In the second year, the fishing was only in March, May and

June while in the last year this region has been visited only in May and June.

The catch per hour in May of 1953-54 season was nearly double of that in

1952-53 season. On the other hand in the month of June in both the years

the catch rates were identical.

TABLE VII b

Showing the catch in lb. of Warn {Eel) per trawling hour by cutters from

various regions during different months (1953-54 and 1954-55;

bull-trawling)

Regions

I. Bombay

I I . Canibay

III. Veraval

IV, Porbundar

V. Dwarka

Years

1953-54

19.54-55

1953-S4

1954-55

1953-54

1954-55

1853-54

1954-56

1953-64

1964-66

Dec.

448-6*

290-3*

•....

30-0*

-•

16-4

••

Jan.

96-2

0*

68-5

66-8

21-0

40-9

71-8*

19-9

16-6

20-6

Mo

Feb.

1,032-3*

-•

28-6*

••

• •

-•

85-9

18-1

46-5

n t h s

March

416-5

94-8*

10-0*

146-0*

66-0

30-7*

41-8

95-4

61-3

April

--

--

387-6*

..

67-9

87-3

160-3

128-7

53-1*

May

40-8

92-3

326-7*

130-0

326-7*

84-4

..

69-6

00

TABLE VIII a

Showing the catch in lb. of Perches per trawling hour by cutters from various regions during

different months (1949-50 to 1952-53; otter-trawling)

Regions

I. Bombay

II. Cambay

I I I . Veraval

IV. Porbundar

V. Dwarka

i

!

Y

1949-50

1950-51

1951-52

1952-53

1949-50

1950-51

1951-52

1952-53

1949-50

1950-51

1951-52

1952-53

1949-50

1950-51

1951-52

1952-53

1949-50

1950-51

1951 52

1952-53

Sept.

Oct.

1

0

0

7-6

5-7

18-8

6-1

2-6

19-0

0*

• -

Nov.

1-7

32-4

2-1

2-8

17-3

10-8

13-8

4-0

Dec.

10-2

0-9

7-6

2-7

7-8

16-2

7-8

8-0

Jan.

0

1-4

3-1

1-1

0-4

0-7

0-5

1-6

6-7

4-4

li'.4

;;

M o

Feb.

1-0

0-3

0-5

1-5

0-7

0-6

0-2

0

6-4*

29-6

n t h s

March

3-0

0-1

2-9

0-2

6'-3

0-6

0

6-7*

'6*

16-7

April

0-4

0

2-7

1-1

0-7

0-1

0-5

0-2

,',

6-6

16-4

May

0-7

0-5

1'9

0

1-3

0-6

3-0

0

i'-2

0*

i'-o

3-0

7-5

Jane

July

0-3

6-2

0

1-0

0

0-1

0

i

]

i

Aug.

g

O

>

o

d

w

a:

>

..

o

55

X

m

2

• :

Observations on Trawl-Fisheries of Bombay and Saurashtra Waters S3

TABLE VIII b

Showing the catch in lb. of Perches per trawling hour by cutters from various

regions during different months (1953-54 and 1954-55; bull-trawling)

Regions

I. Bombay

II. Cambay

III. Veraval

IV. Porbundar

V. Dwaika

Years

1953-54

1954-5S

1953-64

1954-55

1963-54

1954-55

1963-54

1964-55

1953-54

1954-56

Dec.

122-7

87-6

••

285>3

• •

••

207-0

Jan.

42-4

0

6-4

199-3

(128-8)

202-6

71-0

(65-6)

84-7

127-8

(27-5)

131-5

203-7

(194-8)

Months

Feb.

26-5

••

11-4

(11-4)

-•

• •

393-9

(318-8)

158-7

95-4

(94-5)

March

21-7

15-7

1-6

(1-6)

98-6

111-5

(89-7)

222-5

227-4

(185-7)

206-8

86-6

(86-6)

April

••

--

50-1

(31-3)

• -

246-7

(236-6)

287-2

143-5

(125-6)

343-8

30-6

(30-6)

May

46-3

10-0

18-7

(0)

39-8

18-7

(o;

40-3

- - •

302-3

••

Figures in brackets indicate the catch rates for Karkara.

The sustained operations in region V by this vessel in all the 3 years

have brought out certain very interesting trends. In 1951-52, the range

of values was 444 • 7 to 1,295 • 7 lb. per hour. In 5 out of 8 months, the opera-

tions have resulted in a very high yield of more than 900 lb. per hour, a very

high figure for otter-trawling in Indian waters. In 1952-53 season, in

January and February the catch was more than 6001b. per hour and in

other months lower than this figure. The lowest figure, however, is 437-4 lb.

per hour and this was in May. In 1953-54, the monthly average yield is, in

general, between 500 and 600 lb. per hour in all the months, except November

when a value of 854-6 lb. per hour has been obtained which is the

highest for this season.

Bull-trawling by the cutters during 1953-54 and 1954-55.—The bull-

trawling operations have yielded very high figures for catch per unit of effort

and often the values are more than double those of Taiyo Maru No. 17,

As shown in Table II, the overall catch per hour from all the regions during

84

INDIAN JOURNAL OF FISHERIES

1953-54 was 1,143-9 lb., whereas in the next year 1954-55, it has risen to

1,562-4 lb. per hour. The regional trends in the figures for catch rates bet-

ween these 2 years show that in most of the regions the average values in

the second year are nearly double or slightly less than double of those in

the previous year. The maximum difference is seen in region II, where

the 1954-55 value is nearly 4 times the figure for 1953-54.

TABLE IX

Showing the catch in lb. of Kolh per trawling hour by the cutters Ashok and

Pratap from the various regions during different months (1953-54 and

1954-55; bull-trawling)

Regions

I. Bombay

II. Cambay

I I I . Veraval

• • '

IV. Porbjndar

V. Dwarka

Years

1953-54

1954-55

1953-64

1954-65

1953-54

1954-55

1953-54

1954-55

1953-54

1954-55

Dec.

0

0

• •

0

• •

126-5

Jan.

22-6

0

11-6

0

0

0

0

0

124-3

103-2

Mo

Feb.

39-5

0

0

• •

• •

0

85-8

822-0

n t h s

March

0-6

18-1

27-9

0

0

0

0

35-0

288-5

April

• •

2-8

• •

0

15-1

7-4

34-4

65-7*

May

7-1

14-7

0

0

0

29-2

• •

1-4

--

A detailed analysis of the region-wise variations in the 2 years shows

the following trends. In region I, the range of catch per hour values is

309-4 to 695-4lb. in 1953-54. Although values as high as 1137-1 lb. per

hour have been obtained, they refer to considerably small fishing eff'ort

often 1-2 hauls of 1 - 5 hours duration each^—and hence not of much signi-

ficance. In 1954-55, the bull-trawling has been done to a very negligible

extent in this region. In region II again very high catch rates are evident

from the table all referring to low fishing effort. The highest rate obtained

in this region was 1,359-2 lb. per hour in 1954-55 with appreciable fishing

effort. In 1953-54, on the other hand, the average yields fluctuated bet-

ween 225-1 and 320-1 lb. per hour. 655-8 lb. per hour was the highest

figure in this year (but in a month when the fishing effort was of less than

Observations on Trawl-Fisheries of Bombay and Saurashtra Waters

85

tsa issz

FIG. 8. Histogram showing the catches per hour of ALL FISH, in the various regions during

the years 1951-52_lto 1953-54 (Taiyo Mam No. 17).

86

INDIAN JOURNAL OF FISHERIES

10 hours duration). Region III which was not sufficiently intensively worked

during the year 1953-54, had a range of 568-2 to 1,213-0 lb. per hour; here

again the highest value refers to low effort. In 1954-55, this region has

been worked to a greater extent obtaining yields ranging from 1,280-2 to

1,423-3 lb. per hour. A value of 2,246-7 lb. per hour has been recorded

with a fishing effort of less than 10 hours duration. Region IV has been

better worked in the second year by the bull-trawlers. The average catch

rates in the different months varied between 742-0 and 1,776-0 lb. per hour.

In the first year of operation in region V, the average monthly catch rate

was more than 1,2001b. per hour except in the month of December; the

mean monthly range being 958-8 to 1,695-9 lb. per hour, the lowest having

been obtained in December. In the next year, i.e., 1954-55, fishing of suffi-

cient magnitude has been carried out only in 3 months, January, February

and March. Fishing effort in April was not appreciable. The catch per

hour of fishing varied from 1,314-4 to 3,059-2 lb. The highest yield was

in February and the value was the maximum recorded so far for trawling

in Indian waters.

From the detailed examination of the catch rate trends for ' all fish '

of the bull-trawlers, it is clearly seen that from a rich region like region V,

the bull-trawling operations have obtained the highest yield per, unit of

effort, which speaks of the efficiency of this gear for working in these waters.

The catch rates of ' all fish' in the individual areas of the different regions

as revealed from the data of the cutters for the years 1953-54 and 1954-55

are shown in Charts I and II.

Dara

Taiyo Maru No. 17 (1951-52 to 1953-54).—Figure 9 shows the catch rates

of dara by Taiyo Maru No. 17 in all the five regions during the years 1951-

52 to 1953-54. Regions I and II proved, in general, to be of low produc-

tivity with the mean annual values of catch per hour ranging between 4-8

and 22-5 lb. This is a state of affairs also revealed by the data of the cutters

during the period. But within this range the yield was slightly better in

the first 2 years than in the third year. In regions III and IV the catch rates

were very low, often reaching zero and the highest mean annual value for

the entire period being 14-2 lb. per hour. On the other hand, in region V,

where the bulk of the operations has been carried out the yields are very

high.

In region I, during 1951-52, the best and second best catches were

obtained in February and May, the values being 38-6 and 32-0 lb. respec-

tively per hour. July and August proved to be off-season. In 1952-53,

Observations on Trawl-Fisheries of Bombay and Saurashtra Waters

87

the highest catch recorded for this region was in October (33-3 lb. per hour),

the lowest being in June (11-0 lb. per hour). No samples were taken in

July and August. During 1953-54, the total effort was very low and dara

catches were also poor. In region II during the first year, the highest catch

NBJ^RIARIJIJUTISIOINIDIJI

REGION I

1951 195^

NicijiriMiAiMijijiArisraiNiDnnFiMiAiHijIj

1953

1954

FIG. 9. Histogram showing tlie catches per hour, of Dara in the various regions during the

years 1951-52 to 1953-54 {Taiyo Man No. 17).

rate was in March (790 lb.), but the rate was low, in general, in other months,

February, April, July and August giving very low yields and January show-

ing no catches at all. In the second year, the hi^est catch rate was only

05

INDIAN JOURNAL OF FISHERIES

23 • 6 lb. and was in September, the November value commg very close

(23-2 lb.). The sampling was poor in the third year. In regions III and IV,

the effort has been more uneven than in the first two regions, the seasonal

pattern being thus not revealed by the data. The catch rates, however,

were much better in region III than in region IV. In the latter, zero values

are very frequent, while in the former the range of values went up to 34-6 lb.

per hour in the first year, 21-4 lb. in the second year and 51-1 lb. in the

third year. In region V during 1951-52 good yields have been obtained

from December to March, the values ranging from 94-0 lb. in March to

368-Silb. per hour in January. In the second year, 1952-53, the dara catches

have been high throughout from December to May, but particularly good

during December, January and February. The highest rate this year was

again in January (369-2 lb. per hour) while the lowest was in May (66-1

lb. per hour). In the third year, fishing was done in November also in this

region and catches were good, in general, up to April, but particularly so

up to February; the maximum yield was in January, 217-1 lb. per hour,

while the May catch rate was as low as 6-9 lb. per hour. It may be said,

in general, that good yields for dara can be obtained from this region for

nearly 6 months in the year. As no sampling has been done from June to

November (except June, July in 1951-52 and November in 1953-54), no

definite picture is available of the distribution of dara in these months. But

a distinct downward trend in the values is seen after April in all thfe three

years, the March and April values also being invariably lower than those

of the previous months. It is most likely, therefore, during the hot months

and the monsoon months the fish withdraws from the grounds exploited,

perhaps to deeper waters.

The mean annual catch rate, which was 139-7 lb. in the first year in-

creased to 173-7 lb. in the second year but suffered a rather severe decline to

110-4 lb. per hour in the third year. The productivity of the different areas

in respect of daraas indicated by the catch rates of the bull-trawlers, Ashok

and Pratap during the years 1953-54 and 1954-55, is shown in Charts III

and IV.

Ghol

1951-52 to 1953-54—raj>o Maru No. 17—Fig. 10 shows the catch

rates of ghol by Taiyo Maru No. 17. The range of variation for values,

showing yield rates from region I is 13-1 to 149-7 lb. per hour. The best

yields were in October and April. The yields in December, February and

May may be considered to be moderate while the lowest values have been

obtained in September, January and June. For this region the mean annua

Observations on Trawl-Fisheries of Bombay and Saurashtra Waters

89

oc

o

Z W.

< 5QJ

•Q

z SO.

u

U 1^

•U 100.

o

- „.

- -

SIOlNIDIJIFIMIAIMiJljl

1951 195a

1553

• 1954

FIG. 10. Histogram showing the catches per hour, of Ghol in the various regions during

the years 1951-52 to 1953-54 {TaiyolMaru No. 17).

90

INDIAN JOURNAL OF FISHERIES

catch per hour was 26-4, 38-8 and 38-0 lb. respectively during the 3 years.

In region II, the average catch rates are higher than in region I the lowest

and highest being 35-0 and 171-0 lb. per hour. There is one instance when

750 lb. per hour of ghol have been obtained (May, 1952) but this represents,

the yield from low fishing effort and is due to a stray rich haul. The highest

catch per unit of effort was obtained in September 1953; the next best was

in August 1952 (157-0 lb.). The overall catch rate figures for the 3 years

are 112-8, 79-7 and 128-1 lb. respectively. From region III, the yields

have been good being comparable to those from region II. The effort has

been sustained only in the first year and March and May appear to be the

best months yielding respectively 129-5 and 124-8 lb. per hour. July and

August come fairly close with catch rates of 86-0 and 83-5 lb. Lower

yields have been obtained in January. In the subsequent years there is a

fall in the catch rates in this region. The mean monthly range was 38-0

to 81-7 lb. per hour and yields above 601b. per hour have been obtained

from April to June. The yearly catch per hour for this region ranged from

50-9 to 127-2 lb. per hour. The corresponding range for region IV was

24-2 to 85-2 lb., the latter being obtained in the third year. The yield of ghol

from region IV in all the 3 years may be considered to be good with the

limited fishing that has been done. The catch rate figures for May and

June in 1952-53 and 1953-54 are almost identical (105-0 and 107-0 lb.

respectively). In region V, the yearly average catch rates were 94-5, 47-2

and 53 - 5 lb. per hour respectively. The average monthly yield in the first

year fluctuated between 65-7 and 164-0 lb. per hour with the exception of

the value for February which was only 39-9 lb. per hour. In the second year,

a much lower yield of ghol was observed, the average values ranging from

26-0 to 59-9 lb. per hour. The catch rates are best in December and April

and lowest in January and May. The range of values for the third year

was 33-2 to 80-4 lb. per hour. In the months of November, April and May,

yields of more than 70 lb. per hour have been obtained, the highest figure

of 80-4 lb. being in April. In this year the leanest months were February

and March.

Bull-trawling by cutters during 1953-54 and 1954-55.^Considering the

overall catch rates of the bull-trawlers from the various regions, it may be

seen that the values obtained from regions III and IV are of very high order

of magnitude; whereas in regions I and II they are relatively low. In general,

the catch per hour of ghol from regions III to V is more than 100 lb. per

hoiir in most of the months. Values above 2001b. per hour have been

obtained in March from regions III, IV and V and in April from regions

IV and V. The highest yield was 280-4 lb. per hour from region IV and

Observations on Trawl-Fisheries of Bombay and Saurashtra Waters 91

that was in April of 1953-54 season. Charts V and VI show the abundance

of ghol in the individual areas of the various regions as indicated by catch

rates.

X

o

z

< 200.

I-

UJ

a.

X

<^ is.

zs.

ss.

•MNMWMMMaaaMlMifNMkaMHMwaMIMHatM

REGION IL

REGION JSZ:

- y r " T — f ^ l t i " »""ii' ii<i>|M^»f "T-^i

REGION HE

u REGION IT

REGION I

a_

TrnrrrWIWMurjTO

1951 1952,

ISIblhilfiljfTlMlAlMfjIjiAlisrolNlDrjiFIMlAlMiJlJ

1953

1954

FiO. 11. Histogram showing the catches per hour, of Katkcra. in the vaiicis rriici s dirinf

the years 1951-52 to 1953-54 {.TaiyolMaru No. 17).

Koth

A reliable picture of the abundance of this group from the various regions

in the different seasons is obtained from an examination of the figures for

catch per hour of Taiyo Maru No. 17 as the cutters have not been recording

this category properly except in 1954-55. Looking into the overall yields

92

INDIAN JOURNAL OF FISHERIES

in the 3 years, 1951-52 to 1953-54, the only catch rates which are of appre-

ciable magnitude are those obtained from region V. Before considering

these figures, it would be worthwhile to have an idea of the order of values

from regions I to IV. The highest overall yield is from region III with a

value of 19-8 lb. per hour. The values are more often below 101b. per

hour in these four regions. In region V, on the other hand, the catch rates

are very high comparable to those oi dara. While, in the first year the

annual mean catch per hour is only 34-9 lb. in the other 2 years they are

155-4 and 177-9 lb. respectively. In examining the detailed monthly dis-

tribution, region II, although generally poor in. respect of koth, has shown

relative catch yields of more than 151b. per hour in some months. The

maximum value for the first year was in March and the same was in April

in the next two years.

In region V, the best yields are restricted from January to March in

the first year, the rates being very low in the other months except for a slight

recovery in June. In the succeeding years, the catch rates have been very

good in all the months except in May of 1953-54 season. The ranges for

monthly figures are 77-1 to 298-6 lb. per hour in 1952-53, and 52-8 to

360-4 lb. per hour in 1953-54 leaving out in the latter case, the May figure

of 8 - 3 lb. per hour. While December and January may be considered to

be the months of best yields in 1952-53, in the next year, the best season

extends from November to March, the highest figure for catch rate being

360-4 lb. per hour in November of 1953-54. It may be seen from these

figures that the period of maximum yields tends to precede that for dara.

During the second year of bull-trawling, 1954-55, the cutters have recorded

koth in various size categories and from an examination of these, it is seen

that average catch rate between January and March, the only months of

appreciable degree of fishing, ranged between 108-2 and 822-0 lb. per hour.

As seen in the case of dara, the highest value for catch per hour was in

February (822-0 lb. per hour). Here again, all this average was due to a

single huge haul. From the observations made above, it may be seen that

the pattern of distribution of koth is almost identical with that of dara (with

the same regional and seasonal abundance).

Warn

Taiyo Maru No. 17 (1951-52 to 1953-54).—The catch rate trends of

Taiyo Maru No. 17 during its 3 years operation give a good picture of the

distribution of warn; region V stands out as the poorest region in respect

of this fish. While the annual range of catch rates for this region is 13-2

to 22*9 lb. per hour, in the first four regions the value fluctuates between

Observations on Trawl-fisheries of Bombay and Saurashtra Waters 93

S zoo-

^ 30»

(A

<

X

<

Fio. 12. Histogram showing the catches per hour, of Warn, in the various regions during

the years 1951-52 to 1953-54 (Taiyo Maru No. 17).

94

INDIAN JOURNAL OF FISHERIES

66-0 and 315-7 lb. per hour. The best is region III with a range of 199'4

to 315-7 lb. per hour. In general, the months: of best catch rates are June

to October, the maximum monthly values of catch per how have been

obtained in region III. In the first year, a figure of 686-4 lb. per hour has

been obtained in August, while 617-6 lb. per hour has been obtained in

September in the third year (1953-54 season), both being from region III. In

the second year also, the season's highest catch rate has been from this region

only and that was in June although the value was only 273 • 1 lb. per hour.

Cutters: bull-trawling.—In the first year, the highest overall average catch

per hour has been obtained from region I, the value being 248-0 lb. per

hour. In the second year the catch per hour value of 105 - 6 lb. has been

obtained from region II, being the highest for the season. In both the years, the

lowest overall yield is from region V. The monthly catch rates show wide

fluctuations. In region I in December the catch per hour was 448-6 lb.

when the effort was less than 10 hours. In January, the value was 95-2 lb.

and increased subsequently up to March, when the rate of 416-5 lb. per

hour has been obtained; this latter is the maximum rate for the months

when the effort was above 10 hours per month. In May, the value has

fallen down to 40-8 lb. per hour. In February 1954 a single haul in this

region yielded a catch of 1,032-3 lb. per hour. During 1955 only one haul

was made, which was in January, the catch figure being zero. In region II,

the months when fishing effort was appreciable in 1953-54, were January

and May, when the catch rates were 68-9 and 92-3 lb. respectively. In

1954-55, the fishing effort was low in 4 months out of 5. In January of

this year when the effort was high, the yield was 65-8 lb. per hour. The

highest and next best yields of this region were in April and May 1955

(387-5 and 326-7 lb. per hour), but the effort in each case was only about

3 hours. In region III, in the first year, January had the lowest and May

the highest yields (considering months when the effort was significant), the

latter value being 130-0 lb. per hour. In the second year when the effort was

significant in 3 out of 4 months the average catch per hour ranged bet-

ween 40-9 and 67-9 lb. In region IV, over 80-0 lb. per hour have been

obtained in April and May in the first year. In the second season, out of

4 months of fishing, there was an alternation of low and high values for

catch per hour; January and March had lower values than February and

April. The lowest figure of 19-9 lb. per hour was obtained in January and

the highest (160-3 lb. per hour) was recorded in April. In region V, during

1953-54, catch rates were high during March to May, the highest being in

April (128-7lb.); in the months, December to February the catch was

below 20 lb. per hour. During the year 1954-55, the value increased from

Observations on Trawt-Fisheries of Bombay and Saurashtra Waters

95

20-6 lb. in January to 51-3 lb. in May, which was the highest for the season.

Charts VII and VIII show the density of warn populations in the individual

areas of the different regions fished by the cutters during the years 1953-54

and 1954-55.

O

(X

PC

0}

CO

y

O

300.

Dd 20Q

NfclJIFfmAfiill jfjlAllSIOINIDufFlMIAIMIJIJIAI t^WNTofflFl Ml XI Ml j r

Fio. 13. Histogram showing the catches per hour, of Karkara in the various regions during

the years 1951-52 to 1953-54 {Taiyo Maru No. 17).

%

INDIAN JOURNAL OF FISHERIES

Karkara

Data relating to catch per unit of effort of karkara are available for the

entire period of working of Taiyo Maru No. 17. It may be seen that kar-

kara forms one of the major fisheries in a few regions during the later part

of the fishing season. Region I has shown the highest catch rate of 76 • 5 lb.

per hour for karkara in the month of March in the year 1951-52. The

next best value for this region was 48-0 lb. per hour and that was in the

third year in the month of January. In a number of months, the operations

have yielded no karkara at all. In region II, the yields are somewhat better

than region I but still remaining at low levels. Although a value of 233 • 3 lb.

per hour has been recorded, this was with a low fishing effort. The

highest figure obtained when fishing effort was of sufficient magnitude was

81 -0 lb. per hour in 1951-52 in January. In the second year the maximum value

has fallen down to 24 • 8 lb. per hour while in the third year the corresponding

figure was only 7-0 lb. per hour. In this last year, however, there was no

fishing in this region between the months, December to March. Region III

has yielded somewhat better results than the first two. Fairly appreciable

catch rates have been obtained from January to March in the first year

—the highest, of course, was in January with a value of 228 • 3 lb. ofkarkara

per hour. In the next year out of 6 months of fishing in this region, four

months have yielded catch rate figures of less than 5 lb. per hour. Only

in February and April the yields are good, being 76-0 and 65-0 lb. per hour

respectively. In the third year, the maximum value was 111 • 3 lb. per hour in

May: the next best was in February. In region IV in the first year, fishing

has resulted in yields of more than 100 lb. of karkara per hour in November,

December and January. In the second year, March, May and June may be

considered to be good months, the highest value being in March (140-8 lb.

per hour). In the third year, as is already known, the fishing was only in

May and June and only in the former there is a good yield of this fish—

85-9 lb. per hour. The June figure is only 3-4 lb. per hour. In region V

except in March and June when the catch rates have been, respectively,

80-6 and 93-8 lb. per hour, in all the other months the values are more

than 100 lb. per hour. April and May have shown the highest yields, being

377:4 and 373-7 lb. per hour respectively. The catch rate for July is almost

close to these values being 291 -1 lb. per hour. In the second year, the range

is somewhat low, 25-3 to 85-8 lb. per hour, the lowest being in December.

From January to April, the catch rates are above 50 lb. per hour, the highest

being in February and April (the values in these 2 months are nearly the

same, being 81-8 and 85-8 lb.).

Observations on Trawl-Fisheries of Bombay and Saurashtra Waters 97

In the third year, a high catch rate of 81 • 6 lb. per hour has been obtained

in November, followed by a sudden drop to 17'2 lb. per hour in December.

The increase is seen from March onward and the highest value of 216-6 lb.

has been seen in May. For the year 1954-55 the picture of the abun-

dance of the karkara fishery is available from the bull-trawling figitfes of

the cutters. In this year, regions III, IV and V have yielded good results,

with overall annual catch rates of 136-3, 221-3 and 128-7 lb. per hour res-

pectively. In region III, the trend is one of increasing catch rates from

January to March—65-6 to 236-6 lb. per hour. In region IV from 27-5 lb.

per hour in January the yield increased to 318-8 lb. per hour in February

after which there is a decrease, the figure in April being 125-6 lb. per hour.

The catch rates in region V show a progressive decrease from January

(194-8 lb. per hour) to March (86-6 lb. per hour). The April value is

30-6 lb. per hour but the fishing effort is low.

VI. DEPTH-WISE VARIATIONS IN THE DISTRIBUTION OF THE MAIN

CATEGORIES OF FISHES

In Tables X to XIV are given data relating to the variations in catch

per hour at various depth raiiges in region V in respect of the important

fishes. The data are all compiled from the results of the working of Taiyo

Maru No. 17 from 1951-52 to 1953-54. The depths fished ranged between

20 and 60 meters. This range of depth has been subdivided into smaller

depth ranges of 5 meters each and the results in each of these 5 meter ranges

have been examined in detail.* As could be expected, fishing effort has

not been quite consistent in all the depth ranges. Only in region V, appre-

ciable amounts of fishing effort have been put in, in most of the depth ranges,

in the months when this region has been visited. Hence the depth-wise

distribution is considered in detail in this region only. In the first 2 years

the major part of fishing has been up to 45 meters only, in the Dwarka region.

Only in the third year and that, too, in the closing months of the season, deeper

*No.

Depth range

(in meters)

1

21-25

2

26-30

3

31-35

4

36-40

5

41-45

6

46-50

7

51-55

8

56-60

98

INDIAN JOURNAL OF FISHERIES

TABLE

Showing the catch-per-hour of the chief categories of

Months

December 1951

February HJ62 ..

March

1052 ..

Mar

1B62 ..

July

1962 ..

August

1962

September 1952

October

1962

November 1952

February "l 1063

April «Lii 1953 ..

May,

1953 ..

June'

1953

September^ 1953

October

1953

December"!'1953

January

1964

July

1954 ..

2

26-30

30 •0*

3

31-35

10-6

52-5

5-0*

16-7

,,

.,

37-6*

0*

42-1*

••i

, ,

..^1

7-1*

0*

. ,

•

4

36-40

9-4

0*

14-2

44-4

, ,

0*

0»

, ,

, ,

42-6

16-7*

. ,

0*

,.

0

D AR A

6

41-45

, ,

, ,

, ,

0*

0

,,

, ,

9-6*

22-0

14-9*

7-7*

, • • •

''

!•• ;

0*1

3-2

10-9

6

46-60

43-6

, ,

8-3*

0*

4-0

.1

12-5

l-i

12-2

-J

0

7-4

7

51-55

• •

, ,

0*

0*

2-8

i-3

8

66-60

!*•

35-1*

6*

• •

Months

December 1961

February 1952

March

1962 .

May

1952

July

1952 .

August

1952

September 1952

October

1952

November 1952

February 1953

April

1953 .

May

1953 .

June

1963 .

September 1953

October

1953

December! 1953

January

1954

July

1954 .

1

5

41-45

, ,

0*

2-8

,,

0*

0

0*

7-7

,,

0

3-2*

3-9

KOTH

6

7

8

46-50

51-55

56-80

0

• •

. >

. •

. •

• •

8-3*

22-2*

8-3*

4*8

0

3-3

3-8

7-i*

3-i

*.

"6

..

0*

2-5

8-9

2

W A M

3

26-30

31-35

IS

72

396-0

•0»

22-5

25-O*

45-8

*

•

16'7»

0*

0*

.

•

.

•6

7-1*

88-a*

.

.. 11

4

36-40

71-3

0*

19<8

41-7

..

50-0*

16-7*

. .

22-7

33-3*

..

• .

61 •3*

. ,

. *

141'8

•• .

Observations on Trawl-Fisheries of Bombay and Saurashtra Waters 99

X

fishes at different depth-ranges in region I

GH O L

KO T H

26-30

31-35

36-40

41-46

46-50

51-55 56-60 26-30

31-35 36-40

22

•

•

,

88

•

30-0

6* 30-0

0*

29-1

96-8*

0*

14-0*

2 14'3*

0*

,,

• • •

33-8

0*

23-3

62-8

0*

10-0

68.0

166'7*

43-8

0

••

ii-1*

36-1

28-4

99-0

74-3

15-4

••

i-1

23'7

24-0

••

41 •7*

33 • 3*

13-5

28-3 .

12-2

••

4-7

36-1

..

76*0* .

33-3* .

31-2 42 1

0*

39-4

7-5*

1-6

0

16-0

0

8-3

8-3*

0*

28-1*

0*

0*

, ,

••

0

30-0*

11-9

8-3

16-7

0»

28-4

0*

6*

• • '

0

••

W AM

KA R KA RA

8

41-45

-

••

55-6*

44-4

207-9*

35-0

29-7*

16-4*

220-5*

144-9

106-3

6

46-50

147-0

-•

41-7*

44-4*

54-8

174-0

, ,

12-2

, ,

, ,

182-3

195-1

7

51-55

••

, ,

41

16

258

94

7*

7*

9

-0

8

56-60

91-3*

141-0*

--

2

26-30

0*

11 -3

3

31-35

30-0

0

85-0*

20-9

, ,

6*

0*

0*

,,

,,

--

0*

0*

.,

•-

4

36-40

0

0*

73-3

5-6

, ,

C*

16-7*

0

0*

, ,

8-8*

•••M

3-e

-•

6

41-45

--

,

0*

6-6

4.7*

0

0*

0*

, ,

0*

26-2

19-8

6

46-60

24-0

•-

0*

6-6*

1-6

10-0

I"

I--

V.'.

70-1

20-6

7

51-55

33-3*

16-7*

15-1

19-1

8

66-60

•'.'.

0*

63-6*

•- •

100

INDIAN JOURNAL OF FISHERIES

TABLfi

Showing the catch-per-hour of the chief categories of

M

December

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

February

March

April

May

June

September

October

November

April

M

December

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

February

March

April

May

June

September

October

November

April

onths

1951

1962

1952

1952

1952

1962

1952

1952

1952

1962

1952

1952

1953

1953

1953

1953

1953

1953

1953

1953

1964

onths

1961

1952

1952

1952

1952

1952

1952

1952

1952

1952

1952

1952

1953

1953

1963

1953

1963

1963

1963

1953

1964

1

21-25

..

24-3

,.

..

6

41-45

6' 7-5*

15-0*

16-7*

. .

0*

, .

0

. .

, ,

7-3*

18-3*

0

13-2

6-9

21-2*

, ,

34-4

2

26-30

7-6

5-5*

68*

11-6

3

31-35

21-0

15-8*

7-5*

,,

,.

8-3*

6-2

21-2

,.

7-2

18-7

K OTH

6

46-60

..

29-1

0*

0*

22-2

0

2-0

.,

0*

0*

6* 4-7

2-1

, .

14-7*

7

61-55

.,

,,

,,

.,

0*

8-3*

.,

,.

,,

.,

45-1*

,«

,,

• •

D A R A

4

36-40

30-0

0*

0*

29-1

,,

,,

24-1

16-7*

11-9

0*

5-7*

, .

9-1*

, .

0-4

4-0

, ,

*'

8

56-60

..

..

6*

.,

.,

..

0*

.,

,,

,,

••

5

41-46

6* 0*

160-0*

33-3*

, ,

16-7*

. ,

. ,

0

. ,

. ,

7-4*

0'

14-0

7-5

0

0*

, ,

20-6

1

21-25

.,

,.

,,

,,

,.

99*9

,,

,,

• •

,.

..

.,

,,

,,

••

6

46-50

..

lOO-O

0*

33-3*

38-9*

13-3

9-3

, ,

,

14-1*

0*

. >

0*

14-5

M

6*

7

61-55

. .

, ,

, ,

, ,

, ,

16-7*

8-3*

, ,

,

, ,

. ,

, ,

46-1*

,;

, ,

WAM

2

26-30

, ,

, .

, .

. .

, ,

117.7

83.3*

, ,

, ,

, ,

. .

29-4*

0

••

3

31-35

, ,

15-0

30-0*

76-0*

. ,

, ,

, ,

6fi-7*

115-4

78-1

, ,

, ,

, ,

42-2

46-7

••

8

56-60

. ,

, ,

, ,

• .

, ,

, ,

, ,

^ ,

14-1*

, ,

• »

15-7*

,,

••

4

36-40)

5i-0i

0*

15.0*'

25-0)

76 • 6-

33.4*

171-4

24-6

37-6*

, ,

45.6*

226'2

109-9

, ,

••

Observations on Trawl-Fisheries of Bombay and Sawashtra Waters

101

XI

fishes at different depth-ranges in region II

1

21-25

2

26-30

3

31-35

GH OL

4

5

36-40 41-45

6

46-50

7

8

51-55 56-60

1

21-25

KOTH

2

3

26-30 31-35

4

36-40

60-0 65-2

180 5'

235'2*

66>1

69-0

32-6*

0*

11-7*

96-8

169-0

65-0

67-5*

3-0*

129-1

23-4

200-0

•222-5

63

26

3

2*

56-9

67-7

54-7*

99-6

45-8

42-6*

0*

118-3*

50-0*

66-7*

20-8

63-4*

36-7*

141-2

43-2

22-3

0*

68-4

137-5

66-7*

0*

66-7*

50-0

164-2

66-3*

65-0*

145-9*

33-7

49-4

88-2*

0*

25-0*

30-7*

42-3*

15-7*

31

10

2

73

20

33

15

0'

6

8'

5*

9

0*

6

0

0*

10

25

0

0*

0

0

0*

6*

39-2"

2M

5

41-45

W A M

6

7

46-50 51-55

8

56-60

1

21-25

2

26-30

3

31-35

KARKARA

4

6

38-40 41-45

6

46-50

7

51-55

8

66-flO

0*

7-5*

20-6*

183-3*

91-7*

25-0

39-4*

36-7*

60-3

178-4

216-S

63-5*

16-7

66-7*

0*

5-6*

30-0

135-3

42-3*

86-7*

80-2*

152-8

634-9

33

34-4 14-7*

42

2-0

11-1*

44-1*

11-6

6-0

22-5*

0

0*

35-7

4-2

2-5

180-0*

60-0*

0

16-7

0*

4-1

7-0

67-0*

5-6

2-3

9-1*

i-6

6-6

15-0*

120-0*

50-6*

50-O*

6*

16-7

0*

0*

16-4

7-5

12-0

35.3*

4-2

60-0*

233-3*

0*

0

3-9

0*

0*

TS'-O*

1-4

4-3

0*

6*

0*

0*

b*

102

INDIAN JOURNAL OF FISHERIES

TABLE

Showing the catch-per-hour of the chief categories of

Moi

November

December

January

March

April

May

July

August

September

October

February

April

May

June

September

November

February

March

Way

June

Mo

November

December

January

March

April

May

July

August

September

October

February

April

May

June

September

November

February

March

May

June

iths

1961 ..

1951 ..

1952 ..

19.'3 ..

19S2 ..

1952 ..

1062 ..

1952 ..

1952 ..

1952 ..

1953 .,

1953 ..

1953 ..

1953 ..

1053 ..

1953 .

1954 ..

1954 .

1954 ..

1954 ..

nths

1951 .

1951 .

19f2 .

19^2 .

1962 .

1952 .

1P52 .

1952 .

1952 .

19f2 .

1053 .

1053 .

1063 .

1063 .

1053 .

1053 .

1054 .

18H .

UC4 .

1954 .

1

21-25

!

6

1 41-45

0*

0*

,.

4-1

0*

2-9

0*

0*

0

'. 6*

6-4

0*

.

.

0*

0*

. 29-4*

2

26-30

is'o*

KO TH

6

48-50

0*

,.

,,

0*

..

6'6

0

0-3

0*

.,

• •

..

7-2

0

..

..

25.2

3

31-35

15-O*

, ,

12-5

.,

,,

,,

,.

0*

0*

,.

..

..

.,

..

,.

• •

7

51-55

17-2

D A R A

4

36-40

^'.^•

0

35>2

0

33-3

,,

2>6

0

10-0

0*

0*

, .

0*

0*

7-3*

0*

. .

36-S*

1

21-25

3'

,

,

,

.

,

.

.

J^^

.

.

.

.

.

•

.

•

6

41-45

0»

15-0*

. .

50-5

15-0

16-7

0*

0*

2-8

, ,

, .

0*

8-5

0*

..

12-5*

0*

14-7*

2

26-30

30-O*

33-3*

6

46-50

0*

, ,

. ,

16.0*

, ,

27-8*

25-0

0

0*

, .

. .

27-0

0

..

,.

,.

18-0

WAM

3

31-35

6*

..

10

,

,

,

,

200

50

•0

•0*

•0*

7

51-55

17-2

4

36-40

36-0*

0

16-7

7-5

216-7

..

.,

132.1

21-4

0

0*

74-3*

, ,

274-6*

0*

0*

0*

..

20-4*

Observations on Trawl-Fisheries of Bombay and Saurashtra Waters

103

XII

fishes at different dspth-ranges in region III

75

I

21-28

2

26-30

GH 0 L

3

31-35

4

36-40

5

41-45

6

4&-50

1

21-25

KOTH

2

3

26-30

31-35

4

36-40

90

0»

0* 122

52-7*

10-9

163-6

41-3

83-3

41-9

5-7

38-0

85-0*

59-4*

34-3

308-9

0*

50-8*

25-0*

58-8*

0*

45-0*

163-8

30-0*

127-5

58-3

122-2*

36-1

59-4*

70-2

60-0

12-5*

57-2*

73-5*

16

66

122

100

83

133

68

61

32

8*

2*

0

1

3*

0*

30-0

0*

0*

0

0

,,

••

0*

0*

• •

, ,

--

;;

,,

^,

,,

0*

0

6<3

0

16-7

« •

0

0

0

43-3'

0*

6*

26-a

0*

0*

61-6*

5

41-45

W A M

6

46-60

7

61-65

1

21-25

2

26-30

KARKA RA

3

4

5

31-35

3ft-40

41-45

6

46-60

7

61-55

0*

160-0*

28-6

0*

138-2

41.7*

1060-0*

300-6

25-0

30-0*

83-3*

75-0

668-0

616-7*

44-6*

216-3 309-6

317-1* 734-9

0*

0*

0*

17

46-7

0*

^ ^

135-0*

10-0

.

0*

0*

, ,

, ,

••

.,

, ,

,,

, ^

15-0*

216-0

16-7

22-5

33-3

, J

, ,

2-6

19-0

63-9

21-7*

0*

, ,

0*

38-4*

72-5*

0*

, ,

0*

0*

76-0*

,,

64-6

16-0*

12-9

0*

0*

3-7

•-

7-4*

4-3

0*

, ,

12-5*

86-8*

0*

200-0*

, ,

, ,

112-5*

, ,

144-4*

0

1-3

0*

--

, ,

1-8

4-3

, ,

, ,

, ,

14-4

104

INDIAN JOURNAL OF FISHERIES

TABLE

Showing the catch-per-hour of the chief categories of

Months

2

26-30

3

31-35

4

36-40

D A R A

6

41-45

6

46-50

7

61-55

8

56-60

November

December

January

February

April

June

July

October

December

February

March

May

June

May

June

1951

1951

1952

1952

1952

1952

1952

1952

1952

1953

1953

1953

1953

1954

1954

8*

0

0

0*

0*

0*

0*

0*

0*

0

0

5-1

0

1-6

0

0*

0*

3t)

6*

0

0

0

6-9

, ,

6-0

ffl*

, ,

0*

0*

, ,

0

6-2

0*

0*

Months

November 1951

December 1951

January

1952

February 1952

April

1952 .

June

1952 .

July

1952 .

October

1952

December 1952

February 1953

March

1953 .

May

1953 .

June

1953 .

May

1954

June

1954 .

6

46-50

i

t °

.!

0*

0*

1 0*

6

..

27-1

KCTH

7

51-55

,.

6*

..

6*

8

2

56-60

26-

6*

66

..

..

..

..

WAM

3

4

30

31-35

36-40

36-1

•7*

30'iO*

34-5

45-0*

7-5*

0*

..

0*

0*

0*

57-7*

76-3

41-3

38-4

•

6

41-45

46-7

36-1

9-0

0*

68-3

263-6

..

0*

67-0

76-2

381-8

258-1

Observations on Trawl-Fisheries of Bombay and Saurashtra Waters 105

XIII

fishes at different depth-ranges in region IV

GHOL

KOTH

26-30

25 •0*

31-36

15-0*

6*

36-40

26-0

27-2

15-0*

22-5*

16-7*

6*

0*

101-1*

81-6

30-0

134-4

• •

41-45

63-3

52-8

36-0

0*

16-7*

139-4

6*

109-6

69-0

95-0

70-4

46-50

12-0

0*

16-7*

33-3*

54-5

35-0

51-65

33-3*

42-9*

56-60

6*

26 -30

6*

31-35

0*

6*

--

36-40

0

0

0*

0*

0*

6*

0*

0*

0

0

0

-•

41-45

0

0

0

0*

0*

0

6*

0

0

0

24-8

W AM

KARKARA

46-50 61-55 6^60

26-30

31-35 36-40

41-45

46-50 51-55 56-60

18

45

166

50

0

0*

41

15

131-6

0*

0* 150 0* 450

180-6

92-8

45-0*

82-5*

150-0*

-•

60-0

87-8

144-0

120-0*

181-7*

146-5

, ,

27-

180-

..

.

0*

0*

0*

16-0*

130-0*

19-9

18-8

62-7

173-3*

57-5

104-4

91-3

5-5

16 0*

106

INDIAN JOURNAL OF FISHERIES

TABLE

Showing the catch-per-hour of the chief categories of

Months

1

21-25

2

26-30

3

31-3S

D AR A

4

3&-40

S

41-45

6

46-BO

7

51-55

December

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

December

Tanuary

February

March

April

May

November

December

January

February

March

April

May

1951 .

1952 •

1962 .

1962 .

1962 .

1952 .

1952 .

1952 .

1952 .

1953 .

1953 •

1953 .

1963 .

1953 .

1953 .

1963 .

1954 .

1054 .

1954 .

1954 .

1954 ..

345-2

420-8

126-0

0*

• •.

*

. 293-9

47-1