Fishery and biology of Sepia pharaonis Ehrenberg, 1831 off Mumbai, northwest coast of India

Sujit Sundaram
2014 Journal of the Marine Biological Association of India  
Fishery of Sepia pharaonis by trawlers at New Ferry Wharf (NFW) during 2000 -2011 in Mumbai waters is described. The landings ranged from 438 t (2004) to 1,763 t (2005) and the catch rate ranged from 0.17 kg/hr (2003) to 1.04 kg/hr (2005). The relationship between dorsal mantle length (DML) and total body weight (TBW) for males, TBW = 0.0008414 * DML 2.57989 and for females, TBW = 0.0009723 * DML 2.55201 . Fish formed the major food item in both the sexes (87.1% in males and 86% in females)
more » ... owed by prawns. Females were dominant in the catch with a sex-ratio of 1:1.24. Maximum numbers of males were mature (43.6%) while maximum numbers of females (37.2%) were spawning. The size at 50% maturity for females was estimated as 153 mm. The major peak spawning season for the species is during February to May.
doi:10.6024/jmbai.2014.56.2.01774-06 fatcat:m223ajfzvndt7pg5xzo5746yje