Status of Epifaunal Component in the Bottom Trawl Discards Along Kerala Coast (South India)

Abstract

An attempt was made to quantify the epifauna hauled by the bottom trawlers and discarded in to the sea along the coastal waters of Kerala on the basis of data generated onboard. The epifauna thrown back into the sea from bottom trawlers during 2000-01 and 2001-02 were computed at 1.68 and 1.31 lakh tons respectively. The epifaunal discards comprised of 13 species of finfishes, 23 species of gastropods, 14 species of crabs, 4 species of shrimps, 2 species of stomatopods and 3 species of echinoderms. Highest quantity of epifaunal discards during the period was observed during January (27072 tons) and April (21514 tons) respectively. Highest catch per hour of discards was recorded in monsoon season, 42.64 kg/h in 2001-01 and 41.37 kg/h in 2001-02. Catch per unit of discards in bottom trawlers was highest in August during both the years registering 531.09 and 543.23 kg respectively.