ESTIMATES OF THE STOCKS OF OIL SARDINE AND MACKEREL IN THE; PRESENT FISHING GROUNDS OFF THE WEST COAST OF INDIA

Abstract

During last decade the oil sardine fishery recorded remarkably high patches
on the west coast. On the other hand, the mackerel fishery declined steeply in
the nineteen-sixties, touching the lowest known levels, in contrast to most other
fisheries of the west coast. The percentage of oil sardine in the all India marine
fish landings was 32 in 1968, as against 16 in 1958, the corresponding values
for mackerel being 2 and 16. This has focussed attention on the need for quick
estimates of the maj;mtude of these populations. One approach for this would
be to survey the areas occupied by these two species through acoustic and other
means. Another approach would be to use the known population parameters
and mathematical models to yield estimates of the populations. The latter method
is adopted here.