SYSTEMATICS, LIFE HISTORY TRAITS, ABUNDANCE AND STOCK ASSESSMENT OF COBIA RACHYCENTRON CANADUM (LINNAEUS, 1766) OCCURRING IN INDIAN WATERS WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO THE NORTHWEST COAST OF INDIA THESIS Submitted to THE COCHIN UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY By M.K. SAJEEVAN, M.F.Sc. SCHOOL OF INDUSTRIAL FISHERIES COCHIN UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY COCHIN‐682016 December, 2011 i DECLARATION I, M.K. Sajeevan, do hereby declare that the thesis entitled “SYSTEMATICS, LIFE HISTORY TRAITS, ABUNDANCE AND STOCK ASSESSMENT OF COBIA RACHYCENTRON CANADUM (LINNAEUS, 1766) OCCURRING IN INDIAN WATERS WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO THE NORTHWEST COAST OF INDIA” is a genuine record of research work done by me under the supervision of Prof.(Dr.) B. Madhusoodana Kurup, Vice Chancellor, Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies, Kochi and has not been previously formed the basis for the award of any degree, diploma, associate ship, fellowship or other similar title of any University or institution. Cochin - 682016 December, 2011 M.K.SAJEEVAN ii CERTIFICATE This is to certify that the thesis entitled “SYSTEMATICS, LIFE HISTORY TRAITS, ABUNDANCE AND STOCK ASSESSMENT OF COBIA RACHYCENTRON CANADUM (LINNAEUS, 1766) OCCURRING IN INDIAN WATERS WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO THE NORTHWEST COAST OF INDIA” to be submitted by Mr. M.K. Sajeevan, M.F.Sc. is an authentic record of research work carried out by him under my guidance and supervision in partial fulfilment of the requirement of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy of Cochin University of Science and Technology, under the faculty of Marine Sciences. (B. MADHUSOODANA KURUP) (Supervising Teacher) Vice Chancellor, Cochin - 682016 Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies, December, 2011 Panangad, Kochi iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am deeply indebted to Prof. (Dr.) B. Madhusoodana Kurup, Vice Chancellor, Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies for his constructive guidance and prompt advice throughout the course of my study. His broadminded and careful attention, inestimable suggestions and meticulous scrutiny of the manuscript helped me a lot in the preparation of this thesis. I am grateful to Prof. (Dr.) H.S. Ram Mohan, Dean, Faculty of Marine Science and Prof. (Dr.) K.T. Thomson, Director, School of Industrial Fisheries for granting permission and for providing necessary facilities for the successful conduct of the research work. I owe a great deal to Prof. (Dr.) A. Ramachanrdran, Registrar, Prof. (Dr.) Saleena Mathew, Professor, Dr. M. Harikrishnan, Assosciate Professor and Dr. Mini Sekharan, Asst Professor and other faculty of the School of Industrial Fisheries for their advice, expertise, and support during the research work. I am grateful to Shri. K.K. Prajith, Research Scholar. School of Industrial Fisheries for his constant support during the research work, without his support, this thesis would not have been possible. iv Thanks are also due to my friends Smt. Diana Benjamin, Shri. Jenson, Research Scholars and Shri. Nashad, student of School of Industrial Fisheries and other friends at the Institute who helped me to achieve this task. I am grateful to Smt. Soosan, U.D. Clerk, CUSAT for support and assistance provided to me during the course work. Support given by Shri. M. Jayashankar, Section officer, Shri. Toney Mathew, Sr. Grade Assistant U.D. Clerk and assistance provided by the non teaching staff of the School of Industrial fisheries are duly acknowledged. I am very much thankful to Prof. (Dr.) J. Rajasekharan Nair, Professor, Department of Fishery Biology, Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies for his advice, support and his assistance for doing the osteological studies. His careful attention, inestimable suggestions and meticulous scrutiny of the manuscript helped me a lot in the preparation of this thesis. My sincere thanks are due to Prof. (Dr.) T.M. Jose, Professor Prof.(Dr.) K.G. Sunny, Professor, Prof.(Dr.) K.V Jayachandran. Professor Prof.(Dr.) T.V Anna Mercy, Professor. Dr. B. Manoj Kumar, Associate Professor Dr. Dinesh, Associate Professor, Shri. K.M. Mathew,Associate Professor, Shri. Mathew Sebastian, Associate Professor and Smt. Fathima, Teaching Asst. v Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies for their advice and support during my research work. Support and assistance provided by Shri. Purushan, Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies are duly acknowledged. I am very much thankful to the Ministry of Agriculture for allowing me carry out this research and providing facilities. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Dr. V.S. Somvanshi, Former Director General, Fishery Survey of India, Shri. K. Gopalakrishnan Former Director General, Fishery Survey of India, Shri. M.K.R. Nair, Former Director General, Fishery Survey of India and Dr. K. Vijayakumaran Director General, Fishery Survey of India, who granted me permission to register for PhD programme, provided facilities to undergo research and allowed me to use the exploratory resource survey data of Fishery Survey of India. My sincere thanks are due to Dr. K.P. Philip, former Zonal Director, Kochi base of Fishery Survey of India Shri. Benjamin C Varghese, former Zonal Director, Kochi base of Fishery Survey of India ,Dr. Santamma Varghese, Fisheries Scientist( Rtd), Fishery Survey of India, Mumbai, Shri. K.N.V. Nair, former Zonal Director, Kochi base of Fishery Survey of India, Shri. D.M. Ali, Sr. Fisheries Scientist, Kochi base of Fishery Survey of India vi Dr. A. K. Barghava, Sr. Fisheries Scientist, Fishery Survey of India, Mormugao for their dedication and genuine concern for me. My sincere thanks and appreciation are also due to Shri. T. A. Shanmughan, Skipper, Shri. P.Narayanan, Skipper, officers and crew of M.F.V. Matsya Nireekshani & M.V. Matsya Varshini for their extra effort and tireless assistance in the data collection process. My sincere thanks are due to the fishermen and fish merchants of Mumbai for their support and assistance provided to me in data collection. I sincerely thank my dear friends Shri. K.K. Bineesh, Shri. K.V. Akhilesh, Shri. N. Ragesh, Shri. Rajool Shanis, and Shri. M. Hashim, Sr. Research fellows working with Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute, Kochi. Their dedication and concern helped me to overcome the hurdles on my way. I sincerely acknowledge the services provided by Mr. K. Vijay Kumar Menon, Acountant, PAO, Kochi Shri. K.R. Jayaraj, Chief Engineer. Gr.I(Rtd.), Smt. Santha Kuruvila, UDC and Shri Jayaprakash LDC, , Fishery Survey of India, Kochi. I owe a great deal to Shri. K.S. Ranjith, L.D. Clerk, whose artistic talent and assistance helped me to present the diagrams in a befitting manner. I am very much thankful to Smt. Rajashri B. Sanadi Sr. Scientific vii Asst, for her support and assistance in biological study, data entry and data analysis. Her overall support in the preparation of thesis, dedication and concern for me is greatly acknowledged. Support extended by Dr. Sijo P. Varghese in data analysis is duly acknowledged. I extend my sincere thanks to Shri. C. Bhaskar, Programmer, R.V. John, Draughtsman, S. Sreedhar, Projector Operator and Kiran S. Mali, Sr. Research fellow for their support and help during my research work and manuscript preparation. My thanks are due to Shri. Premchand, Deputy Director General (Fy) Dr. M.E. John, Zonal Director (Rtd.), Shri. P. Sivaraj, Zonal Director Dr. A. Anrose, Zonal Director, Shri. P.S. Parasuraman, Sr. Fisheries Scientist, Shri. A. Tiburtius, Sr. Fisheries Scientist, Shri. D.K. Gulati, Sr. Fisheries Scientist, Shri. Mahesh Kumar Farejiya, Mechanical Marine Engineer, Shri. N.V Ramana Murthy, System Analyst Shri. S.G. Patwary. Jr. Fisheries Scientist, Shri. L.K. Rao, Sr. Administrative Officer. Dr. M. Vinodhkumar, Jr. Fisheries Scientist, Shri. Ashok Kadam, Jr. Fisheries Scientist, Dr. S.K. Dwiwedi, Sr. Scientific Asst., Shri. P.C. Rao, Statistician, Shri. M.V. Ajith Kumar, Chief Engineer. Gr.II, Shri. K.P. Raghunath, Office Superintend, Shri. Edword Karketta, Office Superindent, Shri. T.L. Muraleedharan, Office Superintend, Smt. K.P. Khadekar, Office Superintend (Rtd.) Shri. Bapu M. Raot, Data Processing Assistant, Shri. Ashish Kumar, Data processing viii Assistant, Smt. Meera Vellan Rajeev, Jr. Hindi Translator, Smt. Helen Paul, Stenographer Gr.I, Smt. Sunita N. Motwani, Stenographer Gr.I, Smt. Archana , U.D. Clerk, Shri. S.K. Singh, Stenographer Gr.I Shri. Yogesh R. Gangrude, Data Entry Operator, Shri. Gopal W. Tule, U.D.Clerk, Shri. D.K. Pandya, U.D.Clerk, Shri. Vishal K. Kharat, L.D.Clerk Shri. C.K. Vaghela, Daftry, Shri. Ajay U. Khairmude, Peon Smt. Kavitha S. Naik, Peon, Smt. Shanta Solanki, Safaiwala, and many other colleagues in Fishery Survey of India, who stood with me in need. Last but not the least, I would like to express my deep sense of affection and gratitude to my beloved parents, my wife, and my two sweet little daughters whose inspiration enabled me to complete this work. It was their affection and blessings that kept me in good spirits throughout my study period. M.K. Sajeevan ix CONTENTS Page No. 1. GENERAL INTRODUCTION 1 2. REVIEW OF LITERATURE 6 2.1 Systematics 6 2.2 Food and feeding 9 2.3 Reproductive Biology 12 2.4 Length weight relationship and condition factor 15 2.5 Age and growth 16 2.6 Biomass, stock assessment and distribution 18 2.7 Mortality and exploitation 22 2.8 Live gene Banking and culture prospects 24 3. SYSTEMATICS 31 3.1 Introduction 31 3.2 Materials and methods 32 3.3 Results and discussions 34 3.3.1 Distinguishing characters 34 3.3.2 Common names and vernacular names of the species 34 3.3.3 Taxonomy 36 3.3.4 Synonymy 36 3.3.5 Taxonomy status and history of nomenclature 37 3.3.6 Morphometry 40 3.3.7 Osteological features 42 3.3.7.A Neurocranium 43 3.3.7.B Opercle bones 45 3.3.7.C Anterior facial bones 47 3.3.7.D Hyoid bones 49 3.3.7.E Pectoral and pelvic girdle 51 3.3.7.F Dorsal pterygophores, anal spines and 53 b 3.3.7.G Caudal skeleton 54 3.3.8 Interrelationship of the species 54 3.3.9 Re description of the species 57 4 FOOD AND FEEDING 61 4.1 Introduction 61 4.2 Materials and methods 62 4.3 Results 66 4.3.1 Food composition 66
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