systematics, life history traits, abundance and stock assessment of cobia rachycentron canadum

293 Pages·2011·2.77 MB·English

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.
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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.
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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