Resource characteristics and stock assessment of whitebaits

Abstract

The fishery of whit&ait for 1979-88 was studied. The southern maritime states accounted for 97% of the country's whitebait landings. The quartenvise whitebait landings, gearwise catch and catch per unit effort for 19 85-88 were studied and discussed. Encrusicholinu devisi and Stolephorur waitei were the dominant species in the whitebait fishery. The fishery and biological characteristics of these two species at Visakhapamam, Madras, Vizhinjam. Cochin and Mmgalore are presented. Whitebait are short-lived fish, the longevity of E. devisi being 1.9 yearsand that of S.waitei about 2.3 years. Both the species get recruited into the fishing ground atabout 30-35 mmtotal length when 2-3 months dd. The fish from 40-55 mmlength onwards (3-5 months old) arecaught in greater abundance. The major bulk of the annual landings is constituted by 6-15 months old fish. The growth parameters, mortality rates and exploitation ratios of the two species were estimated for both the coasts. Critical evaluation of the maximum sustainable yield (MSY) estimates in relation to biomass at MSY level indicated the possible increase in production of E. devisi by about 20% over the current yield with higher effort input along the west coast. For E. devisi in the east coast and S. wairei in both the coasts, the expected increase was only marginal.