Distribution of myctophid resources in the Indian Ocean

Abstract

Mesopelagics are one of the largest under-exploited marine resources with wide distribution in the world oceans. Lanternfishes are the key members of mesopelagic communities and the total resource in the world oceans is estimated at 600 million tons. Lanternfishes belong to the family Myctophidae which comprises of about 250 species in 35 genera. Myctophids account for about 75% of total global catch of small mesopelagic fishes. They are known to exhibit diel vertical migration, concentrating during the day time between 400 and 1,000 m, and between 5 and 100 m, during the night. In this paper, an attempt is made to review the existing information on the occurrence and distribution of myctophid resources in the Indian Ocean. 137 myctophid species have been reported from the entire Indian Ocean. Studies in the Arabian Sea have indicated that the area is rich in the midwater fish stocks dominated by myctophids with an estimated potential of 100 million tons.