The Indian White prawn Penaeus indicus in the Purse seine catches

Abstract

White prawn shoal was sighted by purse seine fishermen about 20 km SW of Cochin at about 30-35 m depth, while steaming to the purse seine fishing grounds. The catch was composed mainly of fairly large sized prawns numbering 25-30/kg of females and 3G-40/kg of males (head on). The size ranged from 145 to 185 mm with the dominant modes at 151-155 and 166-170 mm for females and 135 to 170 mm with the dominant mode at 150-155 mm for males . In the purse seine catch the sexes were of almost equal distribution; the females constituting 50.4% of the population. In this context the present observation of unusual landings of fairly large sized P. indicus in abundance in the purse seines is especially interesting, which could have been the result of the large scale migration of the species into the columnar waters during premonsoon and monsoon