Prawn fishery of cuddalore, northern tamilnadu coast, with special reference to long-term changes

Abstract

Prawn fishery along the east coast, in general, occurs in concentrations close to major estuaries and backwaters, for which varyingsources of Information are available. Little has been known about the prevalent prawn resources along the Cauvery Delta region off Cuddalore despite large scale exploitation since the introduction of trawl fishing. The fishing grounds along Cuddalore - Portonovo coast are commonly exploited by trawlers launched from four bases; Cuddalore (D.T.), Portonovo, Devinampatnam and Pazhayar, among which observations were restricted to Cuddalore (D.T.), which was the largest with more Infrastructure facilities. The salient feature of fishery of the region has been the multiplicity of species many o fwhich being more remunerative. The combination of P.indicus and M.dobsoni in dominant and the moderate catches of M.monoceros and P.semisulcatus, form the cream of commercial fishery.