Regional and seasonal abundance of the white fish Lactarius lactarius (Schneider) in the Trawling grounds off Bombay — Saurashtra coasts 1957-'63

Abstract

The regional and seasonal abundance of Lactarius in the offshore watsrs, heretofere unknowri are studied in detail from Bombay — Saurashtra waters. Of the six regions in tiis zone, Kutch ranked highest In Lactarius fishery, both in total catch and catch rate followed by Porbunder, Dwaraka, Veraval, Cambay and Bombay regions. The fluctuations in Lactarius fishery for the period 1957-'63 in the 6 subareas are discussed in detail. Lactarius is found to concentrate in the 20-45 m depth range, 30-35 m being optimum. The distribution pattern through the various seasons studied, showed that the depth ranges also change according to the season. The average catch rate is observed to be highest in the second quarter of the year. A gradual north-south migration of Lactarius from Kutch commencing in April culminates by January at Cambay. It seems to move from the 25-40 m ranges in March-April to the 40-70 m range in May-June and the reverse movement starts in August-September.