Design and gillnet selectivity of Pampus argenteus along the Satpati coast, Maharashtra, India

- Design and gillnet selectivity of silver pomfret along north west coast of India was studied.
- Estimated optimum mesh size for sustainable harvesting was 166 mm.
- The study highlights the need to increase the mesh size of gill nets presently used in Maharashtra.
- The findings would be useful to the policy makers for the adoption of conservation strategies.

Investigations were carried out for evaluating the design and selectivity of Pampus argenteus gillnets used along the Satpati coast. Satpati, an important marine fish landing centre of Maharashtra, India has the maximum Silver pomfret, P. argenteus landing by mechanized gillnetters. Among the maritime states, maximum landing of pomfret was recorded from Gujarat and Maharashtra in the northwest coast. They are highly relished table fishes in domestic and export markets and command high unit value. In India, the species is available in all the coastal states. Gillnet selectivity plays an important role in fish resource management and helps in maintaining sustainability of the stock. The gillnetters used for pomfret fishing in Satpati carried only one net per vessel and the total fleet length ranged from 10620 m to 11400 m. Gillnets are operated as column and bottom drift and depth of operation ranged from 35 m to 50 m. Gillnets made of Polyamide (PA) monofilament of diameter 0.23 mm to 0.28 mm and mesh size that ranged from 110 mm to 130 mm are commonly used. They are rigged with hanging coefficient between 0.42 and 0.51. Hung length varied from 114 m to 143 m and hung depth from 7.66 m to 9.50 m. The estimated optimum length of small mesh and large mesh was 131.40 mm and 155.29 mm respectively. Findings of the present study indicate a drastic decline in the length at first maturity of Silver pomfret to 199 mm fork length and the optimum mesh size estimated is 166 mm. Selectivity in terms of mesh size selectivity in accordance with the size at first maturity and size at first capture helps to eliminate juveniles from the gear. The knowledge of size selectivity of fishing gear types is crucial to fisheries management in order to achieve sustainable yield.