, Mini Raman 2

The coastal region of the Central West coast of India is biologically productive and is well known for its Mackerel and Sardine fishery. December is an active fishing month and it just happens to fall in the post-monsoon period when coastal waters are influenced by the riverine discharge of fresh-water. The impacts of fresh-water on the components of the food chain were studied on a cruise conducted on-board the coastal research vessel Sindhu Sankalp. A total of 40 stations distributed over 3 transects were sampled like those found off the coast of Goa, off Ratnagiri and off Dabhol. Physical conditions like salinity and temperature were monitored. Salinity of coastal waters ranged from 33.93- 34.59 psu which lowered sigma-t values from 24.08- 21.49 kg m-3 to 22.57 – 21.92 kg m-3 due to fresh-water run-off during the extended monsoon of 2010. Chlorophyll a (Chl a) values of the coastal waters were 2.98 ± 0.83 µg