Primary production and potential fishery resources in the seas around India

The paper deals with an account of the results of investigations on primary production using oxygen and C14 techniques in the Gulf of Mannar, Palk Bay and the west coast of India. These together with the data of GALATHEA and International Indian Ocean Expeditions have been used to estimate the productivity of the different regions. It is found that the maximum production is towards the coast within 50 metres depth and gradually decreases seaward. The mean value over the shelf on the west coast is 1-19 gC/m2/day for < 50 metres, 0-43 gC/m2day for 50-200 metres and 0-18 gC/m2day for > 200 metres. Based on this the potential yield as the ratio of carbon production is 1-7 million tonnes. On the east coast the average for the shelf is 0-63gC/m2day and O-MgC/m2/day outside the shelf, though very high rates of 2'OgC/m2day are usually found in the shallow near-shore regions of Gulf of Mannar and Palk Bay, The estimated yield from the east coast is over 0-6 million tonnes. Hence the potential resources over the entire shelf region of the west and east coasts of India together would be of the order of 2^ to 3 times the present yield