Status of Elasmobranchs Fishery in Chennai, India

Catches of elasmobranchs in India showed an increasing trend from 27.4 thousand t in 1961 to 49 thousand t in 2006. During 2006, among the total elasmobranch catches throughout India, Tamil Nadu contributed substantially with 10.8 thousand tonnes. Observations on elasmobranchs fishery in Chennai for a period of 5 years from 2002–2006 was carried out. In Chennai fisheries harbor, annual elasmobranch catches varied from 489 t to 1735 t for the trawlnets and 194 t to 519 t for mechanized gillnets. In the same harbor, maximum catch of 2074 t of elasmobranchs was recorded in 2002. The contribution of elasmobranch i.e. 4.0 %, 16.0 % & 2.0 % to the trawl, gillnet, and hooks and line (H&L), respectively, with the CPUE of 24.4, 136.7, and 1.3 kg in the respective gears were observed. Trawlers landed heavy catch of more than 100 t of elasmobranchs during June and July with the catch per hour (cph) of 1.4–1.6 kg. Gillnet catches were better during June-September, where monthly catch was above 35 t with CPUE of 203-287 kg. H&L landed good catch during February and March, where the catch was above 1 t with the CPUE of 3.3-4.0 kg