Stock assessment of coastal tuna along the west coast of India

The estimated average annual landings of tunas along the mainland coast of India during 1995-2002 was 36,720 t of which 75% was from the west coast. Maja species landed are Euthynnus afiis, Auxis thazard, A. rochei, Katsuwonus pelamis, Thunnus tonggol and Thunnus albacares. Among these, E. a#nis was the most abundant tuna species along the West coast with an average contribution of 42%. The southern States comprising Kerala, Karnataka and Goa contribute nearly 72% to the total E. aflnis landing along the west coast, the rest contributed by Gujarat and Maharashtra. Other important coastal species include A. thazard on the Southwest coast and T. tonggol on the Northwest coast. An assessment of the stock of these dominant tuna species is presented her