Marine catfish resources of India; Exploitation and prospects

A comprehensive knowledge of the fishery, biology and resource potential of marine catfishes of the family Tachysuridae in Indian waters is lacking. This bulletin is an attempt to provide a baseline picture of the present status of this important resource for future planning and management of the stock. Though catfish production from the seas around India varied from 4 to 6% of the total annual marine fish landings, which is about 10% of the country's demersal catch, this group received inadequate attention of fishery experts. This was mainly due to the fact that catfish was not considered to be a quality table fish until recently. Of late, efforts made for better utilization of the resource and the heavy destruction of catfish eggs by purse seines along the Karnataka and Goa coasts (MFIS, 24, 1980) enhanced our awareness of the urgent need to regulate the exploitation of this promising resource