The Seasonal Fishery for Penaeus indicus along the Southwest and Southeast Coasts of India

Fishery for the prawn Penaeus indieus along the TrivandrumKanyakumari and Manappad coasts is seasonal, commencing by May-June and closing by October-November. Annual landing of the species ranged from 559 t to 1204 t during 1981-86. This rlShery commences by the onset of the southwest monsoon, and is cpnstituted by large-sized prawns (modes ]51-155 nun to 171-175 mm in males and 196-200 nun in fema1es). The high perceniage (48%) of maturing and mature praWfl.s indicates a breeding population contributing to the fishery. Occurrence of P. indicus population in sequence along the fishing centres of the southwest and southeast coasts suggests probable migration of the prawn from the fonner to the latter coast during the fishing season. This confirms the presently believed migratory behaviour of the species