Workshop manual on “Techniques and Methodologies in fishery biology of finfishes and shellfishes”

Commercial fishing along the Indian coast is a dynamic and complex process with several types of crafts, gears exploiting more than 500 species of fishes and shell fishes. Further, changing fishing patterns, practice of innovative fishing methods, improvisation of existing fishing methods, etc. further add to the already complex nature of fishing. Estimation of catch landed along the coast is thus a mammoth task. Systematic, regular and unbiased sampling is an integral vital aspect of fishery biology work. Biological process like growth, maturation, feeding patterns, etc. follows regular patterns. Long term studies are generally carried on subsamples collected from the landing centres to get information on the different aspects of the life cycle of the fish. These results are then extrapolated t get a clear picture of the fish population in the commercially fished area. To obtain, a subsample one has to initially estimate the total catch available. Such sampling can be done only by following a statistically valid sampling desig