Pufferfish fishery along the Kerala coast and biology of the smooth-backed puffer, Lagocephalus inermis (Temminck & Schlegel 1850)

The puffer fish fishery along the Kerala coast with some biological aspects of the dominant and less studied species, Lagocephalus inermis is described from Cochin, Kerala. The annual average puffer fish landing in Kerala during 2012-2016 ranged between 188 t in 2016 to 747 t in 2013, with an average annual landing of 400 t. Peak landing was observed during post-monsoon season. The length of L. inermis ranged from 85 to 415 mm with a mean size of 275 mm. Males dominated throughout the study period (1:0.84), with the sex ratio not significantly different from the expected value. The spawning activity was found to be higher during the pre�monsoon period. The present study found that these species are essentially carnivores preying on a wide variety of small pelagic fishes, crustaceans and molluscs. The significance of the emergence of puffer fishes in the coastal waters of Kerala is discussed in this pape