Ichthyo-diversity in the bycatch of landing centers in Mumbai, Maharashtra
1Karan R. Dabholkar and 2*Rishikesh S. Dalvi
1Department of Biodiversity, Wildlife Conservation and Management, VPM’s B. N. Bandodkar College of Science (Autonomous), Thane (West), Thane-400601(India). 1,2Department of Zoology, Maharshi Dayanand College of Arts, Science and Commerce (Affiliated to the University of Mumbai), Parel, Mumbai-400012 (India). *Corresponding author: Dr. Rishikesh S. Dalvi; Email: rishi.dalvi@gmail.com 1MSc Student, 2Assistant Professor
ABSTRACT
Present study evaluates the composition of ichthyofauna diversity in bycatch from the landing centers of Mumbai, including New Ferry Warf and Sassoon Dock. The bycatch composed of total 52 fish species belonging to 19 orders and 39 families. The perciformes dominanted the catch followed by clupeiformes and carangiformes. Among the 39 families, fishes of carangidae and engraulidae were dominant contributing 9.62 %. The Red listed Vulnerable species, the Grey bamboo shark (Chiloscyllium griseum) was also observed in the bycatch. Present study indicated that indiscriminating harvesting methods for maximizing financial profits may eventually lead to ecological imbalance in the coastal zones and threaten marine capture fisheries sustenance.