Coral reef Fishery Resources in India with special reference to A & N Islands Dr. S. Dam Roy, Director ICAR-Central Island Agricultural Research Institute
Introduction Coral Reefs - The most diverse marine ecosystems on Earth • Coral reefs - structurally complex and ancient ecosystems. • Cover 0.2% of the oceans surface but about a third of all marine species Includes quarter of all marine fish • species High dependency of humans on reefs • both aesthetic and food
Contd … Coral are actually a special group of cnidarians, the same family as jellyfish!!
Contd.. - A “coral” is actually a “coral colony” - Rocky limestone base - Surface is covered by thousands of tiny coral animals, called “polyps” - Polyps are filled with microscopic algae: Zooxanthellae
Contd..
Conventional taxonomy Kingdom: Animalia Subkingdom: Metazoa Phylum: Cnidaria Class: Anthozoa Subclass: Zoantharia Euphyllidae Pocilloporidae Acroporidae Order: Scleractinia Families: Acroporidae Astrocoeniidae Pocilloporidae Euphyllidae Oculinidae Oculinidae Siderastreidae Agariciidae Siderastreidae Agariciidae Fungiidae Pectiniidae Merulinidae Fungiidae Pectiniidae Merulinidae Dendrophyllidae Mussidae Faviidae Trachyphylliidae Poritidae Mussidae Faviidae Poritidae
Growth form classification Sub-massive Branching Table / plate Foliose Encrusting Solitary Massive
Primary productivity of coral reefs • Coral Reef primary production ranges from 1500 to 3700 g of C/m2/yr. • This makes Coral Reefs one of the most productive communities on earth! • Rapid nutrient cycling between zooxanthellae and corals may be partially responsible for this.
Distribution of Coral Reefs in India • The Gulf of Kutch in the north west • Palk Bay and the Gulf of Mannar in the south east. • The Andaman and Nicobar islands have fringing reefs and a 320 km long barrier reef on the west coast. • The Lakshadweep Islands are made up of atolls. • Intertidal regions off Ratnagiri, Malvan and Redi, south of Bombay and at the Gaveshani Bank, 100 Km west of Mangalore, Quilon in the Kerala coast to Enayem in Tamilnadu, Parangipettai (Porto Novo), south of Cuddalore and Pondicherry
Cont.
Coral Reef Services to Fisheries The live reef fish trade has two main components — live food fish and ornamental aquarium fish. Fisheries related to coral ecosystems range from artisanal subsistence fishing, commercial fisheries, aquaculture, the live reef fish for food industry, recreational fishing, the aquarium/marine ornamental trade, and the curio and fashion industries. Southeast Asia is the hub of this trade, supplying up to 85 percent of the aquarium trade and nearly all of the live food fish trade.
Coral Reef - Fishery Resources • An estimated 4000 (18% of all fishes) species of fish live on coral reefs and associated habitats of the Indo-Pacific and Atlantic oceans. • Economic security to the communities who live alongside them • In the villages around the Gulf of Mannar the traditional fishermen have been catching reef fish, diving for pearls, sacred chanks, holothuria and sea weed for centuries. • In Lakshadweep the reefs are a safety net for food in the monsoon season and also provide the live bait that forms the basis for the commercial Tuna Fishing
Fishery Resources-Andaman • A total of 1371 species have been so far recorded under 586 genera within 175 families in Andaman & Nicobar Islands (Rao, 2009). • Highest among Indian reefs - 72.5% of the fish recorded in this region. • Pomacentridae (clown fish and damsel) are best represented followed by Labridae (wrasses) , Serranidae. • About 400 sps have commercial value as food fishes falling under the family Serranidae, Lutjanidae, Lethrinidae, Carangiidae etc. • Serranids are known to contribute most among the food fishes from the coral reefs.
Biodiversity of ANI Faunal Group World India A&N Sponges 8360 519 112 Mangroves 80 59 34 Marine mollusc 56235 32751 1422 Crustaceans 24375 2970 837 Hard Corals 700 334 334 Flat worms 400 19 19 Polychaetes 8000 585 21 Siphonculates 202 38 25 Echinoderms 6226 765 430 Fishes 31723 2546 1485 Amphibians 550 219 23 Reptiles 5817 456 104 Birds 9026 1250 284 Mammals 4629 410 62
Common Food fishes Fish Families No. of Species Clupeidae 26 Hemirhamphidae 14 Serranidae 58 Lutjanidae 43 Lethrinidae 22 Nemipteridae 22 Leiognathidae 18 Carangidae 46 Scombridae 18 Xiphiidae 01 Istiophoridae 04 Sphyraenidae 09 (Flat fishes) 31
Serranidae • Commonly known as groupers, • Most important and exploited fishery • Species contributing to fisheries are: Plectropomus areolatus Epinephelus bleekeri Epinephelus spilotoceps Epinephelus fasciatus Epinephelus faveatus Epinephelus itajara Plectropomus areolatus Epinephelus longispinis Cephalopholis boenak Epinephelus merra Cephalopholis cyanostigma Epinephelus ongus Cephalopholis leopardus Epinephelus quoyanus Cephalopholis argus Epinephelus coeruleopunctatus Cephalopholis miniata etc.
Lutjanidae • Commonly known as Snappers • Mainly landed by hook and line gear. Lutjanus bohar • Important species contributing to fisheries are: Lutjanus lemniscatus, Lutjanus bohar, Lutjanus decussatus, Lutjanus fulviflamma, Lutjanus kasmira, Lutjanus russellii, Macolour niger etc.
Lethrinidae • Commonly known as • emperors/pig face breams • Mainly landed by hook and line gear. Lethrinus ornatus • Important species contributing to fisheries are: Lethrinus ornatus Lethrinus ornatus, Lethrinus variegates, Lethrinus xanthochilus Lethrinus borbonicus, Lethrinus obsoletus , Monotaxis grandoculis
Other important food fishes • Other important food fishes belong to family Carangidae, Mullidae, Nemipteridae, Siganidae, Clupidaea, Scombridae, Muraenidae, few Elasmobranchs and Crustaceans are also found in the reef areas of ANI. • Local fishing community is largely dependent on these resources. • Any damage to the coral reefs naturally or due to anthropogenic activities will adversely affect the fisheries and in turn affect the fishing community.
Ornamental Fishes Fish Families No. of Species Apogonidae 46 Chaetodontidae 41 Cirrhitidae 05 Pomacentridae 77 Pomacanthidae 20 Labridae 64 Scaridae 25 Blenniidae 57 Balistidae 19 Ostracidae 05 Gobiidae 111
Pomacentridae • Marine ornamentals most represented by this family belogns to order Perciformes • Damsel fishes and Clown fishes Pomacentrus moluccensis (Lemon damsel) Recently bred in MRL of CIARI
Threats to Coral reefs Natural Anthropogenic • Crown-of-thorns • Diseases (Sewage) starfish • Unregulated • Mollusk tourism • Polychaete worms • Over fishing • Bleaching • Souvenir collection • Diseases • Illegal trade • Tsunami • Coastal Industries • Earthquakes • Shipping • Sedimentation
Predicted demise of corals in Indian Seas Region Decade at which corals begin to Decade at which corals decline would be remnant Andaman 2030 - 2040 2050 - 2060 Nicobar 2020 - 2030 2050 - 2060 Lakshadweep 2020 - 2030 2030 - 2040 Gulf of Mannar 2030 - 2040 2050 - 2060 Gulf of Kachchh 2030 - 2040 2060 - 2070
Contd … Diseases, plagues and invasive • species Over fishing & destructive fishing • practices Sedimentation • Eutrophication and chemical • pollution • Coastal development • Poorly managed tourism = Coral stress
Threats to coral reefs
Anthropogenic Threats to coral reefs Tourism Overfishing Destructive fishing Anchors/ships
Coral bleaching
Conservation and Management Marine protected areas and Sanctuaries Coral farming/Gardening Coral breeding Artificial reefs/substrate implants Guided ecotourism Input controls(Gears, crafts etc..)
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