Biology & Stock Assessment of Sea catfishes in the Indian EEZ

Dr. Shailendra Kumar Dwivedi Obtained Ph. D. degree in Zoology in 2010. He worked in International and national project funded by GEF/UNDP GLOBALLAST water, ICAR and SAC, India. He is working as a Scientist in Fishery Survey of India.

Sea catfishes belong to the family Tachysuridae (Ariidae) and Plotosidae. Total 8 genera and 77 species are recorded in the family Ariidae of which 60 species of Arius spp. from Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal. Four genera viz Arius/Tachysurus (Many species), Batrachocephalus (single sps.), Ancharius (two sps.) and Osteogenciousus (Single sps.) are known to occur in the western Indian Ocean.They inhabit marine and estuarine habitat and characterized by the presence of barbells, lack of true scales and strong spine in front of the caudal fin.Some aspects of biology and behaviour such as low fecundity, shoaling behaviour, shallow nursery grounds, migration and parental care of many sea catfishes make them to easy target for exploitation. Another behavioral pattern that tends them to easy exploitation is parental care. Sea catfishes are mainly caught in trawls, drift gill nets and purse seines. Sea catfishes are known for low fecundity and development of patriarchal parental care. Thus the information provided in this undertaking will be useful to a wide spectrum of end-users including fisherman, fishing industry, Scientist researchers, administrators and policy makers.