Distribution and abundance of carangids along the EEZ India

Distribution and abundance of carangid groups of fish along the EEZ of India based on the data collected during 80 cruises undertaken by FORV Sagar Sampada is presented here. East coast of India showed maximum concentration of ctrangids with a catch rate of 64 kg/hr along the northeast coast. The least distribution was noticed along the northwest coast ( 5 kg/hr). Carangids formed up to a maximum of 19 % of the total bottom trawl catch along the northwest coast. With more than 20 species of carangids reported to be caught in various cruises, Decapterus spp formed the most dominant group, followed by species like Atule mate, Selar crumenophthalmus, Carangoides malabaricus etc. Depthwise distribution showed higher density in the 60-80 m range all along the coast excepting the Andaman-Nicobar archipelago. Areawise, higher densities of carangids were noticed at latitude-longitude 7°N - 77°E, 1TN - 75°E, 1TN - 79°E, 14°N - 80°E , 18°N - 72°E, 19°N -85°E and 19°N -86°E. Seasonally, carangids were represented in the catch more during the monsoon especially along the northeast and southwest coasts. Potential yield of carangids along the EEZ of India is estimated to be 94971 tonne.