Fish Fauna of Andaman and Nicobar Islands: A Review

A brief review of recent ichthyological research and compiled results on the records of fishes from the Andaman and Nicobar Islands are presented in this chapter. A total of 1439 species under 577 genera that belong to 33 orders and 165 families were recorded in this archipelago. Of these, 400 species are of commercial significance as food fishes. Among the fishes, 75.68 % of species were recorded as coral inhabitants (1,089 species). Besides, 290 species from mangroves, 152 species from seagrass meadow and 101 species were from offshore environment, while 258 species were commonly observed as overlap among mangrove, seagrass, coral reefs and offshore ecosystems. The distribution, abundance, conservation and management of these fishery recourses at different ecosystems are discussed in detail.