Unusual heavy landings of the catfish Arius dussumieriin Rajapara Bay of Gujarat coast

Rajapara is one of the most important dolnet fishing centres in Saurashtra region and the landing centre is a small semicircular bay without any major concrete berthing facilities (Fig. 1). Though, a well constructed jetty is not present in this centre, fishing boats of 10 -14 m size operate and small canoes are used to unload the catch. About 240 dolnet units are under operation, of which 120 are four netters, 90 are three netters and the rest are two netters. Duration of each operation lasts for 4 to 5 h. Depth range of fishing ground is 24 to 40 m and it takes 4-5 h to reach the fishing area.