FISHERY OF OTOLITHOIDES PAMA (HAMILTON, 1822) IN NARMADA ESTUARY

Total estuarine area under Gujarat state is reported to be 0.21 lakh ha. Narmada estuary is a freshwater estuary under the tidal effect, which mainly influences the salinity regimes. The actual estuarine region starts from Bharuch (situated 220 25' 78" N, 730 53' 91" E) and joins Arabian Sea at Ambetha (210 40'81" N, 720 35' 70" E) in Bharuch district, Gujarat. The funnel-shaped 72 km-long estuarine occupies an area of 6,346 km2 (Kumar et al., 2014). The southwest monsoon brings rainfall, and about 70% of the rainfall occurs during the period from June to September. The development of sand bars at the mouth of the estuary reduces the tidal ingress into the system. Narmada estuary is influenced by semi-diurnal tides with unequal variability. The estuarine production reduced drastically from 15889 t (2006-2007) to 1618 t (2014-15). Habitat shifting of species due to salinity industrial effluents and formation of sand bar in the mouth of the estuary indicates restricted fish migration may be the cause