Fishery and bionomics of tunas at Tuticorin

Abstract

In the fishery along Tuticorin Coast in the Gulf of Mannar, seven species of tuna and tuna-like fishes occur. They are the little tunny Euthynnus affinis (Cantor), Frigate mackerel Auxis thazard (Lacepede), bullet tuna Auxis rochei (Risso), oriental bonito, Sarda orientalis (Temminck and Schlegel), yellowfln tuna Thunnus albacares (Temminck and Schlegel), skipjack tuna Katsuwonus pelamis (Linnaeus) and long tail tuna Thunnus tonggol (Bleeker). In addition, among the billfishes, the sailflsh Istiophorus platypterus (Shaw and Nodder) and the striped marlin Tetrapterus audax (Philippi) also occur in the fishery.