Our pelagic fishery resources Present and potential harvest

Abstract

The two primary divisions of the oceans are (1) the benthic and (2) the pelagic, the former referring to the ocean floor which supports the demersal resources and the latter, the entire column of water , accomodating the pelagic resources. The pelagic region is a part of the marine biocycle and geographically, it is divisible into Atlantic and Indo-Pacific. Ecologically, the pelagic realm can b e bifurcated as neritic (inshore) and oceanic (opens e a) provinces d epending on the depth to which light penetrates and to the extent and depth of the continental slope