Arbitration of Minimum Legal Size (MLS) for the conservation of a Protandrous Hermaphrodite Acanthopagrus berda based on its catch data

Pal, Mahendra and Anuraj, A and Suresh Babu, P P and Muktha, M and Varghese, Eldho and Ignatius, Boby and Sudarsan, K S and Vighneswar, A (2025) Arbitration of Minimum Legal Size (MLS) for the conservation of a Protandrous Hermaphrodite Acanthopagrus berda based on its catch data. Thalassas: An International Journal of Marine Sciences, 41. pp. 1-10. ISSN 2366-1674

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Abstract

The picnic seabream, or goldsilk seabream, Acanthopagrus berda (Forsskal 1775) is a commercially valuable food fish in the Indian subcontinent. The annual landings of A. berda along the Indian coast during 2018 to 2022 showed an increasing trend over the years. It peaked at 56.5 tons (t) in 2021, up from 0.685 t in 2018, before decreasing again in 2022 (49.8 t). The fishing status of this species has never been studied in India, despite its high market value and limited catches from estuarine and coastal habitats. Hence, a study was conducted from January 2022 to December 2023 to collect information on the landing pattern of A. berda caught at Karwar coast, Karnataka, India. The study aimed to estimate appropriate minimum legal size (MLS) values for the scarce A. berda population on the Indian coast to ensure sustainable stocks. During the study period, it was observed that the A. berda fishery was sustained by fish ranging from 10.4 cm total length (TL) to 38.4 cm TL and in weight from 75 g to 1531 g. Analysis revealed that, in order to protect this important resource, being a protandrous hermaphrodite, a catch restriction with a MLS of at least 29 cm is necessary to allow the matured fish to spawn at least once, so that the stock can be conserved. Future research should focus on continuous monitoring and assessment of the fishery of the species for adapting suitable management practices for protecting the stock.

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