biodiversity of india along with biodiversity of corals and reef fishes along with their ditribution and some commercially important species

1. BIODIVERSITY OF FISHES IN INDIA

2. Marine
58%
Freshw
ater
41%
Migrant
1%
Species Distribution
• World harbours total of 24,618 species - 4258
genera - 482 families.
• About 58% marine 41% are freshwater and
1% migrants.
• In India- 2,500 fish species
(930 freshwater 1570 marine)
• In other words, India harbours 11.5% of the
fish fauna so far known in the world.
World india

3. Oceanic Divisions
Epipelagic - (MSL) to 200 m
Mesopelagic- 200 m to
1,000 m
Bathypelagic- 1,000 m to
4,000 m
Abyssopelagic - 4,000 m to
the ocean floor
Hadopelagic - below 6,000
m whether in a trench or
not.

4. Profile of Indian Marine Fisheries
• Physical component-
– Length of coastline 8129 km
– Exclusive economic zone 2.02 m km2
– Continental shelf 0.50 million km2
– Fishing villages 3202
• Human Component
– Marine fishers population 3.5 million
– Active fishers population 0.9 million [20% in mech.,
20% moto., 60% in arti.]; 30% posses ownership of
fishing vessels

5. Biodiversity v/s what we exploit –
Groups Diversity of species Commercially exploited
Finfishes 1300 species* 263
crustacean 2900 species*
marine mollusks 3370 species
Sea weeds 844 species
Corals 262 species -
sea grasses 14 species -
mangroves 69 species -
sponges 451 species -
sea snakes 26 species -
sea turtles 5 species -
marine mammals 30 species -

6. Major Pelagic Fisheries
Family Group/ Species Species number
Clupeidae
Oil sardine 1
Lesser sardine 14
Hilsa spp. And other shads 15
Whitebaits 24
Thryssa and Thrissocles spp 10
Wolf herring 2
Other clupeids 40
Scombridae
Coastal tunas 5
Oceanic tunas 3
Seerfishes and wahoo 5
Mackerels 3
Trichiuridae Ribbonfishes 8
Harpodontidae Bombay-duck 2

7. Family Group/ Species Species number
Carangidae
Scads 12
Jacks 4
Black pomfret 1
Travallies 25
Runners 1
Pilot fishes 1
Leather jackets 4
Pompanos and darts 6
Stromateidae Pomfrets 2
Coryphaenidae Dolphin fishes 2
Rachycentridae Cobia 1
Mugilidae Mullets 22
Sphyraenidae Barracudas 7
Exocoetidae Flying fishes 10
Bregmacerotidae Unicorn cod 1
Total pelagics 250

8. Species composition of some major pelagic species-
• Oil Sardine - The Indian oil sardine, Sardinella longiceps . Single
species.
• Lesser Sardines - Of the 15 species of lesser sardines in the Indo-
Pacific region, 12 species occur in the Indian waters. Some are S.
gibbosa, S. fimbriata (Fringe-scale sardine), S. albello (Short-bodied
sardine)
• Anchovies - important species are Coilia dussumieri, Stolephorus
spp, Thryssa spp., Thryssinna spp. and Setipinna spp. Some of the
important species of Anchovies are : Peruvian anchovy-
Engraulis ringens , Japanese anchovy - Engraulis japonicus , Golden
anchovy- Coilia dussumeiri , Devis' anchovy -Encrasicholina devisi
• White Baits- Ten species of white baits occur in our seas. Dominant
species available throughout the coast are E. devisi, S. bataviensis.
E. punctifel; S. commersonii. S. indicus and S. baganensis.

9. • Mackerel- The bulk by Rastrelliger kanagurta (Indian
mackerel). In addition R. brachysoma (Short mackerel)
and R. faughni (Island mackerel) also contribute.
• Tuna- mainly dominated by Euthynnus affinis (about
50%), followed by, Auxis thazard (16%), 5 costal ; 3
oceanic species
• Seerfishes- The fishery is sustained by four species
such as the king seer , the spotted seer , the streaked
seer and wahoo .
• Ribbonfish / Hairtail - comprised of Trichiurus lepturus
(Grey ribbonfish), T. russelli (Short tailed hair tail), T.
gangeticus (Ganges hairtail), Lepturacanthus savala
(Silver ribbonfish)

10. Species composition of some major mesopelagic species-
• Carangid - Carangid fishes in India is represented mainly by 36
species (21 genera) such as Alectis indicus (Indian thread-fin
trevally), Alepes djedaba (Djedaba trevally), Atropus atropus
(Kuwest trevally), Atule mate (One-fin let scad), Coryphaena
hippurus (Dolphinfish), Carangoides armatus (Longfin trevally), C.
malabaricus (Malabar trevally), Decapterus russellii (Round-scad),
Megalaspis cordyla (Horse mackerel), Parastromateus niger (Black
pomfret), Rachycentron canadus (Black kingfish), Trachinotus blochii
(Sub-nose pompano) and T. botla (Russel's pompano).
• Bombay-Duck- The Bombay-Duck, Harpadon nehereus belongs to
the family, Harpadontidae. Major contributing species is Harpadon
nehereus. Another species is H. Squamosus which also contributes
to the Bombay-Duck fishery.

11. Species composition of some major demersal species-
Group Species Diversity
Silverbelly 21 species
Sciaenids 30 species
Goatfishes 16 species
Perches 20 families
groupers 17 species
snappers 14 species
emperors 9 species
thread fin breams 6 species
Flatfishes 25 species
Elasmobranch 110 species

12. Species composition of some major demersal species-
• Elasmobranch In India, there are about 110 species of elasmobranch
which includes 66 species of sharks
• Sharks
The dominant species of sharks are Chiloscyllium indicum (Slender
bamboo shark), C. griseum (Grey bamboo shark), Rhincodon typus (Whale
shark), Carcharhinus brevipinna (Spinner shark), Galeocerdo cuvieri (Tiger
shark), Rhizoprionodon acutus (Milk shark), Scoliodon laticaudus (Spade-
nose shark), Sphyrna mokarran (Great hammer-head) and S. zygaena
(Smooth hammer-head).
Skates
Important species among skates are Rhina ancylostoma (Bow-mouthed
angel fish), Rhinobatos granulatus (Granulated shovel-nose ray),
Rhynchobatus djiddensis (White spotted shovel-nose ray), Anoxypristis
cuspidata (Pointed saw- fish) and Pristis microdon (Small-tooth saw fish).
Rays
The important species are Aetobatus narinari (Spotted eagle ray),,
Himantura uarnak (Honey combed sting ray), H. bleekeri (Whiptail sting
ray), Mobula diabolus (Horny ray).

13. • Silverbelly – (pony fishes / slip mouths) family Leiognathidae
– Almost all the 21 species are known from southern Tamil
Nadu, but the dominant species are Leiognathus dussumieri, L.
jonesi, L. splendens, and L. equulus.
– In the northern Tamil Nadu and along Andhra Pradesh, about
12 species contribute to the fishery, of which L. bindus. L.
splendens and Secular insidiatar are most dominant
accounting for nearly 70 - 80% of the silverbelly landings.
– In Kerala, 16 species occur in the landings of which four
species (L. splendens, L. brevirostris. S. insidiatol; Gazza
minuta) contribute to the bulk of the landings.
• Sciaenids - Commonly known as croakers, grunters, drummers
and jewfishes belong to the family, Sciaenidae. About 30 species
have been recorded ; Of these 12-17 species form the commercial
fishery. Two larger species of sciaenids, Otolithoides biauritu and
Protonibea diacanthus . Otolithes cuvieri is the most abundant
sciaenid in the Indian waters.

14. • Lizardfish – (Synodontidae ) Represented by species such as
the (greater lizardfish) Saurida tumbil, (brush toothed
lizardfish) Trachinocephalus myops and (engleman's
lizardfish) Synodus englemani (west coast). Other
species Saurida longimanus (longfin lizardfish) and S.
micropectoralis (shortfin lizardfish) along the east coast.
• Pomfrets – (Stromateidae and Carangidae ) Primarily
composed of three species – Black
pomfret (Parastromateus niger), Silver pomfret (Pampus
argenteus) and Chinese pomfret (Pampus chinensis).
• Goatfishes –(red mullets) belong to the family, Mullidae.
Sixteen species - belonging to three genera. Of these, the
eight species of the genus Upeneus contribute to the bulk
of the fishery. Upeneus doriae (Gilded goatfish)

15. • Perches- (Order: Percifonnes) include more than 20 families such as Serranidae ,
Lutijanidae, Lethrinidae (called major perches), Nemipteridae, Haemulidae,
Caesionidae , Priacanthidae , Aunthridae and Siganidae (called minor perches).
Species composition of important perches :
In Family Serranidae seventeen species of groupers constitute the fishery in
India. Epinephelus tauvina (Greasy grouper).
Lutjanidae, fourteen species of snappers. They include Lutjanus johni (John's
snapper). L. argentimaculatus (Red snapper)
Lethrinidae nine species include Lethrinus nebulosus (Starry emperor bream), L.
obsoletus (Yellow banded emperor bream),
Nemipteridae (Threadfin breams) six species constitute in India. Major are
Neimpterus japonicus, N. mesoprion
• Flatfishes - Flatfishes belong to the families, Bothidae (Flounders), Cynoglossidae
(Tongue soles), Psettodidae (Indian halibut) and Soleidae (Soles). Twenty five
species under 11 genera contribute to minor or major fisheries along the Indian
coast. Most of them are small to medium sized fishes except Psettodes erumei,
which attains 60 cm length. Most of them are restricted to shallow waters of less
than 60 m depth. However, P. erumei (Indian halibut) and Cynoglossus
bilineatus (Malabar tongue sole) occur up to 100 m and 400 m depth respectively.

16. BIODIVERSITY OF CORALS IN INDIA
• The total coral reef area in India is 5,790 km2,
There are 4 major coral reef areas in India.
• There is also scattered coral growth on
submerged banks along the east and west coasts
of the mainland.
• A total of 262 species of hard corals, 145 species
of soft corals and 844 species of reef fish have
been recorded from Indian coral reefs, but
diversity varies significantly between areas.

17. • 1] Gulf of Mannar – (117 coral species), with the most common
corals being Acropora, Montipora and Porites. with dominant
families being the Acroporidae, Faviidae and Poritidae.
• 2] Andaman and Nicobar- (203 coral species) with Porites spp.
Being dominant in the northern and southern Andaman Islands,
while Acropora spp. dominate the middle Andaman and the
Nicobar Islands
• 3] Lakshadweep Islands- (95 coral species) The most common
corals found are the genus Acropora and Montipora while the
massive species of corals are mainly those of genus Porites and
Heliopora Besides, Fungia and Favia are also widespread in many
island lagoons.
• 4]Gulf of Kutch- (37 coral species) Montipora, Cosinaria,
Hydnophora, Turninaria, Goniastrea, and Porites are some of the
common species found in all the islands of Gulf of Kutch. Species
such as Siderastrea savignayana and Acanthastrea hillae are
reported only from Gulf of Kutch.

18. Reef fishes in India
• In India 774 species are currently present in the country (endemic, native,
introduced, reintroduced).
• Reef fisheries in India are not reflected in national fisheries statistics, as
little significance is given to the fishery, however, they are important as a
subsistence fishery for local people.
• Organised fishery of reef fishes occurs mainly in Gulf of Mannar. A total 0f
183 species belonging to 51 families were recorded from Gulf of Mannar.
• In the Andaman and Nicobar Islands fishing is mainly carried out around
the Andaman Islands, with little around the Nicobar Islands. The main
species targeted include sardines, anchovies, carangids, mackerel, mullets,
perches, sharks and rays, catfish, pomfrets, silver bellies and catfish.
overall composition of the catch included; sardines (12-13%), perches (7-
10%), carangids (6%) and mackerel (6-7%).
• In the Lakshadweep Islands there is no organised commercial reef fishery
for food or ornamental fishes, but there is a subsistence reef fishery. The
local industry targets offshore pelagic fish, such as tuna, which require the
harvesting of sprats (Spratelloides sp.) from reef lagoons for bait.

19. From the graph it is clear that the families Carangidae, Lutjanidae and
Serranidae dominated considerably with 19, 18 and 17 species respectively.

20. References
• http://www.reefbase.org/global_database/default.aspx?section=r5
• http://www.fishbase.org/Country/CountryChecklist.php?vhabitat=saltwater&c_code=3
56
• Marine Biodiversity of India – Status and Challenges By K. K. Joshi, Varsha M.S. and
Sruthy V.L. Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute, Kochi-682 018
• Documenting Coastal Fish Biodiversity of India : Status, Issues and Challenges U. K.
Sarkar, J. K. Jena, S. P. Singh, A. K. Singh and S. C. Rebello National Bureau Fish Genetic
Resources
• Marine Biodiversity in India: Satus and Issues Alok Saxena Additional Director, Indira
Gandhi National Forest Academy, Dehradun,Uttarakhand, India
• Coral reel fishes 0f Gulf of Maunar, S.E _India Molly Varghese, Mary K.Manisseri,
N.Ramamurthy, P.M.Geetha, V.J.Thomas and A.Gandhi Mandapam Regional Centre of
CMFRI, Mandapam Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute, Cochin
• Status ofCoral Reefs in South Asia: Bangladesh, Chagos, India, Maldives and Sri Lanka
Jerker Tamelander and Arjan Rajasuriya
• Economic Valuation of Coral Reef Systems in Gulf of Kachchh Gujarat Ecology Commission
(GEC)
• CORAL REEFS IN INDIA K. Venkataraman National Biodiversity Authority

21. Thank You