orts No. 57, VoL 4

PFOc: EINGS F THE WORLD SCIENTIFIC CONFERENCEON THE PIOLOGY AN CULTURE OF SHRIMPS AND PRAWNS

ACTES D LA CONFERENCE SCIENTIFIQUE MONDIALESUR LA BIOLOGIE ET L'ÉLEVAGE DES CREVETTES

ACTAS DE LA CONFERENCIA CIENTIFICA MUNDIAL SOBREOLOGIA Y CULTWO DE CAMARONES Y GAMBAS

Mexico City, Mexico, 12-21 June 1967Mexico (Mexique), 12-21 juin 1967

Ciudad de México, México, 12-21 junio 1967

ROME, 1970

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FRm/R57.4 (Tri)

A FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS

F 4 0 ORGANISATION DES NATIONS UNIES POUR L'ALIMENTATION ET L'AGRICULTUREORGANIZACION DE LAS NACIONES UNIDAS PARA LA AGRICULTURA Y LA ALIMENTACION

47 ?

Fisheries Re fI

1559 -FAO LIBRARY AN: 115088

FRm/S105FAO Fisheries Synopsis No.105 SAST - Prawn

SYNOPSIS 0F BIOLOGICAL DATA ON THE PENAEID PRAWNt4etapenaous brevicornis (H. Mimo Edwards, 1837)

Exposé synoptique sur la biologie deMetapenaous brovicornis (H. Mime Edwards, 1837)

Sinopsis sobre la biologia deiMetaponaeus brevicornis (H. Mimo Ndwards, 1837)

prepared by

M.J. GEORCEContrai Marine Fisheries Research Institute

Mandapam Camp, India

J Present address, Indian Ocean Biological Centre, P.O. Box 1913, Ernakulam,Cochin-l8, India

2.1 Delimitation of the total area of diotrtbuou and eco)g&ca.characteristization of this area

2,2 Differential distribution

2.2,1 Areas occupied by eggs, larvae and other junior atagssannual variations in thèse patterns, and sesuonalvariations for stages persisting over two or more coasons

2,2,2 Areas occupied by adult stages: seasonal and annualvariations of these

2,3 Behaviouristio and ecolo ical determinants of the general limitsof distribution and of the variaione of hese limici and odifferential distribution

BIONOMICS AND LIFE HISTORY

3.1 Reproduction 1

3,1,1 Sexual5 ermaphrocliiism, hoterosexua1it,intersexuality) 1

3,1.2 Maturity (age and size) 13.1.3 Mating (monogamous, polygamous, promiscuous) *3.1.4 Fertilisation (internal, external) 1

3,1.5 Fecundity C

3,1,6 Spawning 1

3.1.7 Spawning grounds 13.1,8 Egg: structure, size, hatching type, parasites,

and predators *

3,2 Larval history

3.2,1 Account of embryonic and juvenile life(prelarva, larva, poetlarva, juvenile)

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FRIn/S105 M, brevicorniB

CON TENTS'

i IDENTIT!

1.1 Taxonomy

1.],l Definition1,1.2 Description

1,2 Nomenolature

1.2.1 Valid scientific ilames1,2.2 Synonyms1.2.3 Standard common naines, vernacular names

1.3 General variabili

1,3,1 Subspeoific fragmentation (races, varieties, hybrids1.3,2 Genetic data (chromosone number, protein speoifioity

2 DISTRIBUTION

i This synopsis has been prepared according to Outline Version No. 1 H. Rosa Jr., FilO

(i) Rev.l, 1965).

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ii FRm/S105 M. brovioornis

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4.2.1 Average size4,2.2 Changes in size4.2,3 Average density4.2.4 Changos in density

4.3 Natality and. recruitment *

4.3.1 Natality4.3.2 Natality rates

4.4 Mortality, morbidity *

4.4.1 Rates of mortality4.4,2 Factors or conditions affeotíng mortality4.4,3 Factors or conditions affecting morbidity4.4.4 Relation of morbidity to mortality rates

4.5 Dynamics of population

4.6 Relation of population to community and ecoeystembio1ogioa]production. etc,

5 EXPLOITATION

5.1 Fishing equipment

5.1.1 Fishing gear5.1.2 Fishing boats

3,3 Adult hi8tory

3,3.1 Longevity3.3.2 Hardiness3.3.3 Competitors3.3.4 Predators

3.3.5 Parasites and diseases *3.3.6 Greatest size

3.4 Nutrition and growth

3.4.2 Food (type, volume)3.4.1 Feeding (timo, place,

3,4.3 Relative and absolute growth patterns andrates

3,4.4 Relation of growth to feeding, to other aotivitieaand to environmental factors

3.5 Behaviour

3.5.1 Migration and local movements3.5,2 Schooling *

3.5.3 Reproductive habits *

4 POPULATION (sTocK)

4.1 Structure

4.1.1 Sex ratio4.1.2 Ago composition4.1 3 Size ccrnposition

4.2 Size and density *

manner, season)

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5,5 Fisheries management and regulations *

5,6 Fish farmin, trans.lantin and other intervention *

6 REFERENCES 61

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FRm/5105 M broviconi

5.2 Fishing areas

5.2,1 General geographic distribution5,22 Geographical ranges (latitudes, ditance

from coast, etc,)5.2,3 Depth ranges

5,3 Fishing seasons

5,3,1 General pattern of fishing moamon5,3,2 Duration of fishing season *5,3,3 Dates of beginning, peak and end of season5,3,4 Variation in time or duration of fishing seamon *5,3.,5 Factors affecting fishing season

5,4 Fishing o erations and results

5,4cl Effort and intensity *

5,4.2 Selectivity54.3 Catches

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* As no information was available to the author, these items have been omitted from the text.

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FHm/Sl05 M.brevioornis 1*].

i IDENTITY

1,,1 Taxonomy

1.1.1 Definition

Phylum ArthropodaClass CrustaceaSubclass MalacostracaSeries EurnalacostracaSuperorder EucaridaOrder DecapodaSuborder NatantiaSection PenaeidoaFamily PenaeidaeSubfamily PenaeinaeGenus Metapenaous Wood-Mason,

1891Species Metapenaeus brevicornis

(H. Mime Edwards, 1837)

1.1.2 Description

Generic

Genus Mota enaous Wood-Mason, in Wood-Mason and Alcook, ÏT, .nn.Mag.nat,Hist.

(6)827l. Type species by original desig-nation: Ponaous affinia Ii, Mimo ].wards,

1837, GeMer: masculine.

A detailed description of the genus isgiven in the Species Synopsis on Metapennousaffinie by George (1970). The followingcharacters distinguish it from other generaof the Penaeinae:

Rostrum with dorsal teeth only. Cara-

pace without longitudinal or transversesutures or lateral keels. Dorsal keel on 4th-6th abdominal segments; lateral keels on6th segment discontinuous and inconspicuous,Telson grooved, not trifid, No exopod on 3rdmaxilliped or 5th peroiopod,

Specific

Species Metapenaeus brevicornis (H, MilneEdwards, 1837T

The species is illustrated in Fig. 1,

The type material, i± still extant, isprobably in the collection et the Museumrational d'Histoire naturelle, Paris.

Type locaLityt "Les côtes de lt Indo".

Body not, or very little, tomentoso.Rostrum curved and rarely reaching middle of2nd joint of antennular peduncle, cometimosonly just surpassing ayos, bearing dorsal crestof 7 teeth. Postrostral crest very indistinct,only just reaches posterior third of carapace.Postantennular (antennal) spine weak; hepatiospine very small. Postantennular groove ohal-

low; subhepatic groove (anterior part of cer-vical groove) shallow, does not moot hepatiospine. Indistinct ridge defining branchialregion superiorly, present only on posteriorpart of carapace..

Recitan carination on abdominal terga hard-ty perceptible on 3rd somite, distinct on pos-terior two-thirds of 4th and on 5th and 6thsomites; 5th semite about two-thirds length of6th, 6th as long as telson. Telson shorter thanondopod. of uropod; without marginal spines (Kubo?1949) or with pair of clearly perceptible dis-tal spine and seri.es of minute spinules (Raoekand Dall, 1965),

Outer antennular flagellum nearly as longas the peduncle.

Third maxilliped barely reaches middle ofantennal scale; dactylus slender, setose, taper-ing about four-fifths length of' propothis, notmodified in male.

Strong antrorso spine on basis of all 3pairs of cholipeds; ischial spine on 1st pex'oio-pod. Last pair of pereiopods reach more thana dactylus length beyond tip of antennal scale;adult male with notch in posterior border ofproximal end of meras, small tooth at end ofnotch but no other denticles; no subterminallobe on border of ischlwn,

Potassa symmetrical, the 2 halves lightlyfolded, interlocked anteriorly, closely apposedposteriorly to form a compressed tube, .Tubeends distally in a pair of simple spouts, eaohbearing a longish filament near middle (Fig, 2)

Thelycum (Fig, 3) concavo; median lobeshaped like figure eight, anterior portionbetween processes of antopenultimate thoraclosternum, posterior portion between flat cres-cent-shaped lateral lobes,

Flesh coloured with sparsely distributedbrown dots on dorsal side of body; more suchdots on tail fin according to Abmad (1957).

1.2 Nomenclature

A key to the species of Metapenaeus isgiven by George (1970), in the SpeciesSynopsis on M. monoceros, and also by Racek andDall (1965:56-68).

1.2,1 Valid scientific names

Metapenaeus brevicornis (R. Mime Edwards,

1837).

1.2.2 Synonyms

Objective synonymy

Psnaeus brevicornis H, Milno Edwards, 1837,Fist. nat, Crust., 2:417

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Fig. 1 Motapenasum brevicornis, lateral view.

Fig. 2 Petasma of adult maie.

Fig. 3 Thelyoum of adult female.

(from Hall, 1962)

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Penaeopsis brevioornis (H. Mi].no Ed.ward.s,1837) Be Man, l9ll, Siboga Axpec1., 39as3

Metapenasue brevicornis (H. Mime Edwards,

1837) Burkenroad, 1934, Bull. Binghain oceanogr.

Coli., 4(7)33.

Subjective synonymy

Penaeus avirostrie Dana, 1852, Crust.U.S. Explor. Exped.: ¿03

1.2.3 Standard oommon nanee,vernacular names

In India in the Gangetio delta area nd

in the Calcutta markets it is called 'Dhanbone

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ohingdi, 'Hon.yi', 'Koranoy', 'Kucho' and'Saga ohingdi'.

In Indonesia, the species is known as'udang kuning' (yellow prawn),

1.3 General variability

1.3.1 Subepeoifio fragmentation

No subspecies or varieties of M. brevi-comte are known.

J?Rm/S105 M. brevi oornia 1*3

2 DISTRIBUTION

2,1 Delimitation of the total area ofdistribution and eoologioal charac-terization of this area

The species is distributed from WestPakistan through Indian, Malaysian, Thai andIndonesian waters to about ast Borneo. Underthe FAO distribution code (Hoithuis and Rosa,1965), the species occupies land areas: 421,423, 424, 425, 431, 432, 433 and 434, and waterareas: ISW, I&1M.

In Indian waters M, brevicornim has a morenortherly distribution than M. monoceros and14. affinis, and does not occur in the southernarea; it contributes to a good fishery in thenorthern region, both on the west and eastcoasts. It im well represented in estuariesand inshore waters, especially on the eastooast of India. In the Gulf of Kutoh area,the species is distributed mostly in sandy areas(Raaamurthy, 1963). It occurs in the Singaporepond fishery and in the sea around Malaysia(Hall, 1962).

2.2 Differential distribution

2,2.1 Areas occupied by eggs, larvaeand other junior stages: annualvariations in these patterns,and seasonal variations forstages persisting over two ormore seasons

There aro no reports on the occurrence ofeggs and larvae of this species.

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Juveniles (0year group), of modal totallengths 24,5 and 26,5 mm, occur throughout theyear in the upper and middle reaches of theHooghly estuarine system, where they are oommo;from July to October or November (Rajyalakshini,1961), and juveniles and. young adults aleooccur throughout the year in inshore watersnear Bombay (shaikhmahmud and Tembe, 1960),Juveniles of this species contribute up to 19percent of the prawn catches from Singaporeponds in October (Hall, 1962); adults of .

brovioornis do not occur in these ponde.

2,2.2 Areas occupied by adult stages:seasonal and annual variationsof those

Mature adults are found in the lowerreaches of the Hooghly estuary (Rajyalakshini,1961) and in the sea in Malaysian waters (Hall,1962), No seasonal or annual variations amreported,

FRm/S105 M. brevicornis 2:1

3.1 Reproduction

3,1.1 Sexuality (hermaphroditimm,heterosexuality, intersexual-ity)

Am is the case with other penaeids, thespecies is heterosexual. Externally visiblegenitalia and secondary sex characters arepresent (see section 1.1.2).

3.1.2 Maturity (age and. size)

Based on the rapid decline and recoveryin the condition factor with the attainment ofsexual maturity, Rajyalakshmi (1961) concludedthat the species attains maturity at a lengthof about 100 mm, Bhimachar (1965) gave theage at maturity as 2 yr, corresponding to alength of 75.0 mm.

11 (1962) reported that the potasmalendopodites fuse together completely when theyoung attain a carapace length of 11.2 mm.

3.1.4 Fertilization (internal,external)

As in other penneids, fertilization isexternal.

3.1.6 Spawning

Spawning seasons (beginning, end, peak)

In the Hooghly estuarine system, on theeast coast of India, the species is reportedto have 2 spawning seasons, one in the earlymummer, March and April, and the other in themonsoon months, July and August (Rajyalakshmi,1961), Hall (1962) recorded 2 peak breedingseasons for the species in Malaysian waters,namely May to July and October to December.

3.1.7 Spawning grounds

Shaikhmahmud and Tembe (1960) noted thepresence of females with conjugal pade, but nomaturo specimens in the exploited inshore watersof Bombay. They suggested that mating takesplace in shallow water, after which the femalesmigrate to deeper water for spawning, In theHooghly estuarine system, according to Rajya-lakshmi (1961), the species spawns in themarine zone of the estuary, i.e. the lowerreaches or the inshore areas, In the Malaysianwaters the species breeds very close inshore(Hall, 1962).

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FRni/5105 M. brevicornis 3t1

3.2.1 Account of embryonic andjuvenile life (prelarva,larva, postlarva, juvenile)

No information is available on the larvaldevelopment of the species, An account of thebiology of juveniles in the fishery of theHooghly estuarine system is given by Rajya-lakshmi (1961), and in the Singapore pondfishery by Hall (1962).

3,3 Adult history

3.3,1 Longevity

}tajyalakshxni (1961) recorded 0, 1, 2 and3...year groups from the Hoogly estuarine system,indicating a life span of more than 3 yr.

3.3.2 Hardiness

The species is tolerant to wide variationsin salinity, but can withstand only a minimumof handling,

3.3.3 Competitors

In the Singapore pond fishery, where thespecies occurs, there is no evidence of com-petition for food among the important species(Hall, 1962),

3.3.4 Predators

No large scale predation has been reported,

3.3.6 Greatest size

According to Alcock (1906), the speciesvery rarely attains a length of 5 in (127 mm),Ienon (1956) jid Bhimachar (1965) recorded themacimum size for the species as 5 in (127 mm)and. 125 mm, respectively. However, accordingto Chopra (1939) it grows to only about 4 in(101 mm) near Bombay. The largest specimenrecorded from the Hooghly estuary by Rajya-lakshmi. (1961) was 120.0 mm.

3,4 Nutrition and growth

3.4.1 Feeding (time, place, manner,season)

Hall (1962) analyzed the stomach contentsof 40 specimens, of which 23 were from daylightfishing operations in Nalacca Strait and 17from night fishing from a Singapore prawn pond,Moro of the stomaabs of specimene from the n.i..tfishing operation in the pond wore empty thanthe stomachs of specimens obtained in the day-.light fishing operations, thereby indicatingmore feeding activity during dertimo,

3 BIONOMICS AND LIFE HISTORY 3,2 Larval history

3.2 -

3.4.2 Food. (type, volume)

The items of food found by Hall (1962),in their order of abundance, were: vegetablematter, mainly consisting of angiosperm tissueand filamentous algae; small crustacea, mostlythe calanoid copepod Pseudodiaptomus hicksoniand. a few other copepods; echiurid. setas; largeorumtacea, mainly appendages and other remainsof penaeids; remains of fishes, particularlyscales, arid polychaeta. Sand grains were alsopresent.

3.4.3 Relative and absolute growthpatterns and rates

In the Singapore prawn pond studied byHall.(1962), this species did not show anyappreciable growth,

Rajyalakshmi (1961) estimated thegrowth pattern of the species in the Hooghlyeatiiarine systems by the probability plot anal-ysis of length-frequency distributions. Acoor-ding to her, malee and females attain lengthsof 45.8 mm and. 47.4 mm, respectively, at theend, of the ist year of life, and 80.5 mm and89,0 mm, respectively, by the end of the 2nd,year of life, Thus the females show a fastergrowth rate than males, particularly duringthe 2nd year, The growth rate curves for malesand females given by her show that, after thepostlarval phase, the prawn grows at a rate ofapproximately 3 mm per month. Specific growthrate was observed to be highest in the young,decilini.ng with ago,

Based on 70 observations, Hail (1962) es-timated the relationship between carapace lengthand weight as

w = 0,8630 2.650,

Rajyalakshmi (1961) worked out the length-weight relationship on the basis of 1,968 in-dividuals, ranging in total length from 23 mmto 120 mm, caught in the Hooghly estuary, Shefound a linear relationship botweon log lengthand, log weight, but the relationship for the0-year group (a) differs from that for oidorindividuals (b), The relationships for t'ne2 groups wore found to be:

Log W = -5,0083 + 2,9810 Log L

Log W -4,5407 -'r 2,6976 Log L

She also studied the relativo conditionfactor Kn(w/7). Seasonal fluctuations and othervariations ¶in the condition factor for dif-ferent size groups wore attributed to weightincreases subsequent to .nou].ting.

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Fa /5105 M, brevico

3,4,4 Relation of growth tofeeding, to other activitiesand to onvir.oriniental factors

The seasonal growth pattern of the speciesin the Hooghly estuary has been worked oit byRajyalakshmi (1961). She sound. that infemales -the growth rate is fastest in sunser,when the water temperature and salinity in theestuary aro high (temperature ranging from30.45 to 30.82°C and salinity from 4.3 to29.10/00 ), The growth rate ìs less in thsrainy season, which is characterized by fairlyhigh temperatures and low salinities (tempera.-ture, 30,05 to 30,80°C and salinity from atrace to 9,470/00) and. lowest during the winterwhen the temperature is low (21.55 to 23,70°C)and. the salinity is relatively high (1.62 tol9,78°/oo),

3.5 Behaviour

3,5,1 Migration and local movements

The typìcal movement of juveniles frombrackish-water ponds to offshore breedinggrounds has been rocordeci by Hall (1962), Inthe Hooghly estuarine system, Rajyalakshmi(1961) observed that the spooies spawns in themarine zone of the estuary or in inshore areas,and the young migrate up the estuary, either byactive swimming or by tidal action. They livein the upper reaches of the estuary until theattainment of maturity, thon the adults appearto migrate back to the lower reaohes, whorethey mature and spawn,

In Bombay waters, Shaikhmahnud. arid Tombe(1960) suggested that females may migrate awayfrom the inshore areas towards the deeper zone'to spawn,

Subramanyazn (1965) studied immigrationand, emigration of the species in the Oodavaryestuary, According to him emigration from theestuary commenced sparsely in January, reachingits peak in May, Emigration took plaoo mostlyby day; immigratjo was at a marmmum at dawn,The number of migrants was found by him to begreater at new moon than at full moon and thesize range of the migrating prawns was observedto be between 21 and. 105 mm.

io percentage ratio of micrating M.vioornis at changing tidea in Gau'tani estuary(Subramanyam, 1965) im shown below.

Low tide () 32.88

High tide (dusk) 18,27

Low tide (night) 21.92High tide (dawn) 26,93

% remaining in the sea(differenco betweenlow and. high tIdes) .9,60

4 POPULATION (STOCK)

4,1 Structure

4..].,]. Sex ratio

In Bombay- waters, Shaikhmahmud and Tembe(1960) reoorded. slightly fewer females thanmales in January (49 percent females), similarnumbers of each sex in February, and moro fe-Pmales in all other months, with a maximum of67 peroent in Apri].. In the Hooghly estuary,Rajyalakshmi (1961) found more females thanmales in all months, with the highest percen-tage in January (61,4 percent) and the lowestin July (51.5 percent).. Hall (1962) recordedslightly more females than males (52,1 percentfemales) in the catches from Singapore prawnponds..

4,1.2 A composition

According to Rajyalakshmi (1961) in thelower reaches of the upper zone and the upperroaches of the middle zone of the Hooghly es-tuary, 1 and 2 year groups form the fishery,the 1-year class forming the dominant groupduring all months except August to October.In the lower-middle and the lower zonas of theHooghly, 2 additional age groups, O and 3, alsocontribute to the fishery; the 0-year groupappearing only between July and. December0

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In the inshore waters of Bombay and in tkeSingapore prawn ponds, only immature specimensof M. brevicornie are taken in the fishorr(Shai]thmahmud and Tambo, 1960; Hall, 1962).

4.1.3 Size composition

In the Hooghly estuary, the catches, ao-oording to Rajyalakshmi (1961), ranged in lengthbetween 15 mm and 115 mm. She gave lengthfrequenoy histograms for femaés and malesfor the years 1959 and 1960. Sizes of malesand.females of 1 and 2 years, whioh occur inthe upper and middle zones of the estuary, aregiven in section 3.4.3. Three year old prawnsof 90 mm or more also contribute to the fisheryin the lower reaohes.

Size-frequency histograms for malos andfemales of the species in the Singapore prawnpond fishery for 1954 to 1955 wore given byHall (1962). Carapace lengths ranged from 7to 20 mm.

In the inshore fishery for the species inBombay waters, Shaikhinahmud and Tombe (1960)recorded a range in total tength of 40 to 110mm,

FRn/SlO5 M. brevicornis 4z1

PRis S105 M. brevioox'nis

5 HXPLOITATION

5.1 Fishing equipment

5.1.1 Fishing gear

In the Hooghly estuarthe system, bag nets(bhinjal and thorjal) form the main typo ofgear and account for nearly 90 percent of thetotal catches, Small drag nets and dip netsaccount for the rest of the landings. Thespecies is also caught tri barrier nets (kai-pata jal) (Rajyalakshmi, 1961). Tho 'behundijal' mentioned by Ohopra (1939) is another bagnet or oonical purse net, in which the speciesis oaught in Bengal. In Bombay coast, the 'dol

or bag net and its variant, the 'bokshi',are the main gear used for catching thisspecies along with other prawns and fish(Shaikhmahmud and Tombe, 1960; Setna, 1949).

The method of fishing and the net used inthe Singapore pond fishery, in which thisspecies is caught along with others, are des-cribed by Hall (1962).

The fishing gear employed in the shrimpand prawn fisheries in the Kroya Dis±rict inIndonesia are described by Djajadiredja andSachlan (1956), and these includo the skimmingnet, push net, cast net, fixed lever net aridthe various traps and tykes, such as the corn-mon trap, filter trap, filter tyke and bambooscreen trap.

5,1,2 Fishing boats

The species is generally fished withoutthe help of boats,

5,2 Fishing areas

5,2.1 General geographic distribu-tion

The species is fished in most of the areasfrom which it has been recorded (see sections2.1 and 2.2),

5.2.2 Geographic ranges (latitudes,distances from coast, etc.)

The fishery is generally confined to in-shore areas, estuaries and ponds,

5,2,3 Depth rangos

In Bombay waters these prawns are oaubtin inshcre waters varying in depth from 4 to 7fm (7 to 13 m)(Shaikhmabmud and Tembe, 1960).The fishery in the Hooghly estuarine systemis in shallow waters (8ajyalakshmi, 1961),

The Singapore prawn pond studied by Hall(1962) had a high tide mean depth of 4 ft(1,3 m),

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5 3 flsgoasorie

5.3.1 General pattern of fishingseason

Taking the entire coast of India, th'season is generally towards the latter half ofthe year, except in the Godavary estuary whoreit is mainly in the earlier half. In theSingapore pond fishery also the season for thisspecies falls in the latter half of the year,

5,3,3 Dates of beginning, peakand end of seasons

July to February is the CaiX! orthe species in the Gulf of Kuth sra; ij con-tribution to the fishery in difont cni;rcevarios from 13.7 to 27,4 percera (1esrnshy,1963), Slightly south of this unee. e!oi theBombay coast, the species is avaiiao Lohout the year and the peek season is funnary to March, Here tri 1952 to 195e? hc cooaveraged 12,8 percent of the prawn cntoJi(ShaJthmahnvd arid. Tombe, 1960), In the Hoo1'1restuarine :ctem the species o ichc e.aonthroughout the yesr, tho l'ic eons cC hoHooghly and, the lcn:rr u c1nrhete, Che buLF. othe landings is thn'ing Cn: mouNovember to Fobrueny, S J'e v 'irk sothe fishery commences Lu tns ri1 cOliCuntil March (Ra alakehiui1 i96i, ccCsnrto Subramanyam (1965), fi..:.'

species in the God.ava, ., ovcoast of India, is from ,roh to Juno,

In the Singapore pc'od f)saeí'y, a) iahthe species is always crerea L viit forms an important L'nrc C_sn c. Cha a

(naneiy, 19.0 percent) rn 0cCoho onJ'fairly common from May to 0cCohc: (.tC. 396d.,

5,3,5 Factors affecting fishingseason

Rajyalakehini (1961), stpd.inug he 's-on ofocourrence of the epeo.cs in ira flooghif (30 iia-

rifle system, observed. theC Che ògger ciaogroups are largely confinad o areas of' Ir'i,ghor

salinity, where they occin' in the reter ¡'rosi .h,It is probable that saliuChy plays an iriporhnrCpart in the seasonal distributions of theselarger prawns as they congregate before spawning,In the upper and middle reaches of the oe[uaythe peak fishing season is in the iniCar beCof the year and is dependent on the mi,gi'at!onof juveniles from waters of higher selinht,f,

5,4 Fjehjn o erations and rOsulte

5.4.2 Selectivity

None of the fishery, as it exists ritpresent, is very selective,

50403 Catches

There apaear to ho no fiuros for anyarca giving the commercial catch of M. brevi

is separately from -that of other prawns,If catches from the prawn pond studied byTham Ah Koi (1955) and. Hall (1962) are typicalfor the Singapore area, then the weight ofM brevicornis passing through Singaporerrkets probably amounts to about 1,000 kgt.ri Oo-tobor and, lens in other rnonth.Pantulu (1965) estimated. the total prawnproduction from -the Eooghly eel;uarine systemas 900 tons, According to Rajyalakshmi(1961) 30% of the total prawn catches of thisostuary is contributed by !4. brevicornim. SO

the total catches of this species from thisregion may be en-timatod as 270 tons in a year.

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5 2 FRin/S105 M. brovicornie

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FRm/S105 M. brevicornie 6l6 RPFERENCES

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