Stake net fishery in the Chettuva Estuary, south-western coast of India

The stake net landing in the Chettuva Estuary was studied for two years from October 2019-September 2021 on the basis of the data and samples collected fortnightly from five stations along the estuary. A total of 123 species of finfish and shellfish belonging to 98 genera, 56 families and 29 orders were recorded during the study. The average monthly landing by stake net was estimated as 51.86 t and the catch was minimal during August and maximum in March. Seasonally, 38.65% of the catch was recorded during the pre-monsoon season, followed by 35.02% during the post-monsoon and the remaining 26.33% caught during the monsoon season. Shrimps dominated the total landings in all the months and stations, with an average contribution of 58.72%, followed by 35.79% by fishes and 5.49% by crabs. The mean catch per unit effort in the Chettuva Estuary was estimated to be 24.69 kg and the catch rates of shrimps, crabs and fishes were 14.13, 1.66 and 8.89 kg, respectively. The trend in the catch rate for both shrimps and total resources remained the same for all the stations as well as for all the months, indicating the importance of shrimp catch in the fishery by stake nets in the Chettuva Estuary. The modal length classes observed for these species indicated that majority of them were juveniles. The exploitation of juveniles, especially of shrimps, by stake nets in this estuary is a matter of concern; hence, increasing the cod end mesh size of the nets operating in the Chettuva Estuary is recommended for resource sustainability. Keywords: Catch per unit effort, Chettuva Estuary, Juveniles, Landings, Species composition, Stake net