Length-based population dynamics of the near threatened shark Scoliodon laticaudus Muller andHenle, 1838 from north-eastern Arabian Sea, India

Spadenose shark Scoliodon laticaudus is a common shark species landed as a bycatch from various gears used in the north-eastern Arabian Sea, India. Length-based stock assessment was done for S. laticaudus landed from trawl nets operated from New Ferry Wharf and Versova and trawled at 20-50 m depths from August 2016 to May 2018. Altogether 2237 specimens of S. laticaudus were sampled for the study, of which males contributed 46.80% (n= 1047) and females 53.20% (1190) with a sex ratio of 1:1.3. Length range observed was 170 to 590 mm for males and 163 to 610 mm for females. S. laticaudus has a relatively faster growth rate with a K value of 0.64 yr-1, t0 of -0.364 yr and an asymptotic length (L∞) of 674 mm. Keywords: Carcharhinid sharks, Exploitation, Maharashtra, Spadenose shark, Stock assessment