Dol net fishery off Nawabunder (Gujarat)

Extimated catch of 6,484.9; 3,505.6 and 4,797.7 t of fishes were landed at Nawabunder in 'dol.' net during 1976-77, 1977-78 and 1978-1979 respectively. There has been an increasing trend in effort and decline in catch and catch rate. The catch rate came down from 174.8 kg in 1976-77 to 84 kg in 1978-79. The detailed studies on the catch composition revealed that the Bombay duck formed about 68.6-77% of the total catch. The other important constituents being Coilia dussumieri 1.5-9.2%, ribbon fish 3.0-6.5%, non-penaeid prawn, namely, Acetus indicus, Nematopalaemon tenuipes and Hippolysmata ensirostris together formed about 6.1-13.7% and penaied prawns 1.5-3.1% of the total dol net landings. In addition, quality fishes such as ghol, warn, pomfret and catfishes were also landed in considerable quantities. The landings of ghol are on the increase from 4.9 t in 1976-77 to 59 t in 1978-79. Large number of juveniles of economically important fishes namely, Harpodon nehereus, Pampus argenteus, Trichiurus lepturus and Ilisha filigera have been observed in the catch particularly during February-May. The destructive nature of the gear has been commented along with the suggestions for regulation of the fishery.