Water Temperatures and Climatological Conditions South of New England, 1974-83

From 1974 through 1983, we conducted monitoring to provide the first long-term, year-round record of sea water temperatures south of New England from surface to bottom, and from nearshore to the continental slope. Expendable bathythermograph transects were made approximately monthly during the ten years by scientists and technicians from numerous institutions, working on research vessels that traversed the continental shelf off southern New England. Ten-year (1974-83) means and variability are presented for coastal and bottom water temperatures, for mid-shelf water column temperatures, and for some atmospheric and oceanographic conditions that may influence shelf and upper-slope water temperatures. Possible applications of ocean temperature monitoring to fishery ecology are noted. Some large departures from mean conditions are discussed; particularly notable during the decade were the response of water temperatures to the passage of Gulf Stream warm-core rings, and the magnitude and persistence of shelf-water cooling associated with air temperatures in three successive very cold winters (1976-77, 1977-78, and 1978-79). (PDF file contains 51 pages.)

Regulation in Uganda's Lake Victoria fishery: historical and contemporary conditions

This paper sets out to explore how Uganda's lake Victoria fishery has been managed. It explores the management of the fishery during the protectorate period, and argues that the apparent success of regulation during this time may be attributed to the very heightened controls arising from Sleeping Sickness Controls. Once these were removed, entry into the fishery was rapid and uncontrolled, and the resultant impact on fish stocks was quickly felt. With its huge area, considerable shoreline, and innumerable islands, the lake Victoria fisheries service was quickly overwhelmed and disbanded as a result. In the early independence years, the Republic's government focused on developing the fishery, plans thwarted by turmoil of, and following, Idi Amin's reign. More recently, the fishery has prospered from Uganda's entry into the Nile perch fillet export market, which ahs adversely affected stocks. We present and comment on recently collected data that considers fishers' impressions of the status of the fishery, regulations and future managerial possibilities, and comment on these in the light of recent changes to Uganda's fisheries administration

Intersexual and spatial heterogeneity in trophic attributes of the sleeper, Bostrychus africanus (Eleotridae) in the Qua Iboe Estuary, Nigeria

There was variation in the ingestion of the food objects by the sexes. Despite the similarity in rank-order of the food objects, the ingestion of the objects vary significantly (rg=0.320, P>0.05). Dipterans adult and Hymenoptera were the only food objects not eaten by the males whereas insect remains and unidentified bivalves were absent from the trophics spectrum of the females. There was significant increase in feeding intensity by females than males. There was significant increase in GRI by specimens from Nipa Creek whereas individuals from mangrove creek recorded higher MGF and vice-versa. Dipterans adult. Hymenoptera, insect remains, Neritina glabrata and unid bivalves were absent from dietaries for nipa creek whereas a complete array of the food objects were eaten in the mangrove creek. The present findings highlights the importance of the mangrove ecosystem as the native vegetation encompassing great diversity of food resources and living conditions than the succeeding alien nipa vegetation

Informal fish retailing in rural Egypt: Opportunities to enhance income and work conditions for women and men

Poor rural consumers benefit from Egypt’s aquaculture sector through access to small and medium-sized farmed tilapia sold by informal fish retailers, many of whom are women. In fact, informal fish retail is the main, if not only, segment of the farmed fish value chain where women are found. This report aims to inform current and future strategies to improve conditions in informal fish retail by understanding in more depth the similarities and differences in employment quality and outcomes across different fish retailers. It is particularly focused on identifying whether and how gender inequality influences different dimensions of the work, and whether women and men have similar outcomes and employment conditions. This knowledge will help to design interventions to overcome gender-based constraints, as well as approaches that address shared obstacles and include both women and men in gender-responsive ways to ensure that all of those involved in the sector benefit.

Length-weight relationships and relative conditions of two sciaenids Otolithes cuvieri Trewavas and Johnius elongatus Mohan from the Karachi coast

Estimates of length-weight relationship in Otolithes cuvieri justify separate equations for males (log W =-5.0100+3.1365 log L) and females (log W =-5.2000+3.1006 log L). Relative condition factor "Kn" was found to be 0.877-1.946 in males and 0.879-1.328 in females. High "Kn" values during March to September at 180-220 mm TL in either sexes are indicative of the maturation of gonads. Separate equations for length-weight relationship are also justified for males (log W = -5.1126 + 3.0690 log L) and females (log W = -5.6400 + 3.3070 log L) of Johnius elongatus . "Kn" values were found to be 0.924-1.894 for males and 0.894-1.087 for females. High "Kn" values during January-May and August-September at 130 mm TL onward are indicative of gonadal maturation.

Shelf life of dried products from small indigenous fish species under various packing and storage conditions

The overall quality of five SIS products was found in good condition up to 2 months storage on the basis of organoleptic, biochemical and bacteriological characteristics and all the products was excellent in sealed packed condition up to 45 days of storage. However, quality of the products stored in open air atmospheric temperature was found excellent for first 15 days. In an average the initial moisture content was in the range of 13.5 to 15.0% with highest moisture content in puti and lowest in chapila. At the end of the 60 days the moisture content reached to the range of 18.5 to 19.0% which was more or less near the recommended limit of 16% for dried fishery products. The moisture content beyond the recommended limit as the storage period increased further and at the end of 90 days the moisture content increased to the range of 22.9 to 24% when organoleptically the product quality became very poor. The changes in the value of total volatile base nitrogen (TVB-N), peroxide value (PO), moisture and aerobic plate count (APC) of solar tunnel dried products in sealed polythene packages were investigated during 60 days of storage. There was little or no differences in TVB-N, PO and bacterial load of each species packed under various polythene density. The initial TVB-N values were in the range of 10.30 to 12.40 mg/100g of the samples. TVB-N value increased slowly up to the end of the storage period and was to in the range of 46.20 to 57.00 mg/1 00 g of sample. Initially the peroxide values (P.O.) were in the range of 6.54 to 8.40 m.eq./kg oil of the samples. During 60 days of storage, P.O. values increased slowly and at the end of the storage period these values reached to the range of 22.00 to 25.30meq./kg of sample. The initial APC was in the range 5.3xl04-7.3x104 CFU/g. The bacterial load increased slowly and at the end of the 60 days storage period reached to the range 6.6x106 - 8.6x107 CFT/g.

Shelf-life of rotary and solar tunnel dried SIS products under different packaging and storage conditions

A study was conducted on the shelf-life of rotary and solar tunnel dried SIS products under different packaging and storage conditions. Organoleptically dried products were found in good condition after a storage period of 60 days in ambient and chilled conditions. The moisture content, TVB-N value and bacterial load slightly increased during 60 days of storage in ambient and chilled conditions. The changes in moisture content and bacterial load were faster in ambient temperature than in chilled storage condition whereas changes in TVB-N value was higher in chilled condition than in ambient temperature. The initial moisture content was in the range of 13.71% to 22.84%. After 60 days of storage in ambient and chilled condition the moisture content of dried products was in the range of 15.09% to 25.11% and 14.49% to 25.01%, respectively. The initial TVB-N value was in the range of 10.64 to 17.52 mg/100g and after 60 days of storage in ambient and chilled condition, TVB-N value was in the range of 29.00 to 34.82 mg/100g and 31.41 to 39.11 mg/100g, respectively. The initial bacterial load was in the range of 1.91x10 super(8) to 2.84x10 super(8) and after 60 days of storage in ambient and chilled condition, the bacterial load was in the range of 6.2x10 super(8) to 1.8x10 super(9) and 5.75x10 super(7) to 5.05x10 super(8) CFU/g, respectively. The results of the present study indicated that it is necessary to store high quality dried products in sealed packed in chilled condition to ensure good quality up to a certain period of time.

Socio-economic survey of fisher families, 1958-59

Fisher families had been investigated by the Department of Commerce and Industries in earlier economic surveys conducted in 1935, 1938 and 1939 (Das Gupta, 1937 a & b; 1944 a & b). These surveys were directed at the general economic conditions of the urban and rural sectors of the population and therefore did not provide much information in particular on the life of the fisherman or his environment. The Department of Fisheries in 1954 conducted a rapid enquiry into the living conditions of fishermen to obtain some data on their income, indebtedness and general social conditions, at the request of the Canadian Co-operative Consultant for incorporation in his report on the "Status and Possibilities of Co-operative Development of the Fisheries of Ceylon” (MacDonald, 1954). The present survey was undertaken to provide more definite socio-economic information on the fishermen of Ceylon, covering such aspects as income, expenditure, indebtedness and living conditions. The survey was started in June, 1958, but was interrupted by the unsettled conditions of the Island at the time, taking therefore a little over a year for completion. Some of the data collected was used as a basis for a report on the living conditions of fishermen, incorporated in the “Guide to the Fisheries of Ceylon", a hand book published by the Department of Fisheries (Anon. 1958).

Proceedings of the Workshop on the Okhotsk Sea and Adjacent Areas [Vladivostok, June 1995]

I REPORT OF THE PICES WORKSHOP ON THE OKHOTSK SEA AND ADJACENT AREAS (pdf, 0.1 Mb) 1. Outline of the workshop 2. Summary reports from sessions 3. Recommendations of the workshop 4. Acknowledgments II SCIENTIFIC PAPERS SUBMITTED FROM SESSIONS 1. Physical Oceanography Sessions (pdf, 4 Mb) A. Circulation and water mass structure of the Okhotsk Sea and Northwestern Pacific Valentina D. Budaeva & Vyacheslav G. Makarov Seasonal variability of the pycnocline in La Perouse Strait and Aniva Gulf Valentina D. Budaeva & Vyacheslav G. Makarov Modeling of the typical water circulations in the La Perouse Strait and Aniva Gulf region Nina A. Dashko, Sergey M. Varlamov, Young-Ho Han & Young-Seup Kim Anticyclogenesis over the Okhotsk Sea and its influence on weather Boris S. Dyakov, Alexander A. Nikitin & Vadim P. Pavlychev Research of water structure and dynamics in the Okhotsk Sea and adjacent Pacific Howard J. Freeland, Alexander S. Bychkov, C.S. Wong, Frank A. Whitney & Gennady I. Yurasov The Ohkotsk Sea component of Pacific Intermediate Water Emil E. Herbeck, Anatoly I. Alexanin, Igor A. Gontcharenko, Igor I. Gorin, Yury V. Naumkin & Yury G. Proshjants Some experience of the satellite environmental support of marine expeditions at the Far East Seas Alexander A. Karnaukhov The tidal influence on the Sakhalin shelf hydrology Yasuhiro Kawasaki On the formation process of the subsurface mixed water around the Central Kuril Islands Lloyd D. Keigwin Northwest Pacific paleohydrography Talgat R. Kilmatov Physical mechanisms for the North Pacific Intermediate Water formation Vladimir A. Luchin Water masses in the Okhotsk Sea Andrey V. Martynov, Elena N. Golubeva & Victor I. Kuzin Numerical experiments with finite element model of the Okhotsk Sea circulation Nikolay A. Maximenko, Anatoly I. Kharlamov & Raissa I. Gouskina Structure of Intermediate Water layer in the Northwest Pacific Nikolay A. Maximenko & Andrey Yu. Shcherbina Fine-structure of the North Pacific Intermediate Water layer Renat D. Medjitov & Boris I. Reznikov An experimental study of water transport through the Straits of Okhotsk Sea by electromagnetic method Valentina V. Moroz Oceanological zoning of the Kuril Islands area in the spring-summer period Yutaka Nagata Note on the salinity balance in the Okhotsk Sea Alexander D. Nelezin Variability of the Kuroshio Front in 1965-1991 Vladimir I. Ponomarev, Evgeny P. Varlaty & Mikhail Yu. Cheranyev An experimental study of currents in the near-Kuril region of the Pacific Ocean and in the Okhotsk Sea Stephen C. Riser, Gennady I. Yurasov & Mark J. Warner Hydrographic and tracer measurements of the water mass structure and transport in the Okhotsk Sea in early spring Konstantin A. Rogachev & Andrey V. Verkhunov Circulation and water mass structure in the southern Okhotsk Sea, as observed in summer, 1994 Lynne D. Talley North Pacific Intermediate Water formation and the role of the Okhotsk Sea Anatoly S. Vasiliev & Fedor F. Khrapchenkov Seasonal variability of integral water circulation in the Okhotsk Sea B. Sea ice and its relation to circulation and climate V.P. Gavrilo, G.A. Lebedev & A.P. Polyakov Acoustic methods in sea ice dynamics studies Nina M. Pestereva & Larisa A. Starodubtseva The role of the Far-East atmospheric circulation in the formation of the ice cover in the Okhotsk Sea Yoshihiko Sekine Anomalous Oyashio intrusion and its teleconnection with Subarctic North Pacific circulation, sea ice of the Okhotsk Sea and air temperature of the northern Asian continent C. Waves and tides Vladimir A. Luchin Characteristics of the tidal motions in the Kuril Straits George V. Shevtchenko On seasonal variability of tidal constants in the northwestern part of the Okhotsk Sea D. Physical oceanography of the Japan Sea/East Sea Mikhail A. Danchenkov, Kuh Kim, Igor A. Goncharenko & Young-Gyu Kim A “chimney” of cold salt waters near Vladivostok Christopher N.K. Mooers & Hee Sook Kang Preliminary results from a numerical circulation model of the Japan Sea Lev P. Yakunin Influence of ice production on the deep water formation in the Japan Sea 2. Fisheries and Biology Sessions (pdf, 2.8 Mb) A. Communities of the Okhotsk Sea and adjacent waters: composition, structure and dynamics Lubov A. Balkonskaya Exogenous succession of the southwestern Sakhalin algal communities Tatyana A. Belan, Yelena V. Oleynik, Alexander V. Tkalin & Tat’yana S. Lishavskaya Characteristics of pelagic and benthic communities on the North Sakhalin Island shelf Lev N. Bocharov & Vladimir K. Ozyorin Fishery and oceanographic database of Okhotsk Sea Victor V. Lapko Interannual dynamics of the epipelagic ichthyocen structure in the Okhotsk Sea Valentina I. Lapshina Quantitative seasonal and year-to-year changes of phytoplankton in the Okhotsk Sea and off Kuril area of the Pacific Lyudmila N. Luchsheva Biological productivity in anomalous mercury conditions (northern part of Okhotsk Sea) Inna A. Nemirovskaya Origin of hydrocarbons in the ecosystems of coastal region of the Okhotsk Sea Tatyana A. Shatilina Elements of the Pacific South Kuril area ecosystem Vyacheslav P. Shuntov & Yelena P. Dulepova Biota of the Okhotsk Sea: Structure of communities, the interannual dynamics and current status B. Abundance, distribution, dynamics of the common fishes of the Okhotsk Sea Yuri P. Diakov Influence of some abiotic factors on spatial population dynamics of the West Kamchatka flounders (Pleuronectidae) Gordon A. McFarlane, Richard J. Beamish & Larisa M. Zverkova An examination of age estimates of walleye pollock (Theragra chalcogramma) from the Sea of Okhotsk using the burnt otolith method and implications for stock assessment and management Larisa P. Nikolenko Migration of Greenland turbot (Reinhardtius hippoglossoides) in the Okhotsk Sea Galina M. Pushnikova Fisheries impact on the Sakhalin-Hokkaido herring population Vidar G. Wespestad Is pollock overfished? C. Salmon of the Okhotsk Sea: biology, abundance and stock identification Vladimir A. Belyaev, Alexander Yu. Zhigalin Epipelagic Far Eastern sardine of the Okhotsk Sea Yuri E. Bregman, Victor V. Pushnikov, Lyudmila G. Sedova & Vladimir Ph. Ivanov A preliminary report on stock status and productive capacity of horsehair crab Erimacrus isenbeckii (Brandt) in the South Kuril Strait Natalia T. Dolganova Mezoplankton distribution in the West Japan Sea Vladimir V. Efremov, Richard L. Wilmot, Christine M. Kondzela, Natalia V. Varnavskaya, Sharon L. Hawkins & Maria E. Malinina Application of pink and chum salmon genetic baseline to fishery management Vyacheslav N. Ivankov & Valentina V. Andreyeva Strategy for culture, breeding and numerous dynamics of Sakhalin salmon populations Alla M. Kovalevskaya, Natalia I. Savelyeva & Dmitry M. Polyakov Primary production in Sakhalin shelf waters Tatyana N. Krupnova Some reasons for resource reduction of Laminaria japonica (Primorye region) Lyudmila N. Luchsheva & Anatoliy I. Botsul Mercury in bottom sediments of the northeastern Okhotsk Sea Pavel A. Luk’yanov, Natalia I. Belogortseva, Alexander A. Bulgakov, Alexander A. Kurika & Olga D. Novikova Lectins and glycosidases from marine macro and micro-organisms of Japan and Okhotsk Seas Boris A. Malyarchuk, Olga A. Radchenko, Miroslava V. Derenko, Andrey G. Lapinski & Leonid L. Solovenchuk PCR-fingerprinting of mitochondrial genome of chum salmon, Oncorhynchus keta Alexander A. Mikheev Chaos and relaxation in dynamics of the pink salmon (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha) returns for two regions Yuri A. Mitrofanov & Larisa N. Lesnikova Fish-culture of Pacific Salmons increases the number of heredity defects Larisa P. Nikolenko Abundance of young halibut along the West Kamchatka shelf in 1982-1992 Sergey A. Nizyaev Living conditions of golden king crab Lithodes aequispina in the Okhotsk Sea and near the Kuril Islands Ludmila A. Pozdnyakova & Alla V. Silina Settlements of Japanese scallop in Reid Pallada Bay (Sea of Japan) Galina M. Pushnikova Features of the Southwest Okhotsk Sea herring Vladimir I. Radchenko & Igor I. Glebov Present state of the Okhotsk herring stock and fisheries outlook Alla V. Silina & Ida I. Ovsyannikova Distribution of the barnacle Balanus rostratus eurostratus near the coasts of Primorye (Sea of Japan) Galina I. Victorovskaya Dependence of urchin Strongylocentrotus intermedius reproduction on water temperature Anatoly F. Volkov, Alexander Y. Efimkin & Valery I. Chuchukalo Feeding habits of Pacific salmon in the Sea of Okhotsk and in the Pacific waters of Kuril Islands in summer 1993 Larisa M. Zverkova & Georgy A. Oktyabrsky Okhotsk Sea walleye pollock stock status Tatyana N. Zvyagintseva, Elena V. Sundukova, Natalia M. Shevchenko & Ludmila A. Elyakova Water soluble polysaccharides of some Far-Eastern seaweeds 3. Biodiversity Program (pdf, 0.2 Mb) A. Biodiversity of island ecosystems and seasides of the North Pacific Larissa A. Gayko Productivity of Japanese scallop Patinopecten yessoensis (IAY) culture in Posieta Bay (Sea of Japan) III APPENDICES 1. List of acronyms 2. List of participants (Document pdf contains 431 pages)

Artisanal and inshore fisheries development in Nigeria: Status paper on the FAO/UNDP Project NIR/77/001

The UNDP/FAO supported Federal Fisheries Project for the Development of Artisanal and Inshore Fisheries in Nigeria has the specific objective of increasing fish production through an integrated approach aimed at upgrading the rural coastal fishermen and improving their living conditions. The project has an operating life-span of three years and envisages a total outlay of nearly N3 million in terms of personnel and services. This paper attempts to review the activities of the project during the first two years of the operational phase and highlight some of its specific achievements.

A simple approach for the estimation of food consumption from growth rates at different environmental conditions and its application to juvenile cod (Gadus morhua L.) of a fjordic sea loch on the west coast of Scotland

Abstract Growth and condition of fish are functions of available food and environmental conditions. This led to the idea of using fish as a “consumption sensor” for the measurement of food intake over a defined period of time. A bio-physical model for the estimation of food consumption was developed based on the von Bertalanffy model. Whereas some of the input variables of the model, the initial and final lengths and masses of a fish and the temperature within the time period considered can easily be measured, internal characteristics of the species have to be determined indirectly. Three internal parameters are used in the model: the maintenance consumption at 0°C, the temperature dependence of this consumption and the food efficiency, the percentage of the ingested food utilized. Estimates of the parameters for a given species can be determined by feeding experiments. Here, data from published feeding experiments on juvenile cod, Gadus morhua L., were used to validate the model. The average of the relative error for the food intake predicted by the model for individual fish was about 24 %, indicating that fish used the food with different efficiencies. However, grouping the fish according to size classes and temperature lowered the relative error of the predicted food intake for the group to typically 5 %. For a group containing all fish of the feeding experiment the relative prediction error was about 2 %. Zusammenfassung Wachstum und Kondition der Fische sind von der verfügbaren Nahrung und von Umweltbedingungen abhängig. Dies führte zur Idee, Fisch als „Konsum-Sensor“ für die Messung der Nahrungsaufnahme über einen definierten Zeitraum zu verwenden. Auf Grundlage des von Bertalanffy-Modells wurde ein bio-physikalisches Modell zur Schätzung der Futteraufnahme entwickelt. Während einige der Eingangsgrößen des Modells leicht gemessen werden können (Anfangs- und Endlänge und -körpermasse der Fische und die Temperatur innerhalb des betrachteten Zeitraum), können interne Parameter der betrachteten Art nur indirekt bestimmt werden. Drei interne Parameter werden in dem Modell verwendet: Die Erhaltungskonsumtion bei 0° C, die Temperaturabhängigkeit dieser Rate und der Wirkungsgrad der Nahrung (der Anteil der Nahrung ,der aufgenommen und verwendet und nicht ungenutzt wieder ausgeschieden wird). Die Modellparameter für eine bestimmte Art können durch Fütterungsversuche bestimmt werden. Um das Modell zu validieren wurden Daten aus veröffentlichten Fütterungsversuchen mit juvenilen Kabeljau (Gadus morhua L.) verwendet. Modell und Wirklichkeit weichen in der Regel voneinander ab. Der durchschnittliche relative Fehler der durch das Modell vorhergesagten Nahrungsaufnahme betrug für Einzelfische etwa 24%, was darauf hinweist, dass einzelne Fisch die Nahrung mit unterschiedlichen Wirkungsgraden verwerten. Allerdings senkte die Gruppierung der Fische nach Größenklassen und Temperatur den relativen Vorhersagefehler für die Nahrungsaufnahme der Gruppe auf etwa 5%. Für alle Fische im Fütterungsversuch ist der relative Vorhersagefehler etwa 2%.

Monitoring well-being and changing environmental conditions in coastal communities: development of an assessment method

The intersection of social and environmental forces is complex in coastal communities. The well-being of a coastal community is caught up in the health of its environment, the stability of its economy, the provision of services to its residents, and a multitude of other factors. With this in mind, the project investigators sought to develop an approach that would enable researchers to measure these social and environmental interactions. The concept of well-being proved extremely useful for this purpose. Using the Gulf of Mexico as a regional case study, the research team developed a set of composite indicators to be used for monitoring well-being at the county-level. The indicators selected for the study were: Social Connectedness, Economic Security, Basic Needs, Health, Access to Social Services, Education, Safety, Governance, and Environmental Condition. For each of the 37 sample counties included in the study region, investigators collected and consolidated existing, secondary data representing multiple aspects of objective well-being. To conduct a longitudinal assessment of changing wellbeing and environmental conditions, data were collected for the period of 2000 to 2010. The team focused on the Gulf of Mexico because the development of a baseline of well-being would allow NOAA and other agencies to better understand progress made toward recovery in communities affected by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. However, the broader purpose of the project was to conceptualize and develop an approach that could be adapted to monitor how coastal communities are doing in relation to a variety of ecosystem disruptions and associated interventions across all coastal regions in the U.S. and its Territories. The method and models developed provide substantial insight into the structure and significance of relationships between community well-being and environmental conditions. Further, this project has laid the groundwork for future investigation, providing a clear path forward for integrated monitoring of our nation’s coasts. The research and monitoring capability described in this document will substantially help counties, local organizations, as well state and federal agencies that are striving to improve all facets of community well-being.

Socioeconomic conditions of traditional fishermen of Vitava village in Thane district

Maharashtra stands third in fish production in India, with an estimated annual landings of 3.32 lakhs tonnes (1986-87). About 45% of the fishermen are directly involved in fishing. Mechanisation has boosted fish production resulting in gainful employment and higher incomes to fishermen. However, traditional fishermen along Thane creek and who entirely depend on fishing for their livelihood are comparatively poor due to their dependence on subsistence fishing and reduction of fish stock due to pollution of the creek. Conservation of the resources, proper monitoring of pollution and financial assistance and guidance will help the fishermen improve their living conditions.

Vertical distribution of molluscs in the intertidal area in and around Mumbai, India

Vertical distribution of intertidal molluscs in and around Mumbai had been studied. Each species has an upper and lower limit of distribution along the vertical intertidal gradient and are concentrated at particular levels or zones where they find optimum living conditions. Zonation of the intertidal area with reference to molluscs at rocky shores of TIFR, Bandstand and NCPA has similarities. However, there is no similarity in zonation among rocky, sandy and muddy shores. Rocky intertidal zones are more diverse and dense in terms of molluscs. The mid and lower littoral zones have rich diversity. The upper littoral zone at some sites, especially Girgaon chowpatty is totally devoid of molluscs due to anthropogenic activities. Gafrarium divaricatum, Nerita oryzarum, N. polita and Neritina crepidularia have established themselves in all three marked zones, indicating their power to adjust with the wide fluctuations in surrounding environmental conditions.