Growth pattern, condition and prey-predator status of 9 fish species from the Arabian Sea (Baluchistan and Sindh), Pakistan

Ul Hassan, Habib; M. Ali, Qadeer; Rahman, Md. Ashekur; Kamal, Mustafa; Tanjin, Sumaya; Farooq, Umer; Mawa, Zannatul; Badshah, Noor; Mahmood, Khalid; Hasan, Md. Rabiul; Gabool, Karim; A. Rima, Farzana; Islam, Md. Akhtarul; Rahman, Obaidur; Hossain, Md. Yeamin

doi:10.21608/ejabf.2020.97439

Growth pattern, condition and prey-predator status of 9 fish species from the Arabian Sea (Baluchistan and Sindh), Pakistan

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

10.21608/ejabf.2020.97439

Abstract

The present study aimed to estimate the growth pattern through length-weight relationships (LWRs), condition (Fulton’s condition factor, K_F) and prey-predator status through relative weight (W_R) of 9 fish species e.g., Netuma thalassina, Epinephelus coioides, Acanthopagrus berda, Acanthopagrus latus, Acanthopagrus bifasciatus, Parastromateus niger, Aluterus monoceros, Sphyraena putnamae, and Lates calcarifer belong 7 families from the Arabian Sea of Pakistan. Occasionally samples were collected from marine waters of the Arabian Sea connected to Baluchistan and Sindh province from June 2018 to May 2019 by bottom and midwater trawl nets, gill nets, and trammel nets. Individual whole body weight (BW) and total length (TL) were measured. The growth pattern either allometric (+/-) or isometric was calculated as LWR: BW = a × TL^b. a and b were the LWR parameters. Condition factor was calculated as K_F= (BW/TL³) ×100 and prey-predator status was as W_R = (W/W_S) × 100, where W_S = a×TL^b. This study recorded a new maximum TL (150.0 cm) for S. putnamae. The b values of LWR ranged from 2.02 to 2.76 with r² ≥ 0.95 that indicated a negative allometric growth pattern. Additionally, the study estimated K_F mostly above 1.0 except A. bifasciatus, A. monoceros, and S.putnamae. The prey-predator status was mostly balanced except for L. calcarifer. The findings of this study will be valuable for fishery managers to impose sustainable fishery management in the Arabian Sea (Baluchistan and Sindh), Pakistan, and adjacent ecosystems.

Keywords