Ecology, Environment and Conservation Paper

POMFRET FISHERY OF THANE DISTRICT: A CASE STUDY OF NAIGAON AND SATPATI LANDING CENTRES

Jitesh V. Keshave and Neha W. Qureshi

Abstract

Pomfret is one of the elite table fish in coastal regions of India and has a high demand in international markets. The main areas of its abundance are Gujarat, Maharashtra coasts on the west coast and Orissa, lower West Bengal on east coast. This study was conducted in Thane District of Maharashtra to explore the trends in pomfret catch, and its specie wise composition. Silver, Black and Chinese pomfrets are the three species found. Among them, Silver pomfret (93%) is most abundant found here, followed by Black pomfret (near to 5%) and Chinese pomfret (1-1.3%). Out of the five coastal districts in Maharashtra, Thane district forms the major portion of pomfret catch (10,342 t) with 78.6% contribution to the fishery. The data of average landings for the period 2006-07 to 2010-11 further complimented by use of trend lines showed that Satpati landed about 1,194.2 tonnes (16.9 %), which is almost double of Naigaon i.e. 608.56 tonnes (8.61%). Satpati and Naigaon jointly contribute to about 25.51% of the total all Thane District pomfret landings. Specie wise trend lines also revealed that silver pomfret catch showed multiple fluctuations in both Naigaon and Satpati landing centers as compared to other two species but none of them showed a tangible rise during the past few years. From this study we concluded that the pomfret fishery is being over exploited along the Thane district so timely decision regarding the saving of pomfret fishery is necessary as it is a profitable venture. The government should take a co-operative decision to re-build the stock of Pomfret.