Population growth and maturity characteristics of Commerson’s anchovy (Stolephorus commersonnii Lacepède, 1803) along the southwest coast of India

Abstract

Population and maturity characteristics of Commerson’s anchovy (Stolephorus commersonnii) from the south-west coast of India have been presented here to elaborate upon the fishery of the species in the region. The present study on Commerson’s anchovy formed the first of its kind from the Indian waters and showed that the lifespan of the species is
3.06 years. The results also revealed that Commerson’s anchovy attains the length of 10.2, 13.5 and 14.7 cm at the end of 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd year of its life. The recruitment pattern of Commerson’s anchovy has two peaks - a minor one from February to March and a major one from June to July. The length-frequency analysis for the probability of capturing the species showed that the length at the first capture was 8.2 cm, indicating that the fish mostly being commercially exploited after they reach the first maturity i.e. the length of 7.1 cm. Total mortality, natural mortality and fishing mortality of the species were calculated as 2.78, 2.18 and 0.64 Y^-1, respectively. Virtual population analysis (VPA) indicated that the number of natural mortality of the species is much larger than the commercial utilization, indicating the low exploitation of the species from the southwest coast of India.