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Abstract:
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With the stabilization of world finfish catches in general, and the
depletion of a number of fish stocks that used to support industrial-scale fisheries,
increasing attention is now being paid, to the so-called unconventional marine
resources, which include many species of cephalopods. One of such important
cephalopod resource is the tropical Indo-Pacific pelagic oceanic squid
Sthenoteuthis oualaniensis. It is the most abundant large sized squid in the Indo-
Pacific region with an estimated biomass of 8-11 metric tons. However, its
distribution, biology, life cycle and nutrient value in the south west coast of India
are still poorly known. So any new information of this species in the waters off
the south west coast of India has important scientific significance for effective
and rational utilization of this Oceanic fishery resources, especially during the
time of depletion of shallow water resources. In view of that this study
investigated different aspects of the Sthenoteuthis oualaniensis, such as
morphometry, growth, mortality, maturation, spawning, food, feeding and
biochemical composition in the south west coast of India to understand its
possible prospective importance for commercial fishing and management of its
fishery |