A Working Group of the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute
(CMFRI), Kochi, has recently identified the establishment of Indian Chub
mackerel, a new fish species, in Kerala waters. The meat texture of the species
is soft and tastes similar to that of Indian mackerel. The species was
identified by a group led by E.M. Abdussamad of the Pelagic Fisheries Division
of the Institute.
The species is genetically and morphologically distinct from the other
members of the family. The species was first caught from Gujarat waters in
2015. Later, its presence was reported from all along the entire southern coast
of India, mostly Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu. Nearly 10 tonne of the
species was caught from the Kerala coast alone during this period, said Subal
Kumar Roul and Said Koya, researchers of the Institute.
Fishes of the species that were netted during the period were all
adults in the size range of 27cm to 29 cm and at post-spawning phase. This
indicated that spawning occurred prior to their entry in the Indian fishery.
This year, young ones of the species in the size range between 8 cm and 18 cm
were caught in July from along the Malabar and central Kerala coast in
appreciable quantity.
Big schools of the species also appeared along off Chellanam coast in
August. The biological studies confirmed that all specimens caught were early
juveniles with gonads at indeterminate stage, he said. The landing pattern of
the fish indicated that the species had successfully established along the
Indian coast and is emerging as a fishery.
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