Growth, mortality and exploitation status of Otolithoides pama (Hamilton, 1822) from Hooghly-Matlah estuary of West Bengal, India

The growth, mortality and exploitation status of Otolithoides pama collected from the Hooghly-Matlah estuarine system of West Bengal, India from November 2016 to April 2018 were estimated. The sample specimens were collected from the artisanal fishery, mainly from drift gillnets and bagnet with mesh size 15-70 mm and the length-frequency distribution was analyzed employing the FiSAT programme. The growth parameters L-alpha, K and t(0) were estimated at 418 mm, 0.58 yr(-1) and -0.1356 years, respectively. The lengths of the fish at the end of 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th year were recorded as 202, 297, 350, 380 and 397 mm, respectively. The total mortality (Z), natural mortality (M) and fishing mortality (F) were 4.16, 1.14 and 3.02 yr(-1), respectively. The exploitation level (E) was observed as 0.73 which surpassed the optimization value of 0.5 considered for sustainable fisheries. The present study revealed that the fishery is overexploited and calls for an urgent need to reduce the fishing pressure to accomplish a sustainable fishery. (C) 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.