discovery of fish of Gopalpur Coast , odisha final year project graduation student note -1

                                       DECLARATION

I do here by declare that the dissertation entitled “DISCOVERY OF FISHES OF GOPALPURCOAST” submitted to NILAMADHABA MAHAVIDYALAYA COLLEGE, KANTILO in partial fulfilment of the requirement of B.Sc. in Zoology is the outcome of the research work carried out by me under the guidance of

 Mr Soraj Kumar Mishra, Lecturer Department of Zoology, NILAMADHABA MAHAVIDYALAYA COLLEGE KANTILO. The dissertation in an authentic record of investigation and has not been presented in any other degree of distinction of this or any other university.

DATE:                                  SOMANATH   PRADHAN

PLACE:

                          CERTIFICATE

Mr Soraj Kumar Mishra

Lecturer in Zoology,

NILAMADHABA MAHAVIDYALAYA COLLEGE, KANTILO

Phone number: 9938972365

This is to certify that the project work embodied in the dissertation of entitled “DIVERSITY OF FISHES IN GOPALPUR COAST” is an authentic work carried out by B.Sc. SOMANATH  PRADHAN Department of Zoology, NILAMADHABA MAHAVIDYALAYA COLLEGE, KANTILO, in particial fulfilment of B.Sc. Degree (Sem. VI) examination. I sincerely believe that this work is an original and authentic piece of work.

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                           ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

                             I express my fervent indebtedness to Mr Saroj Kumar Mishra ISS, LECTURE in department of zoology and NILAMADHABA MAHAVIDYALAYA COLLEGE, KANTILO for her available suggestion and guidance during the course of my dissertation work without whom work would not have been possible to accomplish. Her generous advice and constructive criticism have been a major inspiration for me to complete this work.

I would like to resister my gratitude to the director ZOOLOGICAL SURVEY OF INDIA (ZSI) for identification of fish species by the help of which I could undertake my B.Sc. project work.

It’s my pleasure to extend my heartfelt thanks and acknowledgements to SAROJ SIR , RAMESH SIR AND DEBASREETA MAM, for their immense contributions. I am also thankful to my friends for their immense continuous support and encouragement.

Finally, I felt it as my duty to express my deepest gratitude my parents for extending full moral support and encouragement during work without whom it could not be possible.          

SOMANATH   PRADHAN

                                       CONTENTS

Chapter page

                            ABSTRACT

CHAPTER-1: INTRODUCTION

CHAPTER-2: REVIEW OF LITERATURE

CHAPTER-3: MATERIALS AND METHODS

CHAPTER-4: RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

CHAPTER-5: SUMMERY AND CONCLUSION

                       REFERENCES

                          ABSTRACT

Gopalpur is the main marine fish landing centre in Ganjam district of Odisha state. The study on the marine fishes of Gopalpur coast Odisha was undertaken during from 19 Feb 2020 -21 Feb 2020. The enviournmental parameters sediment characteristics of organisms were collected from the beach. The result showed that there were 6 families , 7 generas and 7 species . Among the collected species the most dominant species were followed by Sardinella longiceps, Latescalcarifer in all species.

                                                 

CHAPTER-1

1.1         INTRODUCTION

About 71% of earth surface is covered by ocean. The remaining 29% is land consisting of continents and islands. The oceans can be divided into a number of marine environment. The pelagic environment (pelagic meaning ‘open sea’) is that of the water, from the surface to the greatest depths. Pelagic environment can be divided into distinctive zones called neritic zone and oceanic zone. Oceanic zone includes epipelagic (surface to the depth of 200 meter), mesopelagic (200-1000 meter), bathypelagic (1000-4000 meter) and abyssopelagic (>4000 meter). The benthic environment (benthic meaning “bottom”) includes the floor of shores, littoral or intertidal areas, and the deep sea bed. Ocean has got a great, varied, diverse organisms.

1.2 BIODIVERSITY

‘Biological diversity’ or biodiversity is that part of nature which includes the differences in genes among the individuals of a species, the variety and richness of all the plant and animal. Species at different scales in space, locally, in a region, in the country and the world, and various types of ecosystem, both terrestrial and aquatic, within defined area.

Biological diversity deals with the degree of nature’s variety in the biosphere. The variety can be observed at three levels , the genetic variability with in a species, the variety of species with in community, and the organization of species in a area into distinctive plant and animal community constitutes ecosystem diversity. Biodiversity is divided into 3 types;

1.   Genetic diversity

2.   Species diversity

3.   3.Ecosystem diversity

                              Open ocean has rich biodiversity of various faunal species like molluscs, fishes, gastropods, crabs etc. so my research topic is basically confined to biodiversity of fishes of Gopalpur coast.

Marine Fish: -

Definition:

Marine is defined “of or pertaining to the ocean or sea “, while saltwater is more narrowly defined by aquarists. the classification of different waters by their salt contents, as measured by specific gravity (relative density) is: marine or saltwater 1.022-1.035”. (D. Heady, 1987)

Example of commercial marine fish: -

Ocean sunfish, humpback, air-head bream, anglerfish, orange-line triggerfish, pacific hagfish, blue spotted ribbon tail ray, Pagrus major, Rhabdosangussarba.

A fish is any gill – bearing aquatic vertebrate (google or craniate) animal that lacks limbs with digits. Most fishes are “cold-blooded” or ectothermic, allowing their body temperature to vary as ambient temperature change. Fishes are abundant in most bodies of water. Fish, especially as food, are an important resource worldwide commercial and subsistence fishes hunt fish in wild fisheries or farm them in ponds or in cages in the oceans. They are also caught by recreational fishers, kept as pets, raised by fish keeps, and exhibited in public aquaria. (Roimondi 1880, Lohse 1895, B.R 2008)

The important of marine fish: -

Fish are a vital components of marine habitats. They are complexly related to the other organisms through the food web and through other mechanisms. Intensive fishing therefore results not only in the documents of fish species but also affects entire biological communities. The results are often unpredictable. Although industrial fisheries rarely cause the complete eradication of individual species, they may study be having an evolutionary impact on heaving fished species.

The role of fish in the ecosystem: -

Economically important fish species have long been regarded in isolation from each other and their habitat. In order to comprehensively assess the impacts of fisheries the entire habitat must be considered. Only then will a sustainable and economic fishery system be possible. Methods now exists for these kinds of comprehensive analysis. Moreover, it is now known that not only the fisheries, but also changing environmental conditions can affect the site of fish population. (Broitman, 1997)

Fish are a key component of marine biotic communities for millennia mankind has hard an especially close bond with them because they provide people with food.(Nishida, 1989) Around 43 million people worldwide make their living directly from fishing or fish breeding. But people are careless with this natural resources. Over thousands of years too many fishes have been taken. Many fishing grounds have been overfished. Furthermore, the ocean is being polluted by efficient from industry, settlement and agriculture. Some habitats such as mangrove forests destroyed directly by construction. Considering the serious situation, it is important to investigate the present status of marine fish. (Rowden, 1890)

Fish is a major source of food for mankind, providing with a significant amount of the animal protein diet, excellent dietary source of highly unsaturated fatty acid (HUFA) and polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA), especially the omega-3 fatty acids, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). Today, there is increasing interest in fish consumption because of their high PUFA content. Moreover, consumption of fish has been linked to health benefits, as long chain PUFA has gain attention because of prevention of human coronary artery diseases, improvement of retina and brain development, decreased incidence of breast cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, asthma, psoriasis, inflammatory bowel disease and regulation of prostaglandin synthesis. (KottlaVeettilDhaneesh, Kunnamgalm Mohammed Noushad, ThipramalaiThankappan Ajith Kumar)

Marine fish as a food-

Different form other animal proteins (primarily in muscle structure).

Specific texture attributes (muscly texture).

Limited shelf life (fish and shellfish spoil v. fast).

Hundreds of fishes and shellfish (to a lesser extent) species with different characteristics and nutrinal benefits.

The fat in fish can be very high in omega-3 fatty acids (e.g. pacific salmon = sockeye, chinook, Coho, chum and pink).

Consumption related to prevention of corollary heart diseases.

Seafood has balanced amino acids make up and high protein content (healthy + nutritious).

Shellfish tends to have high sterol levels mainly cholesterol (e.g. shrimp)

Marine Habitat:

        There is 10,000 times more salt water in the oceans than there is fresh water in the lakes and rivers. However, 58% of extant fish species are salt water.      (Janine Beckett, Karen Munro 2010)

Habitat	Area	Volume	Depth	Species		Fish biomass
Salt water	Million km2	Million cu km	(Mean)	Count	Percent	Million tones
	361	1370.8	3.8 km	18,000	58%	800-2000

        Fish can also be demersal or pelagic. Demersal fish live on or near the bottoms of oceans and lakes, while pelagic fish inhabitat the water column away from bottom. Habitat can also be vertically stratified. Epipelagic fish occupy sun light water down 200 m (110 fathoms), mesopelagic fish occupying deeper twilight water down to 1000 m (3,300 ft.) and bathypelagic fish inhabiting the cold and pitch black depths below.

        Most oceanic species (78% or 44% of all fish species) live near the shoreline. These coastal fish live or above the relatively shallow continental shelf. Only 13% of all fish species live in the open ocean, off the shelf. Of these, 1% are epipelagic, 5% are pelagic and 7% are deep water.

        Fish are found in nearly all natural aquatic environments. Most fish, wheather by species count or abundance, live in warmer environments with relatively stable temperature. However, some species survive temperatures up to 44.60 C (112.30 F), while others cope with colder water; there are over 200 finfish species south of the Antarctic corrongence. Some fish species tolerate salinities over 10%.

        Over 15300 species of marine fish are now included in the census database with another 2,000 iv 3,000 expected by the time of the final census report in 2010. COML experts expect the final count of marine fish species to total roughly 20,000.

World:   

In English “fish” designates any aquatic multicellular animal (jellyfish, cuttle fish, star fish etc). The term ”fin fish” designates those with a central spine comprised of vertebrate (chordata /vertebrate-vertebrates), wheather or not present in adults, ossified or with paired and or impair fins supported by rays. Although no longer recognized as a valid taxonomic group, “fin fish” (hereafter “fish) offers a practical descriptor of group exclusive to aquatic life that constrains many adaptations and defines a similar body plan, while acknowledging diverse body forms. (FAO, 2011)Fishes are ubiquitous throughout the world ocean ,in locations as small as tidal pools that may dry up daily and from the poles down to the bas of the Mariana trench in the west central pacific(11,782 m).they life in almost all conceivable aquatic habitat of the 39,000 species of vertebrates in the world. The number of estimated living fish species might be close to 28,000 in the world. (FAO, 2016)

        Although fishes occupy or depths species diversity drones dramatically below the continental shelves. Depth ranges are incomplete for many species, but about 6,800(58%) of the 11,000+ species with recorded ranges in fin base are restricted to the upper 200 m, with only Ca. 620 species(4%)below 2000m. Only a few species a shark and rays have been caught below 3000m and non below 4000m. (Rome, 2016) Gobies that constitute the most speciose family in marine life zones in tropical and temperature waters in general, are barely present in the north pacific above 40 m. The life cycles of more than 700 species (including salmonids, eels) alternate between marine and fresh water (amphidromy, diadrory). Based on recorded information for about 6400 species in fin base, about 1000 species are top predators and carnivores, 4,000 are predators or omnivores and 1,000 are herbivores or omnivorous. The commercial large species that are most studied predominantly occupy the upper tropic levels.

        Altogether there are 230,000 documented marine species, including over 16,000 species of fish and it has been estimated that nearly two million marine species are yet to be documented. (V. Chomo, 2000)

Commercial fishes: Oreochromis niloticus and peraous monodon appear twice, because substantial amounts are harvested from the wild as well as being extensively raised through aquaculture.

        Whale shark is the biggest fish in the world. Sail fish is the fastest fish in the world. The dwarf seashore is the slowest fish in the world. Mako shark is the fastest shark in the world. Sleeper shark (for sluggish pace) Greenland shark is one of the slowest swimming sharks in the world. Major producer of marine fish in world is China.

India:

        India has 8,129 km (5,051mi) of marine coastline, 3,827 fishing villages and 1,914 traditional fish landing content. Fin fish has listed 2,384 fin fish species from Indian subcontinent that includes 1,704 marines, 762 fresh water, 202 endemic and 258 commercially exploited. (K. Venkataraman, 2004)

        In terms of marine environment, India has coast of about 8,000 km, an exclusive economic zone of 2.02 million km2 adjoining the continental regions and offshore islands and a very wide range of coastal ecosystem such as estuaries, lagoons , mangroves, backwater, salt marshes, rocky coasts, sandy stretches and coral reef which are characterized by unique biotic and abiotic properties and processes of the total fish diversity known from India, the marine fishes constitute 75.6%, comprising of 2,443 species belonging to 927 genera, under 230 families of 40 orders. Among fish diversity - rich areas in the marine waters of India, the Andaman and Nicobar archipelago shows the highest number of species 1,431, followed by the east coast of India with 1,121 species and the west coast with 1,071. As many as 91 species of endemic marine fishes are known to occur in the coastal waters of India. As of today about 50 marine fishes known from India fall into the threatened category as per the IUCM Red list and about 45 species are near threatened and already on the path to vulnerability.(B. Meenakumari, 2010) Some examples Sardines, mackerel, seer fish, sea bass, Bombay duck, sciaenidae, whole fish, dana fish (polyminds), panna fish, mullets, barracuda, eel fish are a few of them. Sardines are one of the eat.

 Odisha:

        Odisha is a state located on the east coast of India, by the Bay of Bengal. The total fish production of the state, the contribution of fresh water, marine and brackish water where respectively 55.9%, 37.5% and 6.6%.

        Odisha is one of the major maritime states, offering vast scope for development of inland, brackish water and marine fisheries. The state’s 480 km long coastline with 24,000 sq.km area within the continental shelf has ample potential for marine fisheries development.

        Commonly found fishes are milk fish (chanaschanas), sparidae (calamus bajonado), ompok (ompokbimaculatus), wallago attu, bhakti (latescalcifer) etc.

This project work related to this fish diversity in Gopalpur coast is not a widely known topic, and this work have not been done previously, as a result of which my interest qrew in this topic and I have decided to carry out my dissertation in this topic.

OBJECTIVES:

1.   To determine the abundance of commercial marine fish in the landing area.

2.   To determine the local names of marine fishes sold in the landing areas.

3.   To identification and measures such as length(fork length ,total length or standard length.

REVIEW LITERATURE:

        Coastal areas can be regarded as the interface between three habitable media namely earth, air and sea. Coastlines have always been the ―subject of fascination and study (Raffaelli and Hawkins, 1996), with natural historians‘ first recognizing areas dominated by certain species as early as 1832. In the 1890‘s ecologists began to realize the potential interest of the Intertidal zone, taking specimens into the laboratory to carry out experiments (Benson, 2002). Ecologists are faced with the prospect that the relative importance of different factors influencing ecological systems will alter from place to place and time to time, depending, for example, on recruitment events (Underwood and Denley, 1984; Keough and Black, 1996), disturbance regimes (Thrush et al., 1994) and other factors that influence the heterogeneity of the environment (Barry & Dayton, 1991; Peterson, 1992). Many general reviews on biodiversity are available including the global diversity assessment (Huston, 1994). But there is scarce or no concise synthesis of marine biodiversity available in relation to conservation needs, only specific reviews as coastal zone biodiversity (Ray, 1991).

The principal interest to the marine ecologists is the relative importance of biotic interactions (predation and competition) and abiotic factors, such as disturbance, in structuring communities (Menge and Sutherland, 1987; Menge and Farrell, 1989). The marine intertidal zone has been used as a model system for many studies examining these factors (Connell, 1961; Paine, 1980; Menge et al., 1994, Berlow, 1997). Predation which including herbivorous by invertebrates is an important factor affecting the structure of many intertidal communities. Similarly, abiotic disturbance and resulting succession are known to be important in structuring communities (Dayton, 1971; Berlow, 1997). Rocky shores are more variable than other coastal habitats. Depending on the local geology they may range from steep, overhanging cliffs to wide, gently shelving platforms from smooth uniform slopes to highly dissected irregular masses or even extensive boulder beaches (Lewis, 1972). Rocky shores are rich in invertebrate fauna and provide a multiple range of habitats for a variety of organisms belonging to almost all invertebrate phyla. The ecological importance of the littoral zone in marine ecosystem is widely recognized.  Ph.D. Thesis, Mr. Ashok Vaghela, October 2010 Saurashtra University, Faculty : Science, Subject : ZOOLOGY.

        The change in environmental factors due to the tidal cycle is one of the most extreme of any marine environment. With a few exceptions, marine organisms are the main inhabitants of the assemblages in the intertidal zone (Bulleri et al., 2005; Davidson, 2005; Nakaoka, et al., 2006). While factors such as desiccation, overheating, freezing, and exposure to high-energy wave impacts can pose serious problems to marine organisms, the intertidal zone also is often a refuge from competitive biological interactions and predation (Beyst, et al., 2002). The dynamic interplay of physical and biological factors in the intertidal zone is thought to be the reason for high biodiversity in rocky intertidal temperate communities that can rival or exceed subtidal communities (Suchanek, 1994). The rocky shores of the North Pacific are particularly rich in algal and faunal diversity (Zacharia and Roff, 2001; Okuda et al., 2004). In most hard-bottom intertidal regions, macroalgae add a major structural component that can serve as habitat for associated invertebrates (Hayward, 1980). Macroalgae offer substrate, shelter and food (Duffy and Hay, 1991; Iken, 1999) as well as protection against wave surge and desiccation (Molina-Montenegro, 2005) to associated fauna.

        The populations inhabiting the rocky intertidal have been considered as open due to larval transport and recruitment from separate populations (Underwood and Fairweather, 1989; Menge, 1991; Small and Goslling, 2001). This openness produces a variable recruitment, which combined with diverse abiotic factors create a spatio-temporal mosaic from the local to the regional scale (Underwood, 1999; Jenkins et al., 2001). The variability found in populations inhabiting the rocky intertidal may be due to different abiotic factors such as tidal regime, temperature, red tides, changes in sea level, storms, wave action, and fisheries (Underwood and Fairweather, 1989; Denny and Paine, 1998)

STUDY AREA:

        Gopalpur-on-sea is located on latitude 19.27N and longitude 84.92E of Southern Odisha which lies on a four Km stretch of coastal belt of Bay of Bengal.  The beach is sandy in composition dominated by sand particles. The climate here is tropical wet and dry.  Samples  and specimens were collected regularly on seasonal basis during pre-monsoon and post monsoon on february 2019 Station-I (lat 19014’ 29.22’N and long 84053 28.35”E) is fixed near Boxipalli, one of the fish landing station and fishery village along Gopalpur coast.  The station-II (lat 19015’ 21.17’N and long 84054 30.70”E) is fixed on tourist to each about 1.7 km away from Station I.  The Station-I and Station-II are exclusively marine environment.  The Station-III is fixed at mouth region of Haripur Creek, which is a pocket lagoon (lat 19015’ 48.44’N and long 84054 56.16”E) a small stream, namely the NandiaNalla discharges into the lagoon.

 Fisheries available in Gopalpur Coast:

Information of fish faunal diversity of Gopalpur coast (East coast of India) is collected in this project work to provide an overview.  About 10 species of fishes and belonging to 4 orders 8 families and 10 genena were recorded from the East Coast of India till date.  With regarded to distribution, 4 species are endemic to Gopalpur Coastal waters.  Status evaluation of these fishes indicates that, 6 species are critically endangered/threatened.  This project work basically focuses on studying the fish diversity of Gopalpur Coast, loss of biodiversity through by catches and need for protecting the threatened and endemic species.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY:

A visit was undertaken to the site during the year 2019 and biodiversity of commercial marine fish of Gopalpur Coast was noted.  Various information and data were collected during interaction with local inhabitants as well as the Gopalpur Development Authority.  Fishes were collected from Gopalpur coast fishes were preserved in 10% formalin and identified measured (total length, standard length and fork length) and weight

TABULATION:

BIODIVERSITY OF COMMERCIALLY IMPORTANT MARINE FISHES OF GOPALPUR COAST OF INDIA:

SCIENTIFIC NAME	LOCAL NAME	TOTAL LENGTH	STANDARD LENGTH	FORK LENGTH	WEIGHT	COMMON NAME
Rastrelligerk anagurta	Kanagurta	18.5 cm	16.5 cm	2 cm	266 gm	Indian mackerel
Tenualo sailisha	Ilishi	20 cm	17 cm	3 cm	300 gm	Eilishi
Gazza minuta	Kara	13 cm	10.5 cm	2.5 cm	150 gm	Toothpony
Sardinella Longiceps	Kabala	11.5 cm	8 cm	3.5 cm	150 gm	Indian oil sardine
Holocentrus rubrum	Red Fish	16 cm	13.5 cm	2.5 cm	190 gm
Latescal carifer	Bhetki	20 cm	17 cm	3 cm	190 gm	Barramundi
Sillago sihama	Lerdy	14.5 cm	11 cm	3.5 cm	140 gm	Sand whiting

                                        PLATE-1

Rastrelligerkanagurta:

                                                          Phylum: Chordata

                                                           Class:   Actinopterygii

                                                           Order:   Perciformes

                                                           Family: Scombridae

                                                           Genus:  Rastrelliger

                                                          Species: kanagurta

DIAGNOSTIC CHARACTERS: Body bluish green with dark stripes or rows of dusky spots along upper half of the body, 2 dorsal fins, the first being spiny and the second one rayed, 5-6 pairs of anal finlets, pelvic fin without spine, snout pointed and length of head distinctly greater than depth of body (used to distinguish from another species).

DISTRIBUTION: It is found in the Indian and West Pacific oceans and their surrounding seas. Its range extends from the red sea and east Africa in the west to Indonesia in the east, and from china and the Rukyu islands in the north to Australia.

 PLATE-2

Tenualosailisha:

                                                               Phylum:   Chordata

                                                              Class:        Actinopterygii

                                                             Order: Clupeiformes

                                                               Family:    Clupeidae

                                                              Genus:       Tenualosa

                                                               Species:    T.Ilisha

DIAGNOSTIC CHARACTERS: The fish is marine; freshwater; brackish; pelagic-neritic; It has no dorsal spines but 18 – 21 dorsal soft rays and anal soft rays. The belly has 30 to 33 scutes. There is a distinct median notch in upper jaw. Gill rakers fine and numerous, about 100 to 250 on lower part of arch and the fins are hyaline. The fish shows a dark blotch behind gill opening, followed by a series of small spots along the flank in juveniles.

DISTRIBUTION: It is found in rivers and estuaries in Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Myanmar and the Persian Gulf area where it can be found in the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in and around Iran and South America.

 PLATE-3

Gazza minuta:

                                      

                                                         Phylum:Chordata

                                                          Class:    Actinopterygii

                                                          Order:Perciformes

                                                           Family: Loignathidae

                                                          Genus:   Gazza

                                                          Species:minuta

DIAGNOSTIC CHARACTERS: It consists of 8 dorsal spines,15-17 dorsal soft rays ,3 Anal spines, 13-14Anal soft rays. Found in shallow inshore coastal waters over silty bottoms. Young enters mangrove estuaries or silty reef areas . Searches for prey using a protruding pipette-like mouth or by sieving potential food through their gill rakers . Feeds on small fishes, shrimps, other crustaceans, and polychaetes. Sold fresh and dried salted; also made into fishmeal

DISTRIBUTION: Gazza minuta, commonly known as he toothpony, is a species of fish native to the Indian and pacific oceans.  It is found in salt and brackish waters.

PLATE-4

Sardinella longiceps:

                                                          Phylum: Chordata

                                                          Class:    Actinopterygii

                                                          Order:    Clupeiformes

                                                           Family: Clupeidae

                                                          Genus:   Sardinella

                                                          Species:S.longiceps

DIAGNOSTICCHARACTERS:The Indian oil sardine (Sardinella longiceps) is a species of ray-finned fish in the genus Sardinella. It is one of the two most important commercial fishes in India (with the mackerel).^[1] The Indian oil sardine is one of the more regionally limited species of Sardinella. 

DISTRIBUTION: It is one of the two most important commemrcial fishes in India (with the mackerel).  The Indian oil sandine is one of the more regionally limited sp[ecies of sardinella and can be found in the northern regions of the Indian Ocean.

PLATE-5

Holocentrus rubrum:

                                                          Phylum: Chordata

                                                          Class:    Ostichthyes

                                                          Order: Holocentriformes

                                                           Family: Holocentridae

                                                          Genus:   Holocentrus

                                                          Species:rubrum

DIAGNOSTIC CHARACTERS:Holocentrus rubrum also known as red coat.  It is found in the Indian Ocean from the Red Sea to the West Pacific, where it ranges from Southern Japan to New Caledonia and New South Wales, Australia.

DISTRIBUTION: It is found in eastern Mediterranean, known from Turkey (Izmir), Greece, Lebanon, Israel. A Suez Canal immigrant, distributed widely in Indo-Pacific, from Red Sea to Japan, Indonesia, Australia and Samoa.

PLATE-6

Latescalcaeifer:

      Phylum:Cordata

                                                              Class:        Actinopterygii

                                                              Order:Perciformes

                                                              Family:Latidae

Genus:Lates

Species:Calcarifer

DIAGNOSTIC CHARACTERS: This species has an elongated body form with a large, slightly oblique mouth and an upper jaw extending behind the eye. The lower edge of the preoperculum is serrated with a strong spine at its angle; the operculum has a small spine and a serrated flap above the origin of the lateral line. Its scales are ctenoid. In cross section, the fish is compressed and the dorsal head profile clearly concave.

DISTRIBUTION:It is found in the Indo-West Pacific, Eastern Edge of the Persian gulf to China, Taiwan and Southern Japan, Southward to southern Papua New Guinea and northern Australia.

PLATE-7

Sillagosihama:

                                                         Phylum: Chordata

                                                          Class:    Actinopterygii

                                                           Order:   Perciformes

                                                           Family: Sillaginidae

                                                           Genus:  Sillago

                                                           Species:sihama

DIAGNOSTIC CHARACTERS: It has total 11-13 dorsal spines, 20-23 dorsal soft rays and 18-23 Analsoft rays. Swim bladder with two anterior and two posterior extensions. The anterior extensions extend forward and diverge to terminate on each side of the basioccipital above the auditory capsule. Two lateral extensions commence anteriorly, each sending a blind tubule anterolaterally and then extending along the abdominal wall below the investing peritoneum to just posterior of the duct-like process.

DISTRIBUTION:It is found in Indo-West Pacific, Southern Red Sea and Knysna, South Africa to Japan and South to Australia.

RESULTS:

BIODIVERSITY OF GOPALPUR FISH:

        This fishes are identified using different literatures like DAY (1870), Karen Munro (2010), FAO, Jai Ram (1974).

        In present study the marine fish diversity of Gopalpur coastal sites of Odisha have been studied different families such as Rastrelligerkanagurta, Teulosailisha, Gazza minutus,  Sardinellalongiceps, Holocentrus rubrum, Latescalcarifer, Sillagosihama, Sardinella fimbriata were observed along Gopalpur coastal sites.  Among the collected species order 2 was most dominant followed by Sardinella longiceps, Latescalcarifer in all seasons.

DISCUSSION:

Various types of fishes are found in Gopalpur coast .The average pre monsoon, monsoon, post monsoon salinities are 32.38% and 34.09%,22.77% and 25.88% ,20.27% and 26.09% at station-1 and station -2 respectively. Temperature is one of the most important physical parameters which controls the distribution, growth and reproduction of the marine fishes in coastal region.  Temperature scale varied from 26-34.2c in air and 27.5-30.2c in water throughout the year.

CONCLUSION:

        The marine fishes constitute and essential component of food chain both in estuarine and coastal environments.  The coastal fisheries faces several threats such as indiscriminate fishing, habitat degradation, pollution, social conflicts, introduction of highly sophisticated fishing gadgets, need management measures and conservation of marine biodiversity to maintain sustainable use of marine biodiversity.  Some of the measures such as control of excess fleet size, control of some of the gears like purse seins, ring seins, disco-nets, regulation of mesh size, avoid habitat degradation of nursery areas of the some of the species, reduces the discards of the low value fish, protection of spawners, implementation of reference points and notification of marine reservoirs for protection and conservation.

REFERENCES:

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