Dynamics of bioindices in mud crab Scylla serrata (Forsskål, 1775) occurring in Hooghly-Matlah Estuary of West Bengal, India

Mohinor Alam  Khan; Sudhir Kumar Das; Dibakar Bhakta

doi:10.17017/j.fish.18

Mohinor Alam Khan Department of Fishery Resource Management, Faculty of Fishery Sciences, WBUAFS, Chakgaria, Kolkata- 700 094, West Bengal
Sudhir Kumar Das Department of Fishery Resource Management, Faculty of Fishery Sciences, WBUAFS, Chakgaria, Kolkata- 700 094, West Bengal
Dibakar Bhakta ICAR-Central Inland Fisheries Research Institute, Regional Centre, B-12, Hans Society, Harney Road, Vadodara 390 022, Gujarat

Keywords: Scylla serrata, mud crab, biotic index, relative condition factor, Hooghly-Matlah Estuary

Abstract

Dynamics of some bio indices (carapace width [CW] and body weight [W] relationship, relative condition factor [K_n]) of mud crab Scylla serrata (Forsskål, 1775), collected from the Hooghly-Matlah Estuary of West Bengal, were studied for a period of one year. A total of 325 specimens were collected (CW 44 – 120 mm, W 20 – 210 g) and studied. The CW and W relationship was found as W = 0.0006 CW^2.665 for male and W = 0.001 CW^2.561 for female. The b value was found relatively higher in male indicating better growth rate compared to females. Moreover, the growth pattern was allometric. The monthly mean K_n was 0.968 to 1.058 for males and 0.962 to 1.054 for females that significant varied (P < 0.05) among sampling months.

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