Zooplankton abundance in the continental shelf waters of the northeast coast of India

Higher concentrations of zooplankton standing stock and population occurred in the region off Chilka lake and Paradip (19° 10'N-19° 55'N and 85°09'E-86° 50'E) during January and off Visakhapatnam (17°30'N18°28'N and 83°14'E84°29*E) during November and April. The most productive period along the northwestern part of the Bay of Bengal was the northeast monsoon season (October-January) followed by the premonsoon season (February-May). High abundance of copepods, chaetognaths, siphonophores, cladocerans, fish larvae, planktonic molluscs, amphipods, foraminifers and larval polychaetes constituted the northeast monsoon maximum. Very low biomass values were recorded during the southwest monsoon season (June-September). The neretic zone up to 50 m depth was rich in zooplankton population during northeast monsoon and further to a lesser extent up to 100 m during the premonsoon season. However, a steady decline was evident with increasing depth zones. The less saline northern part exhibited remarkable differences in the abundance of the population and standing stock in such a way that 63% of the total was confined to the northern region. Fish eggs were predominant during February-May and larvae in July and January-February. The peak period of the zooplankton population coincided with the maximum landings of the pelagic and demersal fishery resources of the northwestern coast of the Bay of Bengal.

[1]  S. Pati.  Observations on the hydrography and inshore plankton of the bay of Bengal of Balasore , 1980, Hydrobiologia.

[2]  G. Luther.  Fishery and resource characteristics of mackerel of Visakhapatnam coast , 1995 .

[3]  Frad Cmfri.  Marine fish landings in India during 1985-93 , 1995 .

[4]  A. Suryanarayana,et al.  Characteristics of coastal waters of the western Bay of Bengal during different monsoon seasons , 1992 .

[5]  G. S. Michael,et al.  Wind-driven coastal upwelling along the western boundary of the Bay of Bengal during the southwest monsoon , 1991 .

[6]  T. Naomi,et al.  Studies on the distribution of Cladocera in the eastern Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal , 1990 .

[7]  T. Naomi,et al.  Distribution of Euphausiacea in space and time in the Indian EEZ and contiguous seas , 1990 .

[8]  P. Pillai.  Heterogeneity in the distribution pattern of pelagic copepods collected onboard FORV Sagar Sampada in the Indian EEZ , 1990 .

[9]  R. Anilkumar,et al.  Studies on zooplankton biomass and secondary and tertiary production of the EEZ of India , 1990 .

[10]  V. Rathod,et al.  Zooplankton Studies in Visakhapatnam Harbour and Nearshore Waters, East Coast of India , 1988 .

[11]  S. Dan,et al.  Appraisal of the Marine Fisheries in Orissa , 1987 .

[12]  P. Ammini,et al.  Appraisal of the Marine Fisheries in Andhra Pradesh , 1987 .

[13]  S. G. Dalal,et al.  Validity of zooplankton biomass estimates and energy equivalent in the Indian Ocean , 1986 .

[14]  E. Silas,et al.  Biological productivity of the Indian Ocean , 1985 .

[15]  C. T. Achuthankutty,et al.  Zooplankton composition and diversity in western Bay of Bengal , 1981 .

[16]  C. T. Achuthankutty,et al.  Zooplankton biomass and composition in the western Bay of Bengal during late sw monsoon , 1980 .

[17]  R. W. Sheldon,et al.  Structure of Pelagic Food Chain and Relationship Between Plankton and Fish Production , 1977 .

[18]  B. Krishnamurthy.  ASSESSMENT OF THE DEMERSAL FISHERY RESOURCES OFF THE ANDHRA-ORISSA COAST BASED ON EXPLORATORY TRAWLING , 1974 .

[19]  P. Ganapati.  Biological oceanography of the Bay of Bengal , 1973 .

[20]  T. Rao.  Zooplankton Studies in the Indian Ocean , 1973 .

[21]  C. Murty,et al.  Upwelling along the east coast of India , 1968 .