Report on a Unique Population of Ridgeback Shrimp, Solenocera choprai Nataraj 1945, in the Mid-shelf of West Coast of India with Present Status of Their Exploitation and Future Options for Management

The trawl catch of the commercially important Solenocerid shrimp, Solenocera choprai caught from the sandy belt prevailing beyond the inner continental shelf west coast of India was studied. This population was noticed for the first time in 1993 and a regular fishery of the species established with increasing catch until 2003 when the catch showed a sharp reduction and continuing decline. In 2002 the landing was 3,186 t and in succeeding years the catch dropped to 1,445 and 752 t. The mean sizes of males and females also reduced. Stock assessment was carried out during the declining phase of the fishery (2003-2004). MSY for the period was estimated at 1,225 t using the length-based Thompson and Bell prediction model. The relative Y/R showed that the Emax of 0.65 (against the present E of 0.59) indicates further scope of increasing the fishing effort. However, the Thompson and Bell model indicated that any subsequent addition of effort from the present level will give comparatively low additional yield and the present fishery stands at the MEY level. For the success of the fishery in future years, it is recommended that the catch be restricted to the present estimated MSY level and continuous monitoring of the species be carried out to formulate corrective measures to check the declining trend.