2438 FISH/Demersal Species of Tropical Climates

Demersal Species of Tropical
Climates
G D Khedkar and B V Jadhao, Dr Babasaheb
Ambedkar Marathwada University, Aurangabad,
Maharashtra, India
N V Chavan, Adarsha College, Hingoli, Maharashtra,
India
C D Khedkar, College of Dairy Technology, Warud
(Pusad), Maharashtra, India
Copyright 2003, Elsevier Science Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
tagging data. But nowadays scientists are employing
the application of modern electronic tagging tech-
niques, whereby perfect positional information can
be derived after retrieval of the tag. The traditional
tagging experiments have provided evidence of
migrations across deep-sea areas. Even transatlantic
crossings have been recorded for cod. Although such
basin-wide migrations may not occur regularly, they
certainly show that demersal fishes are quite capable
of considerable movements over long distances.

Sensory Systems in Demersal Fishes of

Introduction Tropical Climates
0001 Demersal fishes have been a major source of protein The shelf environment is generally well-lit and most 0003

for people all over the world for thousands of years.
Worldwide, about 85% of the total continental
shelf area has sandy or muddy substrate. Only about
6% is rocky or gravelly, and the remaining areas are
coral reefs or shell beds. However, there are both
latitudinal and depth-related patterns. Corals are
almost entirely confined to low latitudes where or-
ganically enriched muddy areas are also most exten-
sive, particularly near the mouths of major rivers
or below highly productive upwelling areas. Sandy,
rocky, and gravelly sediments are more common
at high latitudes. The tropical waters contain a
greater number and diversity of fish species than
waters of the higher latitudes. Demersal fish of
economic importance are concentrated on the contin-
ental shelf and on the continental slope down to
about 500 m. They live on or near the bottom of the
ocean. A regular landing from a deep-sea trawling
demersal fishes have well-developed vision. In add-
ition demersal fish may use mechanoreceptors (sense
of pressure, motion, and sound), chemosensory
(olfaction and gustation) and electrosensory (i.e., abil-
ity to detect electric fields) systems. Different systems
may play essential roles during different stages of
important processes such as prey detection, capture
and handling, predator avoidance, or reproduction. In
general, mechanoreception by the acousticolateralis
system (lateral line organ and ear) tends to be most
important for the detection of predators, conspecifics,
and other physical disturbances in the environment.
Olfaction is very important to benthofages that have
to search the substrate for food, whereas planktivores
Table 1 Total world catch of major demersal fish species tbl0001

(1990–2000)
session would include catfish, croakers, soles,
groupers, shinynose, snappers, mullets, and mega- Scientific name Commonname Catch
lops. World catches of demersal species increased (tonnes)
rapidly during the first three-quarters of the 20th Ammodytes spp. Sand eels 1 003 343
century. Since then the catches from some stocks Ariidae spp. Sea catfish nei 242 815
have declined, due to overfishing, while other previ- Cantherhines spp. Filefish 234 446
ously underexploited stocks have increased their Elasmobranchii Sharks, skets, rays 337 819
yields (Table 1). The limits of biological production Gadus macrocephalus Pacific cod 425 467
Gadus morhua Atlantic cod 2 317 261
have probably been reached in many areas. In Macruronus magellanicus Patagonian grenadier 230 221
order to maintain the fisheries and to protect the Macruronus novaezelandiae Blue grenadier 255 421
ecosystems which support them, careful management Melanogrammus aeglefinus Haddock 273 459
is needed. Merluccius capensis Cape hakes 266 854
Merluccius gayi South Pacific hake 197 911
Merluccius hubbsi Argentine hake 526 573
Migration in Demersal Species of Tropical Micromesistius poutassou Blue whiting 628 918
Climates Nemipterus spp. Threadfin breams 186 201
Pleurogrammus azonus Atka mackerel 237 343
0002 Diurnal migrations, either vertically or horizontally, Pleuronectiformes Flatfishes nei 289 551
are common in demersal fishes. More fascinating, Pollachius virens Pollock 385 227
however, are the long-distance seasonal migrations Sciaenidae Croakers 492 528
associated with reproduction, feeding, and sometimes Sebastes spp. Atlantic redfishes 318 383
Theragra chalcogramma Alaska pollock 3 182 645
overwintering. Many examples were already well
Trisopterus esmarkii Norway pout 299 145
described several decades ago, based on traditional

and piscivores tend to rely more heavily on vision.
Gustation is most important after capturing prey.
Benthofages may have elaborate adaptations of their
olfactory system. In addition to a well-developed
nose, they may have barbells on the snout (e.g.,
gadids, zoarcids) and modified and extended first
rays of their pectoral fins (e.g., Triglidae) densly
packed with olfactory sensory cells. The electrosen-
sory system is particularly well developed in some
sharks and rays, and they may primarily use this
system for prey location, but also for orientation and
navigation.
Life History Characteristics of the
Demersal Fishes of Tropical Climates
0004 Life history strategies are best examined in the con-
text of the assemblage or community within which
the fish operates. No species lives in isolation, but
interacts with and influences the activities of all the
other species it regularly encounters. Ecological
understanding ultimately grows out of the study of
communities, and this perspective is the one most
deep-ocean ecologists have adopted. Comparative
study of several systems, when possible, can be very
insightful. The samples required for this sort of study,
however, are not easily come by. Large numbers are
required, which, in the best case, should encompass
most life stages and time series over seasons, over
years, and over space. A single sampling gear rarely
suffices, and even a suite of different nets, for
example, might also be complemented with cameras
and other ‘snapshot’ devices. For deep-sea fishes, it is
hard to find any area where such requirements are
met. One that comes somewhat close is in the deep
abyssal region of the eastern Atlantic.
0005 Most demersal teleosts (bony fishes) are oviparous
and produce free-floating eggs. Mating and spawn-
ing happen at the same time, often in mid-water.
Some notable exceptions are the viviparous redfish
(Sebastes) that release numerous pelagic larvae, and
the wolfish (Anarhichadidae) which deposits a cluster
of large eggs that is guarded until hatching. Sand eels
(Ammodytidae) also have demersal eggs but do not
protect the eggs. Most teleosts have no parental care
other than making sure that they mate and spawn
in an area and habitat that enhances the survival
probability of their eggs, larvae, and pelagic juveniles.
Most pelagic teleost eggs are small, i.e., a few
millimeters in diameter, and fecundity is high, i.e.,
thousands to millions of eggs per female. Batch
spawning is common in the highly fecund species,
e.g., cod may spawn 10–13 batches of its very small
eggs within a spawning season.
FISH/Demersal Species of Tropical Climates 2439
Demersal sharks are either oviparous or vivipar- 0006
ous, whereas rays and chimaeroids are oviparous,
attaching their few large encapsulated eggs to debris
or macroalgae. All species produce rather few young
in each batch, i.e., from a couple to a few tens of eggs/
juveniles, and lifetime production is very low com-
pared with most teleosts. Upon hatching or birth, the
young resembles the adults. Spawning seasons vary in
duration, and the general rule is that the more sea-
sonal the production cycle, the more fixed and limited
is the spawning season. High-latitude fishes and those
living in monsoon or upwelling regions have com-
paratively short spawning seasons, whereas tropical
and subtropical fishes have protracted seasons or
year-round reproduction. Larvae hatched from small
pelagic eggs have a yolk sac that may provide suffi-
cient nutrition for a few days or weeks, after which
they depend on exogenous feeding, usually on small
crustacea such as copopod nauplii. The mortality in
this perod is very high indeed, and only a minute
fraction of the total number of eggs spawned will
eventually result in a surviving demersal juvenile.
The teleost postlarvae pass through metamorphosis
upon reaching a certain size. Characters such as fins
and juvenile pigmentaion develop, and sense organs
also become fully developed. In flatfishes, the eye
migration occurs. In general, the larva is transformed
into a fish which is morphologically and behaviorally
adapted for demersal life. Associated with this change
is the settling on the seabed, at least for parts of the
diurnal cycle. Settling areas are often, but not always,
separated from the feeding areas of the older fish.
This reflects the different habitat and food require-
ments of juveniles and adults, but may also reduce
cannibalism. In the majority of teleost species, the
demersal nursery areas are shallower than feeding
grounds of older conspecifics. Estuaries and offshore
shoals are typical nursery areas, also rocky shores
where the substrate and macroalgae offer protection
and a variety of prey. Tidal flats and sandy beaches
are typical habitats of juvenile flatfish. A gradual
ontogenetic shift in depth distribution happens as
the juveniles grow larger.
The expected longevity of demersal species of trop- 0007
ical climates varies greatly. A general pattern is that
longevity increases with increasing adult size, but
there are many exceptions to this rule. Some species,
i.e., redfishes, can probably live for at least 30–40
years, but this is unusual for shelf species. Small
species such as Norway pout may live for 5–6 years
at most, but in exploited areas this seldom happens.
In most shelf waters, the fisheries have influenced
age distributions to the extent that life expectancy is
significantly reduced.
 2440 FISH/Demersal Species of Tropical Climates
0008 Somatic growth patterns also vary widely among
demersal fishes of tropical climates. In fast-growing
species living in strongly seasonal environments, the
overall growth trajectory may show seasonality either
because food supply and feeding rates vary, or
because the somatic growth is influenced by repro-
ductive activity/gonad growth. Growth rate usually
declines significantly when the fish becomes mature,
but never ceases entirely. Attempts have been made to
classify species into r- and K-selected types (r and K
are coefficients expressing rate of reproduction and
somatic growth, respectively). The r-selected types
are those with short life spans but fast growth and
rather small adult size. They mature at a small size
and young age, and can rapidly take advantage of
short and unpredictable favorable environmental
conditions by increasing their numbers. The K-
species, however, tend to invest more energy in som-
atic growth by growing more slowly and maturing
later in life, when they are capable of producing many
young. The populations of such species comprise
many age groups, and they are not, like the r-species,
so vulnerable to repeated recruitment failures due to
low survival of young over a range of years. There are
many species that do not readily fit into these classes,
and it is unusual for demersal species of tropical
climates to have the extreme r- or K-strategies seen
among epipelagic fishes and demersal deep-sea fishes,
respectively.
Species Distribution
0009 The vast extent and inaccessibility of the near-bottom
oceanic environment have resulted in extremely
patchy sampling and arguably therefore a quite re-
stricted, and no doubt biased, view of overall demer-
sal fish distribution and community composition.
Slope areas in certain regions, especially some parts
of the North Atlantic, are notable exceptions yet, on
the basis of relative areas, the proportion of the abys-
sal floor of the world ocean that has ever been
trawled is so minuscule that any evenly distributed
species represented in collections by more than 20
specimens in toto is potentially more numerous across
the globe than in humanity! The relative uniformity
of physical features, such as temperature and salinity
at considerable depth, could allow very widespread
distribution patterns to occur. The detailed know-
ledge of the distribution of most of the demersal
species of tropical climates, however, remains
obscure. Such knowledge is largely derived from
taxonomic and rare zoogeographic studies. Rarely
does it come from studies of full assemblages where
species, ecology, and interrelationships are taken into
account. Yet it is these investigations that contribute
most to our understanding of the deep demersal en-
vironment and the community ecology of fishes there.
Important Species of Demersal Fishes of
Tropical Climates
The Clarias
Clarias gariepinus, also known as the African mud 0010
catfish, exists in the wild but it is also cultivated in
ponds, cages, and pens and is of great commercial
importance. This is an omnivorous fish with a prefer-
ence for a planktonic diet. It also feeds on other types
of food items such as insects, insect larvae, pupae,
fish, and fish remains. It also has a propensity for
being carnivorous. Propagation of these fishes is
widely practiced in the tropics. Peak production of
eggs by the female and hatching of the fertilized eggs
are known to take place during the rainy season. A
production mean of about 28 000 eggs and a hatching
rate of 86.4% have been recorded during the rainy
season. A low propagation yield at other times has
been attributed to the resting period in the ovarian
cycle of the animal. Induction of spawning has been
carried out with 11-desoxycorticosterone acetate or
carp pituitary suspension. Some of the processed
products made from Clarias include fermented,
dried, and hot-smoked products. The nutrient con-
tent of Clarias spp. is given in Table 2.
The Ariomma
Ariomma bondi and A. melanum are the two species. 0011
The former is found in 200–400 m depth of water; it
is silvery and has a big head with small eyes. A.
melanum inhabits 200–600 m of water, is brown in
color, and has a small head with small eyes. The drift
fish (A. bondi) is a relatively unexploited deep-sea fish
found in tropical West Africa from Senegal to Gabon
and in the western Atlantic from Nova Scotia through
to the Gulf of Mexico. The length range is about
10–19 cm, with a corresponding average weight of
31.88 g. Size is an important technological property
of a fish, of significance to its fishery and subsequent
utilization. The nutrient content of Ariomma spp. is
given in Table 2. The length–weight measurement, as
well as the weight composition, has been found to
Table 2 Nutrient content of Ariomma and Clarias spp. tbl0002
Nutrient Composition
Clarias spp. Ariomma spp.
Moisture 70.5–72.0 75.5–77.5
Protein 18.2–18.6 19.47–20.12
Lipid 6.7–7.1 3.32–3.39
Ash 2.6–2.9 2.67–2.71

meet the technological requirements of canning. In
canned Ariomma, the edible portion increases from
51.66 to 59.38% when the whole, headless fish with
the soft bones and fins are canned, consequently
increasing the calcium and phosphorus content of
the product. Canned Ariomma will be cheaper than
canned tuna since it is relatively inexpensive and has a
lower processing cost.
Demersal Fisheries
0012 Demersal fisheries use a wide variety of fishing
methods to catch fish on or close to the seabed. It is
defined by the gear used, type of fishing activity, and
varieties of fishes which are caught. A very wide range
of fishing gear is used in demersal fisheries, the main
ones being bottom trawls of different kinds, which
are dragged along the seabed behind a trawler. Other
methods include seine nets, trammel nets, gill nets, set
nets, baited lines and long lines, temporary or per-
manent traps, and barriers. Catches from demersal
fisheries make up a large proportion of the marine
harvest used for human consumption and are the
most valuable component of fisheries on continental
shelves throughout the world.
0013 Demersal fisheries have been a major source of
human nutrition and commerce for thousands of
years. Models of papyrus pair trawlers were found
in Egyptian graves dating back 3000 years. The in-
tensity of fishing activity throughout the world,
including demersal fisheries, has increased rapidly
over the past century, with more fishing vessels,
greater engine power, better fishing gear, and im-
proved navigational aids. Many demersal fisheries
are now overexploited and all are in need of careful
assessment and management if they are to provide a
sustainable harvest.
0014 The products of demersal fisheries are mainly used
for human consumption. The species caught tend to
be relatively large and of high value compared with
typical pelagic species. Demersal fisheries are also
known as ground-fish fisheries.
0015 The five demersal marine fish with the highest
average catches over the decade 1990–2000 are
Alaska pollock, Atlantic cod, sand eels, blue whiting,
and Argentine hake (Table 1). All these species spend
a considerable proportion of their time in midwater.
Sand eels spend most of their lives on or in the seabed.
The vast majority of demersal fisheries take place on
the continental shelves, at depths of less than 200 m.
Management of Demersal Fisheries
0016 It is necessary to manage the demersal fisheries for
biological, social, and economic purposes. Biological
FISH/Demersal Species of Tropical Climates 2441
goals used to be set in terms of maximum sustainable
yield of a few main species, but a broader and more
cautious approach is now being introduced, which
includes consideration of the ecosystem within
which these species are produced and which takes
account of the uncertainty in our assessment of the
consequences of our activities. The most important
biological goal is to avoid extinction of species. At a
global level it is evident that economic goals are not
being achieved because the capital and operational
costs of marine fisheries are about two times higher
than the gross revenue.
There are large numbers of examples of adverse 0017
social impacts of changes in fisheries, often caused
by the effects of larger, industrial fishing operations
on the quality of life and standard of living of small-
scale fishing communities. Biological management of
demersal fisheries has developed mainly from a
single-species ‘yield-per-recruit’ model of fish stocks.
The yield is controlled by adjusting the mortality and
size of fish that are caught. In many shared inter-
national fisheries, such as those governed by the
European Union, the annual allocation of catch
quotas is the main instrument of fisheries manage-
ment. This requires costly annual assessment of
many fish stocks, which must be added to the operat-
ing costs when looking at the economic balance for a
fishery.
The instruments for limiting the size of fish caught 0018
are mesh sizes, minimum landing sizes, and various
kinds of escape panels in the fishing gear. These in-
struments can be quite effective, particularly where
catches are dominated by a single species.
There are two classes of economic instruments for 0019
fisheries management: corrective taxes and subsidies
and property rights. The latter demands less detailed
information than the former and may lead to greater
stakeholder participation in the management process,
because it fosters a sense of ownership.
The management of demersal fisheries will always 0020
be a complex problem, because the marine ecosystem
is complicated and subject to change as the global
environment changes. Management will always be
based on incomplete information and understanding
and imperfect management tools. A critical step
towards better management would be to monitor
performance in relation to the target objective and
provide feedback in order to improve the system.
One of the changes which have taken place over the 0021
past few years is the adoption of the precautionary
approach. This seeks to evaluate the quality of the
evidence, so that a cautious strategy is adopted when
the evidence is weak. Whereas in the past such bal-
ance of evidence arguments were sometimes applied
in order to avoid taking management action unless
 2442 FISH/Pelagic Species of Tropical Climates
the evidence was strong, the presumption now is that
in case of doubt it is the fish stocks rather than the
short-term interests of the fishing industry which
should be protected. This is a very significant change
in attitude, which gives some grounds for optimism in
the continuing struggle to achieve sustainable fisher-
ies and healthy ecosystems.
See also: Fish Farming
Further Reading
Cochrane KL (2000) Reconciling sustainability, economic
efficiency and equity in fisheries: the one that got away?
Fish and Fisheries 1: 3–21.
Cushing DH (1996) Towards a Science of Recruitment in
Fish Populations. Oldendorf/Luhe, Germany: Ecology
Institute.
Gerking SD (1994) Feeding Ecology of Fish. San Diego:
Academic Press.
Gomes MC (1993) Predictions under Uncertainty. Fish
Assemblages and Food Webs on the Grand Banks of
Newfoundland. St John’s, Canada: ISER, Memorial
University of Newfoundland.
Gulland JA (1988) Fish Population Dynamics: The Implica-
tions for Management, 2nd edn. Chichester: John Wiley.
Hoines A, Bergstad OA and Albert OT (1995) The food
web of a coastal spawning ground of the herring (Clupea
harengus L.). In: Skjoldal HR, Hopkins C, Erikstad KE
and Leinaas HP (eds) Ecology of Fjords and Coastal
Waters. Amsterdam: Elsevier Science.
Jobling M (1995) Environmental Biology of Fishes.
London: Chapman and Hall.
Kurlansky M (1997) Cod. A Biography of the Fish that
Changed the World. London: Jonathan Cape.
Laevastu T (1996) Exploitable Marine Ecosystem: Their Be-
haviour and Management. Oxford: Fishing News Books.
Pelagic Species of Tropical
Climates
G D Khedkar and B V Jadhao, Dr Babasaheb
Ambedkar Marathwada University, Aurangabad,
Maharashtra, India
C D Khedkar, College of Dairy Technology, Warud
(Pusad), Maharashtra, India
N V Chavan, Adarsha College, Hingoli , Maharashtra,
India
Copyright 2003, Elsevier Science Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
Introduction
0001 Of the total world catch of over 80 million tonnes of
fish, roughly 36 million tonnes are accounted for by
groups of typically pelagic fish. Of the total fish catch,
approximately 25 million tonnes are used for reduc-
tion purposes and it is likely that a very high propor-
tion of this comes from pelagic fish landed in bulk.
The production of fish meal from oily fish is around 6
million tonnes, with an associated 1.4 million tonnes
of oil, implying a conversion ratio of about 3.4:1.
Allowing for approximations, these figures imply
that about 70% of tropical pelagic fish caught are
used for purposes other than direct human consump-
tion. In addition to meal and oil, over 1.7 million
tonnes of canned pelagic fish products is produced.
The landmass between the tropics of Capricorn 0002
and Cancer (32
280 S and N) is considered as the
tropical region. Most of this region, barring some
desert areas in Africa and the Indian subcontinent, is
considered to be lush with vegetation and animals
and is characterized by a climate predominantly
determined by annual monsoon rains. From a socio-
economic point of view, the tropics, in spite of its
expected lushness, has some of the poorest and least
developed countries in the world. The great bulk of
mariculture in the tropics takes place on land-based
ponds, which draw sea water through natural inlet
channels, and in shallow bays. Unlike in temperate
regions, offshore culture facilities using large floating
and/or submersible cages are virtually nonexistent. In
particular, the almost exponential growth of the
shrimp culture industry in the last 15 years or so,
and the adverse environmental influences this devel-
opment has had on the coastal environment, and the
future potential in mariculture development in the
tropics as a means of closing the projected gap in
supply and demand for aquatic products, especially
for the upper end of the market, by year 2015, have
created a fresh awareness of tropical mariculture.
Pelagic Environment
Microscopic planktonic organisms of the oceans form 0003
the basis of marine food chains and the more complex
food webs. A bucketful of tropical sea water may
contain several thousand microscopic plants and
animals. Microscopic plant life includes all the
members of the phytoplankton that provide food for
herbivores. The phytoplankton is composed of vari-
ous types of unicellular algae, which range from a
few microns to several hundred microns in size. The
major groups of algae include the diatoms, which are
the dominant type of phytoplankton. It is essential for
diatoms to remain in the surface waters to carry out
photosynthetic processes, and therefore these algae
have developed a variety of adaptations to prevent
sinking. Other common types of phytoplankton in-
clude the dinoflagellate algae and coccolithophores.