Arabian Sea oceanography and fisheries

Abstract

The physical and chemical forcing which drive the Arabian production is now fairly well understood. The main attributes, which contribute to the productivity are (1) the boundary processes which manifest as upwelling during summer monsoon and (2) winter cooling in the northern Arabian Sea. Phytoplankton blooms and high mesozooplankton biomass are common and examined how these might contribute to the fisheries along the west coast of India. From an oceanographic point this region can be divided into two areas: south of 15 degrees N and north of this latitude. Although the catches from these two areas are fairly equal, there is considerable differences in the composition. In the former, planktonivorous fishes dominate whereas in the north carnivores seem to be more abundant. Based on the lower food-web, it does not seem to be able to explain these differences.