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Survey of resources in the Indian Ocean and Indonesian area

Year of publication 1971

Pages VIII, 123

Author Cusching, D.H.

Publisher FAO ;

Product type Document

Edition 1

Synopsis (short abstract) The resources of the tropical ocean derive from a number of separate ecosystems; for the present purpose there are five: the upwelling areas, offshore oceanic areas, coral seas, mangrove swamps, and coastal areas outside upwelling regions; Studies of the oceanic system lead to the conclusion that stocks of the four most valued tunas (yellowfin, bigeye, albacore, and southern bluefin) are fully exploited; other tunas and tuna-like fishes perhaps can be exploited: Spanish mackerel and especially s kipjack, whose estimated production is 100.000 tons; Coral seas are difficult to exploit, but production is likely to be high; there may be tertiary resources of Sardinella or mackerels over the whole coral area; Mangrove swamps are extensive, and their high productivity could be exploited with a variety of fish, shellfish, and crustacean cultures; the swamps need to be investigated for present resources; Upwelling areas and the associated offshore divergences are the most productive; the most p romising area for development is that off Northern Somalia and Southern Arabia, followed by the Malabar Coast and the Indonesian area. A fisheries survey should be mounted to catalogue resources of the three promising areas; surveys of pelagic resources with echo-sounders and purse-seines should be initiated all over the region but particularly in the upwelling areas.

Language English

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