GOVERNMENT OF INDIA FISHERY SURVEY OF INDIA Department of Fisheries
Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying

An “exclusive economic zone,” or “EEZ” is an area of the ocean, beyond and adjacent to the territorial waters. Generally extending 200 nautical miles (230 miles) beyond a nation's territorial sea, within which a coastal nation has jurisdiction over both living and non-living resources. India has a long coastline of 8,129 km and an EEZ of 2.5 million sq. km, having a high potential for the exploration of natural resources.

Fishing gear is a tool with which aquatic resources are captured. Gear also includes harvesting organisms when no particular gear (tool) or boat is involved.

Nautical miles are used to measure the distance traveled through the water. A nautical mile is slightly longer than a mile on land, equalling 1.1508 land-measured (or statute) miles. The nautical mile is based on the Earth's longitude and latitude coordinates, with one nautical mile equalling one minute of latitude.

A period of traveling by other than land routes especially on the sea.

Haul is nothing but pulls or drags net etc. from the sea.

Fishermen sometimes catch and discard what they catch fish/animals etc. they do no want, cannot sell, or are not allowed to keep. This is collectively known as “bycatch.”. Bycatch can be fish, but also includes other animals such as dolphins, whales, sea turtles, and seabirds that become hooked or entangled in fishing gear.

To fish or catch with a large net dragged along the sea bottom.

Bottom trawling is trawling (towing a trawl, which is a fishing net) along the seafloor. It is also referred to as "dragging" Trawl nets dragged on the sea floor are called “Bottom Trawls”. Also, this can be called as “Benthic Trawling”. In bottom trawling leave serious incidental damage to the sea bottom in its trail. Bottom trawling targets both bottom-living fish (ground fish) and semi-pelagic fish such as: cod, squid, halibut and rockfish.,.

Midwater trawling is trawling or net fishing, at a depth higher than in the water column at the bottom of the ocean. It is contrasted with bottom trawling. Midwater trawling is also known as Pelagic Trawling. In midwater trawling, a cone-shaped net can be towed behind a single boat and spread by trawl doors, or it can be towed behind two boats (pair trawling) which act as the spreading device. Midwater trawling by contrast is relatively benign. Midwater trawling catches pelagic fish such as anchovies, Tuna and Mackerel.

Long-line fishing, or long-lining is a fishing method that involves setting out a large number of short lines carrying hooks, which are attached to a longer main line at regular intervals. The short lines are suspended horizontally at a predetermined depth with the help of surface floats.

Tuna longlining is a passive type of fishing technique making use of lines with baited hooks as fishing gear. Midwater longlining allows catches of fish in midwater and near the surface (while casting and retrieving).

Squid jigging vessels have overhead lights which illuminate the water and attract squid, which then gather in the shaded area under the boat. The squid are caught using barbless lures on monofilament fishing lines which are jigged up and down in the water by machines.

The four main types of fishing gear that use netting are gillnets and entanglement nets, surrounding net, seine nets, and trawls.

Most fishing gear is made of netting with diamond shaped meshes, this gives the gear flexibility and a certain amount of stretch. Increasing the mesh size is one of the easiest way to improve the size selectivity of any gear and reduce by-catch of immature fish.

Hooks and lines are gear where the fish is attracted by a natural or artificial bait (lures) placed on a hook fixed to the end of a line or snood, on which they get caught. Hooks or metallic points (jigs) are also used to catch fish by ripping them when they pass in its range of movement.

CPUE is calculated by dividing the catch of each fishing trip by the number of hours fished during that trip. This gives CPUE in units of kilograms per hour.

Hooking Rate (HR) is calculated by dividing No.of fishes by the No.of Hooks and multiply by 100.

The Catch Rate is Weight divided by No.of hooks and multiplied by 100.

Catch Per Unity Area is CPUE/AREA

When mounted on an elevated shaft or spire, the vane rotates under the influence of the wind such that its centre of pressure rotates to leeward, and the vane points into the wind. Wind velocity is measured by means of an anemometer or radar.

Current velocity is a vector. Its direction refers to the flow direction and it takes degrees as a unit, with the north as zero and clockwise measurement. The size of the current velocity is expressed by cm/s or kn. 1 kn means 1mile per hour, namely 51.44 cm/s, which is approximately equal to 50 cm/s.

The seabed (also known as the seafloor, sea floor, ocean floor, and ocean bottom) is the bottom of the ocean. The nature of the bottom is either Muddy Or Rocky or Sand.

Sampling distribution is a statistical tool that determines the probability of an event based on data from a small group within a large population.

Fish biomass is derived from the total number of fish counted in a specific area of water multiplied by the average weight of fish sampled.

The formula for Biomass calculation is
   Biomass = (c/f*A) / a * k
   Whereas   c/f = Average catch per hour in stratum
   A = Total Surface Area
   a = Swept area by gear
   a calculated as a = C *H *V * 1.852 where
   C = Correction factor for net operation
   H = Head Rope Length
   V = Speed of vessel in knot
   1.852 = Factor for converting knot into kilometer
   V = / V² + C² – 2 COS (V_d - C_d)
   Where C = current speed
   V_d = Vessel Direction ; C_d = Current Direction.

The maximum sustainable yield (MSY) for a given fish stock means the highest possible annual catch that can be sustained over time, by keeping the stock at the level producing maximum growth. The MSY refers to a hypothetical equilibrium state between the exploited population and the fishing activity.

Trawl nets dragged on the sea floor are called “bottom trawls”. The mean catch (either in weight or in numbers) put unit of effort or per unit of area is an index of the stock abundance. This index is converted into an absolute measure of biomass. This technique is called the “swept area method”.

Catchability Coefficient is a concept in fishery biology which reflects the efficiency of a particular fishery. Its quantitative magnitude is expressed by the catchability coefficient, which relates the biomass abundance to the capture or fishing mortality.

The Potential Yield is derived as Effort * (Surface Area + Catchability Coefficient) * Catch

Stocking density (head/ha) refers to the number of stock per hectare on a grazing area or unit at any one time and is usually used to describe the number of stock per unit area in a high-density grazing situation.

Either of the two lines of latitude and longitude whose intersection determines the geographical point of a place.

The coordinates like latitude: 41° 56' 54.3732” N, longitude: 87° 39' 19.2024” W. To read it, start with the first set of numbers, or the latitude. That line reads, 41 degrees, 56 minutes, 54.3732 seconds north. The longitude reads as 87 degrees, 39 minutes, 19.2024 seconds west.

A geographic coordinate system (GCS) is used to define locations on a model of the surface of the earth. The GCS uses a network of imaginary lines (longitude and latitude) to define locations. This network is called a graticule.

Environmental information or data is defined as any measurements or information that describe environmental processes, location, or conditions; ecological or health effects and consequences; or the performance of environmental technology.

Morphometric is a more or less interwoven set of large statistical procedures to analyze variability in the size and shape of organisms. Morphometric characters of fishes are measurable or metric characters.

Fish were placed on the plain board; standard length, total length, head length, body thickness, and body depth were measured in centimetres. The weight of fish was recorded in grams using weighing balance

Potential Fishing Zone (PFZ) is a reliable and short-term forecast on the fish aggregation zones in the open sea. Satellite-derived Chlorophyll and Sea Surface Temparature (SST) information over the Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal are the basic inputs for generating this information. It is retrieved from Thermal infrared channels of NOAAAVHRR and optical bands in IRS-P4 OCM / MODIS Aqua data and is used for identifying Potential Fishing Zones along the Indian coastline.

PFZ advisories are being generated and disseminated during the fishing ban and non monsoon period to the entire fishermen community situated along the entire coast of India through various modes viz. telephone, fax, e-mail. To improve the coverage and penetration advances in Information and Communication Technology have been adapted and an Electronic display board (EDB) has been developed and installed at various fish landing centres along the coast.

Electronic display board facilitates dissemination of satellite images, animations, shortfilms, and ocean state information, in addition to disaster information and disaster warning such as Tsunami.
EDB consists of two parts:
1. It contains a 32” LCD display panel :
It displays the PFZ map and the table. It also gives information like wind direction wind speed and wave height.
2. Secured siren system with audibility up to 1 km:
It is a Tsunami warning alarm which warns the fisher in the sea to return back to the shore and also warn them against venturing in the sea.

Remote sensing is a process that uses cameras or satellites to detect and monitor the physical characteristics of a given thing or an area by measuring its reflected and emitted radiation. The most direct and simple method of remote sensing in fisheries is visual fish spotting. Fishing fleets which exploit major fisheries such as tuna and menhaden are dependent on visual fish spotting from aircraft to direct their fleets.

A geographic information system (GIS) is a computer system for capturing, storing, checking, and displaying data related to positions on Earth's surface. By relating seemingly unrelated data, GIS can help individuals and organizations better understand spatial patterns and relationships. GIS has made a strong footprint with advanced technology in identifying the geographical location of fishing areas, making digital databases with better presentation methods like maps, graphs, diagrams, layer illustration etc., analysing the species database with oceanographic environments to protect marine biodiversity.

Oceanography is the study of all aspects of the ocean. Oceanography covers a wide range of topics, from marine life and ecosystems to currents and waves, the movement of sediments, and seafloor geology.

The repetition of a sound caused by reflection of sound waves. Echoes are used by bats, dolphins and fisherman to detect an object / obstruction. They are also used in SONAR (Sound navigation and ranging) and RADAR(Radio detection and ranging) to detect an obstacle.

A Radar (Radio Detection And Ranging) is an instrument that can detect surrounding objects using radio waves. A mandatory aid to navigation, the radar is used in identifying, tracking (with integrated ARPA) and positioning of vessels (including one's own vessel) among other things in order to adhere to the COLREGs so as to safely navigate a ship from one point to another.

A lighthouse is a high tower equipped with bright light and lenses that help guide ships to port at night and alert sailors about sandbars, reefs, and rocky coastlines. Each lighthouse features a large lamp on top of the building. At night, it lights up when everything around is dark.

Test Answer