20 



ranging from 8 fathoms to more than 1,000 fathoms along the 

 coasts of Thailand, Burma, East Pakistan, and the Andaman 

 Islands. In general, most of the catches exceeding 100 pounds 

 per hour of trawling were made in depths of 8 to 30 fathoms, 

 approximately 100 miles south-southeast of Chittagong, East 

 Pakistan, and about 100 miles southwest of Rangoon, Burma. 

 Stingrays, guitarfishes, croakers, lizardfishes, and catfishes 

 dominated the catches in weight. Most of the fishes caught on 

 the survey weighed less than 1 pound and were considered to 

 be of little market value. None of the hauls produced shrimps 

 in commercial quantities. The best catches of 56 and 34 pounds 

 per hour of trawling were made in depths ranging from 165 to 

 205 fathoms. 



On a trawling cruise (4B) conducted in November and 

 December 1963, along the Continental Shelf from Bombay, 

 India, to the eastern coast of Arabia, 77 successful hauls were 

 made in depths ranging from 8 to 200 fathoms. The best 

 catches came from off the Arabian coast south of Al Masirah 

 in 21 to 40 fathoms of water. There one haul accounted for 

 11,200 pounds per hour of trawling. This catch was predom- 

 inantly rays. Another haul resulted in 4,738 pounds of portunid 

 crabs and fishes per hour of trawling. Good catches were 

 also made in depths of 8 to 20 fathoms between Bombay, 

 India, and Karachi, West Pakistan, and consisted mostly of 

 stingrays, threadfin breams, croakers, grunts, and threadtins. 



The longline cruise for pelagic fishes in the central Indian 

 Ocean was carried out in May, June, and July, 1963. On this 

 second cruise of the Anton Bruun , from 30 to 40 baskets^ of 

 Japanese longline gear were fished at each of 33 stations along 

 longitude 70° E. from Bombay south to latitude 37° S. and along 

 longitude 80° E. from latitude 30° S. north to Ceylon. Each 

 fish caught was identified and its length, weight, and sex were 

 recorded. Stomach contents, ovaries, and blood samples were 

 also collected from these fishes. 



A preliminary examination of the data collected on the 

 longline cruise showed several interesting patterns in the 



it'The so-called "basket:" consists of a line about 200 

 fathoms long and bearing six hooks. The name is derived from 

 the former custom of storing each unit in a basket. 



distribution of pelagic fishes and some differences in their 

 availability in the different areas covered. Tunas were virtu- 

 ally absent in the samples from the central Arabian Sea. Of 

 the commercially important tunas, yellowfin (fig. 24) were 

 widely distributed in the central and western Indian Ocean, 

 ranging from about latitude 10° N. to approximately latitude 

 30° S. Areas of maximum abundance appeared to be in the 

 vicinity of the Equator where catch rates of 2 to 18 yellowfin 

 per hundred hooks fished were encountered. The highest single 

 day's catch of tunas was 44 yellowfin taken at a station west of 



Figure 23, --Lowering the cod end of the Gulf of 

 Mexico shrimp trawl onto the deck of the Anton 

 Bruun after a successful haul. 



