Indian Journal of Geo-marine Sciences Vol. 45 (8), August 2016, pp. 943-951 Seasonal variations in habitat selection and catch trends of Sciaenids (Family: Sciaenidae) from the tropical waters off Goa, west coast of India Mahabaleshwar R Hegde, Vinay P Padate & Chandrashekher U Rivonker* Department of Marine Sciences, Goa University, Taleigao Plateau, Goa - 403206, India *[Email: curivonker@gmail.com] Received 28 March 2014; revised 19 December 2014 Seasonal variations in species composition, habitat selection and catch trends of sciaenids off Goa, west coast of India were investigated for twelve seasons from 2006-2011, with the exceptions of June-September (monsoon). Present observations based on 248 hours fishing effort (186 trawl operations) revealed 14 species of the family Sciaenidae. Sciaenid abundance (α = 0.05, P= 0.03071) and weight (α = 0.05, P = 0.1426) was significantly higher during pre- monsoon than the post- monsoon season with an exception of post-monsoon 2009. Analysis of spatial variation revealed that sciaenid abundance varied significantly (α = 0.05, P= 0.0593) between sandy and rocky habitats with dominance of juveniles and adults respectively. Dominance of juvenile population along sandy regions irrespective of the season indicates perennial recruitment and emphasizes the importance of the near shore sandy regions as potential nursery grounds. An assessment of sciaenid landings of Goa (1969-2004) revealed significant increase (R=0.709) during the initial phase of post-mechanization (1969-1986) due to increase in fishing effort and expansion of the demersal fishery to deeper waters. In contrast, marginal decrease during 1986-2004, despite the elevated fishing effort, suggested reduced resilience of the sciaenid populations in the region towards seasonal hypoxia and sustained fishing pressure, with a slow recovery rate. [Keywords: Coastal waters, temporal variations, fisheries, tropical environment] Introduction The family Sciaenidae represents a strongly provincialized worldwide group of near shore fishes containing some 270 extant species 1 . Family is confined to shallow coastal and estuarine environment with few freshwater taxa and open ocean regions and cold extreme temperate zone were effective barriers to distribution of this group 2 . Some species of family Sciaenidae are localized while others have wide range of distribution 3 . Along the Indian coast extensive work has been carried out regarding population dynamics, taxanomy, size class and other aspects of sciaenids 4,5,6,7 . Most of these studies are based on single species and restricted to population and fishery. Comprehensive studies pertaining to their distribution patterns and catch trends have been rarely attempted. In addition to the above, the information related to the seasonal variations in abundance 8 and size range distribution is very scanty 9 . The coastal bays and estuaries of Goa, Central West coast of India are among the most productive habitats used by a variety of fishes and invertebrates. The demersal fishery resources of Goa include benthic fishes and invertebrates 8, 10 , among which the sciaenids constitute a major group that contribute around 10% to the total demersal fish catches of the region 11 . Against this background, the present investigation attempted to address the following questions viz. Are there any significant spatio- temporal variations in the abundance and diversity of sciaenids off Goa? Does habitat play a role in determining the distribution of these fishes? Are there any variations in the sciaenid catches from the region over the last thirty five years, and what are the probable implications of such variations for the sciaenid population? Materials and Methods The coastline of Goa is aligned NNW-SSE, faces the Arabian Sea with diverse bathymetry and habitats 12 . Coastal waters receive perennial nutrient-rich freshwater influx from the adjoining estuaries, particularly the Mandovi-Zuari estuarine complex (15°25’N-15°31’N and 73°45’E- 73°59’E) 13 . Present study area (Fig. 1) comprised (i)