2008 A P P L I E D A N D N A T U R A L S C I E N C E F O U N D A T I O N ANSF JANS Journal of Applied and Natural Science 9 (2): 851 - 854 (2017) Design and technical characteristics of shark gillnet operating in Mumbai coast Shabir A. Dar 1* , Saly N. Thomas 2 and S. K. Chakraborty 3 1 Faculty of Fisheries, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Kashmir - 190006 (J & K), INDIA 2 Central Institute of Fisheries Technology, Willington Island, Cochin - 682029 (Kerala), INDIA 3 Central Institute of Fisheries Education, Versova, Mumbai - 400061 (Maharastra), INDIA *Corresponding author. E-mail: shabirdar777@rediffmail.com Received: May 31, 2016; Revised received: February 1, 2017; Accepted: April 25, 2017 Abstract: This paper deals with design and general features of shark gillnets operated along Mumbai coast. A PA monofilament of 0.60 to 1.0 mm diameter and selvedge meshes of PE of 1 to 2 mm diameter were used for shark set gillnets along Mumbai coast. Mesh size of the main webbing ranged from 120 to 200 mm with average of 144.4 ± 10.83 mm and rigged with a hanging coefficient of 0.41 to 0.51 with average of 0.42 were commonly used. A hung length ranging from 40 to 105 m with mean of 59 ± 10.37 with total hung depth varying from 6.42 to 10.58 m with average of 8.15 ± 0.49 m. Shark gillnet had a total length of 260 to 456 m with mean of 350.71 ± 28.53 m. The nets were operated mostly at a depth up to 18 m very near to the shore and were of set type of gillnet. Polyamide (PA) monofilament netting of 0.16 to 0.32 mm diameter and of mesh size 26-200 mm were generally used for construction of gillnets throughout the Mumbai coast. Polyamide (PA) monofilament has completely replaced PA multifilament in all the nets except those targeted i.e. white sardine and seerfish. Keywords: Design, Mumbai Coast, Polyamide, Shark gillnet INTRODUCTION Gillnet is one of the oldest type of fishing gear and is widely used to harvest diverse marine species (Sainsbury, 1996). Gillnetting, the name itself is a self explanatory which means fishes are caught by gilling. Fish caught in gillnet are usually gilled, but can be wedged, snagged or entangled (Hovgard and Lassen, 2000). Gillnets vary in material, mesh size and dimen- sion depending on the target species. Specific gillnets targeting particular resources are named after targeted resource. Important types of gillnets in operation along Mumbai coast are sardine gillnets, white sardine gillnets, mackerel gillnets, seerfish gillnets, pomfret gillnets, shark gillnets, solefish gillnets and shrimp gillnets. Gillnet fishing is one of the popular fishing methods along the west coast of India. Gillnetting has become popular among fishers being less capital inten- sive, selectively operated depending on availability and demand and can be operated at areas where bottom is not suitable for trawling. Among the gear wise contribution to all India marine landings, the gillnets contributed 21 % with 6 % mechanised and 15 % motorised sector during 2007 (Ramani et al., 2010). So the information on selectivity properties of gillnets helps in regulation of mesh size and optimization of gillnet design in order to facilitate selective harvesting of targeted species or size groups, supporting responsi- ISSN : 0974-9411 (Print), 2231-5209 (Online) All Rights Reserved © Applied and Natural Science Foundation www.jans.ansfoundation.org ble fisheries (Thomas, 2009). Though gillnets of Maharashtra play a prominent role in the marine fish landings of the state, a comprehen- sive study on this fishery with special focus on design and technical details of shark gillnets have made which has not been done earlier. Since 1980’s many need based changes have taken place mainly with respect to material substitution, changes in method of operation, introduction of resource specific gear, use of coloured webbing, motorisation and other changes consequent to this. MATERIALS AND METHODS Fishing season in Maharashtra starts on the day of NaraliPournima or on 15 th of August, whichever is earlier whereas it is closed before onset of monsoon or generally on 10 th June. Fishing activities remain suspended in most of the landing centres in this region during the monsoon months as the fishermen find it difficult to navigate their vessels due to rough weather. In addition to this, as per Maharashtra Marine Fishing Regulation Act, 1981, there is a ban on fishing in mon- soon season from 10 June to 15 August or up to NaraliPournima, whichever is earlier. So, data were collected from 1 st December 2010 to 30 th November 2011 except during the fishing ban period. For collecting the design and technical details of gear and craft scheduled I was used. It covers aspects such