Abstract
Freshwater catfishes are regarded primarily as a source of food and sport, so they are highly valuable economically. We comprehensively studied life history features of Mystus vittatus, including sex ratio (SR), population structure, growth pattern, condition, form factor (a3.0), sexual maturity (Lm), spawning season, fecundity, mortality (i.e., total mortality (Z), natural-mortality (MW), and fishing mortality (F)), optimum catchable length (Lopt), length at first capture (Lc), and environmental factors (temperature and rainfall) with management policies from the Ganges River during July 2017 to June 2018. SR (1:1.48) differed noticeably from the expected 1:1 ratio (p < 0.05). Total length (TL) ranged from 6.80-16.00cm for males and 6.53-18.80cm for females. The growth was negative allometric for both sexes. Fulton's condition factor was the best one and mean relative weight showed no significant difference from 100 for both sexes that indicates balanced population. Lm was 9.60, 9.70, and 8.80cm based on the gonadosomatic index (GSI), logistic, and maximum length (Lmax), respectively. Spawning season was April to September and the peak was May to July. Fecundity varied from 5942 to 49,852 (mean ± SD, 11,898 ± 5028) and a positively correlated with TL and BW. Z was 1.80year-1, Mw was 0.97year-1, and F was 0.83year-1. Lopt was 11.14cm (TL) and Lc was ~ 8.47cm (TL). Temperature and rainfall both were significantly related with GSI and suitable range of temperature and rainfall for spawning of M. vittatus was 28-34°C and 200-390mm, respectively. Long data series pointed that average air temperature was increasing and rainfall was decreasing. By considering all of the above parameters, we can take the proper management actions for M. vittatus and other freshwater catfishes on the Indian sub-continent, to ensure long-term self-sustainability and sustainable harvest for the benefit of fishers and communities.
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