Abstract
Shrimps are an important commercial fishery resource and highly diverse group in the world. They are considered a luxury food commodity in international trade and command an excellent market price. The marine fishing grounds around Jaffna district and the brackish water resources are more favourable for shrimp production than the other parts of the country. Kakkaithivu Coastal Area is a part of the Jaffna estuary and a major fish landing center in Jaffna peninsula. An investigation was carried out on shrimp species to identify and update the information on shrimp species, in Kakkaithivu Coastal waters, Jaffna district in Northern Province, Sri Lanka. Samples were collected from the commercial catches in Kakkaithivu landing center from November, 2010 through April, 2012. Collected shrimps were initially identified using standard keys according to the morphological features. Seven species of shrimps P. indicus, P. monodon, P. latisulcatus, P. semisulcatus, P. japonicus, Metapenaeus monoceros and M. dobsoni were identified. The presence of P. japonicus and M. dobsoni were recorded for the first time in the coastal waters of Kakkaithivu, Jaffna estuary. Tropical Agricultural Research Vol. 24(1): 82-90(2012) DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.4038/tar.v24i1.7991
Highlights
Shrimps form the most economically important constituent in the marine fish landings in the world
Among the thirty two species of shrimps recorded in Sri Lanka (Jayasinghe, 2001), five species contribute significantly to the commercial catches; namely, P. indicus, P. monodon, P. meruguiensus, P. semisulcatus and Metapenaeus dobsoni of which the latter dominates the brackish water catches
Penaeus indicus Penaeus monodon (Fabricus, 1798) A detailed photograph of P. monodon is given in Plate 2
Summary
Shrimps form the most economically important constituent in the marine fish landings in the world. It is rich in protein and is preferred by majority due to its specific taste. Jaffna estuary is a shallow coastal water body located on the northern coast of Sri Lanka with vital economic importance. Among the thirty two species of shrimps recorded in Sri Lanka (Jayasinghe, 2001), five species contribute significantly to the commercial catches; namely, P. indicus, P. monodon, P. meruguiensus, P. semisulcatus and Metapenaeus dobsoni of which the latter dominates the brackish water catches. Present study was undertaken with the objective of identifying and updating the shrimp species present in Kakkaithivu Coastal Area, with the aim of contributing for better understanding of the shrimp fishery potential in the area
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