OPTIMAL DEMERSAL AND PELAGIC MARINE FISH COMPOSITION OF LANDINGS FOR FISHERY SUSTAINABILITY AT RATNAGIRI ZONE OF MAHARASHTRA STATE (MS), INDIA

Habitat catch composition is often an ignored aspect when commenting on the marine fish landings in the coastal regions. The statistical measures applied in this study attempts to reveal the sustainability status of fisheries in landing centres of Ratnagiri district of MS for thirty-seven years (1982-83 to 2018-19) in terms of Pelagic v/s Demersal fish variety stocks. Additionally, it also captures the status of fisheries in terms of its habitat, thereby implying the nature of the fisheries stocks categorized as declining, stable or transitional. Using Shannon entropy, a measure for sustainability index was calculated w.r.t Pelagic v/s Demersal varieties of the landings. Furthermore, a pressure index is suggested to assess the impact of variation in contribution of Pelagics and Demersals in the total landings.