Population Dynamics and Fisheries Management of three commercially important shrimp species in Arab Sea

Abstract

The present thesis focuses on the fishery of the major penaeid shrimp species and commercially important ones in the Sultanate of Oman, which are Penaeus semisulcatus, Fenneropenaeus (Penaeus) indicus and Metapenaeus stebbingi. Sampling covered the first three months of the shrimp fishing season from September to November during two years 2015 and 2016. The samples were collected from the commercial catch of the cast net fishery in Mahout area (Khalouf landing site), where approximately 88% of the total shrimp catch was landed. Total length (TL) frequency was used to estimate age, growth, mortality and exploitation rates for males, females and sexes combined. The longevity was determined using the integrated method of Pauly (1983). Growth parameters (K and L∞) were estimated using the method of Ford (1933) – Walford (1946). Also, the instantaneous rate of total mortality (Z), natural mortality (M) and fishing mortality (F) were estimated and accordingly the exploitation ratio was determined as F/Z. Relatively high values of total mortality and exploitation rates were obtained, indicating high level of