Tamil Nadu A total of 1656 fish species under two classes, 40 orders, 191 families and 683 geranra reported from marine and estuarine waters of Tamil Nadu. In the checklist, 1075 fish species were primary marine water and remaining 581 species were diadromus . In total, 128 species were reported under class Elasmobranchii (11 orders, 36 families and 70 genera ) and 1528 species under class Actinopterygii (29 orders, 155 families and 613 genera). The top five order with diverse species composition were Perciformes (932 species; 56.29% of the total fauna), Tetraodontiformes (99 species), Pleuronectiforms (77 species), Clupeiformes (72 species) and Scorpaeniformes (69 species). At the family level, the Gobiidae has the greatest number of species (86 species), followed by the Carangidae (65 species), Labridae (64 species) and Serranidae (63 species). Fishery status assessment revealed existence of 1029 species worth for capture fishery, 425 species worth for aquarium fishery , 84 species worth for culture fishery, 242 species worth for sport fishery and 60 species worth for bait fishery, ( Mogalekar et al., 2018). The state has 1076 kms of coastal length and 0.19 lakh sq km of exclusive economic zone (EEZ) up to 200 nautical miles from the shore ( Ramesh et al., 2008; Barman et al., 2011). The total estuarine area of Tamil Nadu was estimated to be 56000 ha, which accounts 3.88 % of the total estuarine area of India (De, 2011). The estuaries and brackish water wetlands in Tamil Nadu were Adyar , Agniar , Alangkulam , Ambuliyar , Araniar , Arasalar , Athankarai , Coleroon , Cooum , Edaiyur-Sadras , Ennore , Gadilum , Giriyampeta , Gulf of Mannar lagoon, Gundar , Kaliveli lagoon, Kallar , Kanjirankudi , Karumeniyar ( Manapadu ), Kaveri , Kollidam , Kottakarayar , Kuduvaiyar , Manakudy , Manimuttar , Muthupet lagoon, Muttukadu backwaters, Muttukadu lagoon, Nambiyar , Nandalar , Palayakayal , Pambar , Pantri , Pazhayar , Pichavaram , Ponnaiyar , Pulicat lake (South) lagoon, Pullavazhi , Punnakayal , Sayalkudi , Thengapattinam , Thirumullaivasal , Uppanar , Uppar , Vaigai , Vaipar , Valliyar , Velankanni , Vellar , Vembar , Vennar , Vettar and Yedayanthittu ( Ramesh et al., 2008; Mogalekar et al ., 2017 ). The state has 1076 kms of coastal length and 0.19 lakh sq km of exclusive economic zone (EEZ) up to 200 nautical miles from the shore ( Ramesh et al., 2008; Barman et al., 2011). The total estuarine area of Tamil Nadu was estimated to be 56000 ha, which accounts 3.88 % of the total estuarine area of India (De, 2011).