Ribbon fish

1. Arnab Basu
II nd semester
S.I.F.;C.U.S.A.T.

2. GENERAL INFORMATION:-
Ribbon fish also known as “Hair-tail” or “Cutlass fish”.
It is a leading by-catch species in India.
Thin, elongated, compressed, ribbon like body, caudal fin
absent, body colour silvery with prominent canine like
teeth.
Mainly marine, but some time found in the estuary.

3. TAxONOMIc cLAssIFIcATION:-
Phylum- Chordata
Subphylum- Vertebrata
Class- Actinopterygii
Super-order- Acanthopterygii
Order - Perciformes

4. Ribbon fish have 4 commercially important Varity
(found in Indian water) belonging under the:-

Family: Trichiuridae
Sub family:
Trichiurinae
Sub family:
Aphanopodinae
Sub family: Lepidopodinae
Eupleurogrammus
intermedius
E. muticus
Trichiurus lepturus
Lepturacanthus savala

5. Lepturacanthus savala (Large-headed ribbon fish) & Distribution
Trichiurus lepturus(ribbon fish) & Distribution

6. Eupleurogrammus muticus (Small-head hailtail)

7. Species Length
in 1
st

maturity
(cm)
Size-wt.Environme-
nt
ClimateIdentifying
character
Trichiurus
lepturus
46.3 -47Max length :
234 cm (M)
Marine;
brackish;
benthopelagic
Subtropical•Body extremely
elongate, compressed.
•Dorsal fin relatively
high.
•Dorsal spine 3;soft ray
130-135
Eupleurogra-
-mmus
intermedius
- - ,, -
•Dorsal spine 3 & soft ray
123-129.
•Caudal fin absent.
•Snout elongated.
Lepturacanth
-us savala
- - ,, -
• Lateral line running
nearer the ventral than the
dorsal side of the body.
• Pelvic and caudal fins
absent; anal fin reduced to
spinules .
•Dorsal spine 3-4 & soft-ray
110 -120
E. muticus - - ,, -
•Dorsal spine 3& soft ray 139
-147
•Caudal fin absent.
•Snout short.

8. Other Non- commercial Species:-
Trichiurus gangeticus
T.russelli
Lepturacanthus serrattus etc.
•Among those 4 commercially important species
Trichiurus lepturus is important dominating species
found throughout east and west coast.

9. FOOd & FEEdING HAbIT

10. Stage Food
Post-larvae and juveniles larvae and Small juvenile (anchovy,
clupeoids, carangidae),
cephalopods larvae, calanoid copepods, post
larvae & larvae of penaeid prawns &
shrimps, crabs, acetes etc
Adults Commercially important fish and other
organisms i.e. Stolephorus spp. Kowala
coval, Sardinella spp., Leioggnathus spp.,
Dussumieria spp., polynemids, Carnax spp.,
Acetes*, Penaeus & metapenaeus prawns,
octopus, squilla*,crab larvae, isopods, Sepia
spp., megalopa larvae etc.
•Ribbon fish are predacious, carnivorous and some time shows cannibalistic
behavior and selective feeding behavior.
•Feeding both during day and night.
•Intensity of feeding is not related to the spawning activity.

11. REPROdUcTIVE bIOLOGY

12. DIFFERENT REPRODUCTIVE STAGE OF RIBBON FISH (BAL AND RAO)

13. sPAWNING sEAsON

14. On west coast, peak spawning season April- June. But
in east coast it is February to June , peak in May.
Another is November - December.

15. Spawning period of different species different.
The breeding grounds of ribbonfishes are outside the usual
fishing ground; ripe fish, eggs, early embryonic stages and
larval forms are not very common in inshore waters.
Species No. of spawning batches
(per year)
Time
Eupleurogramous
intermedius
2 March- April , November &
December.
E. muticus 2 ,,
Lepturacanthus savala 2 ,,
Trichiurus lepturus 1
2
June(Prabhu,1955)
May-june & nov-dec(Tampi
et al.1971)

16. FEcUNdITY

17. It is varies depending upon species to species.
The gonads are bi-lobed & lie above the alimentary canal.
Species No. of egg
Eupleurogramous intermedius2249(40.9 cm) – 9950 (45 cm)
E. muticus 1327 (49.5 cm)- 2087 (55.1 cm)
Lepturacanthus savala 9178(37.0 cm) -17347 (54.0 cm)
Trichiurus lepturus 4000 (42.0 cm)- 16000 (60.0 cm)
FECUNDITY – FOR DIFFERENT SPECIES OF RIBBON FISH (BAL & RAO, 1984)
Bal, D.V and Rao, K.V (1984) Marine Fisheries, 1
st
Edn., p 469, Tata Mc-GrawHill Publication, New Delhi, India

18. sEx RATIO

19. Percentage of male is always lower than female, in the
peak spawning season– April, May, August &
November.
Ratio is:- 1:1.4(male:female)

20. AGE ANd GROWTH

21. The age & growth of fish varies depending upon species to
species & duration of the year.
Male grow less than female for every species.

Species Year I YearII
Eupleurogramous
intermedius
20.7 cm (For Male)
21.5cm(For Female)
31.6 cm (For Male)
34.1cm(For Female)
Trichiurus lepturus 18cm (For Male) approx.
21.5cm(For Female)
approx.
30cm(For Male) approx.
33.1cm(For Female)
approx.
Lepturacanthus savala - -
E. muticus - -
Max. size for E. muticus and Lepturacanthus savala------58.4 cm &56.4 cm
respectively
Bal, D.V and Rao, K.V (1984) Marine Fisheries, 1
st
Edn., p 469, Tata Mc-GrawHill Publication, New Delhi, India

22. dIsTRIbUTION

23. Major and abundant fishery resource among the marine
pelagic fin fishes of the Indian seas.
Distribution in the Atlantic and Indo-Pacific regions and in
India they are distributed all along the coast with
abundance in the northwest and central east coasts.
In India T. lepturus found both east & west coast---
dominating species. Contributed about 92 -95%.
Gujarat, Andhrapradesh, West-bengal, northern
Maharastra, south-east cost of Tamilnadu, karnataka, Kerala
etc are important landing centre.

24. FIsH & FIsHERY

25. The ribbonfish landing in India has shown an increasing
trend with considerable annual fluctuations.
Average Landing(‘000 tonnes)-Throughout the India
YEAR QUANTITY
1961- 1970 28.33
1971- 1980 57.32
1981- 1990 65.28
1991-2000 121.27
2001-2005 153.38
•Maximum Landings- 197.11 (2002)
•Minimum Landing- 16.45 (1963)
•Landing for 2007- 114.12

26. AVERAGE LANdINGs(‘000 TONNEs) -kERALA
YEAR QUANTITY
3.99
8.26
19.42
15.60
10.16
7.14
18.65
18.65
19.15
1961- 1965
1966- 1970
1971-1975
1976-1980
1981-1985
1986-1990
1991- 1995
1996-2000
2001-2005
Landing for 2007 --- 11.76
Max. Landing 31.78 (2001)
Min “ 0.17 (1964)

27. YEAR
1976-1980
1981-1985
1986-1990
1991- 1995
1996-2000
2001-2005
AVERAGE LANdINGs(‘000 TONNEs) -ORIssA
QUANTITY
0.37
1.11
2.70
2.46
4.76
7.36
Landing for 2007 --- 8.61
Max. Landing 8.61 (2005)
Min “ 0.13 (1976)

28. YEAR
1961- 1965
1966- 1970
1971-1975
1976-1980
1981-1985
1986-1990
1991- 1995
1996-2000
2001-2005
AVERAGE LANdINGs(‘000 TONNEs) - ANdHRA
QUANTITY
5.67
7.04
7.66
9.70
7.32
5.11
8.18
12.02
11.52
Landing for 2007---6.40
Max. Landing 20.17 (99)
Min “ 2.76 (1963)

29. YEAR
1961- 1965
1966- 1970
1971-1975
1976-1980
1981-1985
1986-1990
1991- 1995
1996-2000
2001-2005
AVERAGE LANdINGs(‘000 TONNEs) - kARNATAkA
QUANTITY
0.21
0.27
0.35
0.78
1.14
5.33
4.03
6.03
9.77
Landing for 2007 ---15.02
Max. Landing 15.62(05)
Min “ 0.02 (1964)

30. YEAR
1966- 1970
1971-1975
1976-1980
1981-1985
1986-1990
1991- 1995
1996-2000
2001-2005
AVERAGE LANdINGs(‘000 TONNEs) - GOA
QUANTITY
0.22
0.11
0.74
0.93
1.64
1.63
1.00
2.11
Landing for 2007 ---3.98
Max. Landing 3.98(05)
Min “ 0.01 (1972)

31. YEAR
1961- 1965
1966- 1970
1971-1975
1976-1980
1981-1985
1986-1990
1991- 1995
1996-2000
2001-2005
AVERAGE LANdINGs(‘000 TONNEs) - MAHARAsHTRA
QUANTITY
4.43
5.11
9.50
9.86
12.39
18.91
25.64
38.51
39.95
Landing for 2007 --- 13.91
Max. Landing 66.28(02)
Min “ 1.78 (1962)

32. YEAR
1961- 1965
1966- 1970
1971-1975
1976-1980
1981-1985
1986-1990
1991- 1995
1996-2000
2001-2005
AVERAGE LANdINGs(‘000 TONNEs) - GUjARAT
QUANTITY
0.46
1.47
1.30
9.76
10.15
22.66
38.24
57.61
52.23
Landing for 2007 --- 43.62
Max. Landing 83.21(97)
Min “ 0.29 (1962)

33. YEAR
1976-1980
1981-1985
1986-1990
1991- 1995
1996-2000
2001-2005
AVERAGE LANdINGs(‘000 TONNEs) -
WEsTbENGAL
QUANTITY
0.42
2.12
1.94
2.36
2.55
6.57
Maximum Landing- 8.02(2005)
Minimum Landing-0.14(1980)
Landing for 2005- 8.02

34. cRAFT ANd GEAR

35. Basically ribbon fish is a by-catch species. So, it is come
with other species….
Gear are used- Trawl net, Dol net, Gill net, Seine net,
hook etc. are used throughout the India.
In kerala mainly used- Trawl net, Gill net, Seine nets.
By using trawl net ribbonfish landed 73- 74% .
The gill net, purse seine and others contributed to 15- 16%
during the decade 1991-2000.
For catch juvenile trawl net, boat seine and ring seine net
(mesh size less than 10mm) are used.
Gear Amount(%) Year
Trawl net 74 1991-2000
Drift Gill net, Boat
seine, Shore seine,
Purse seine and
others
16 ,,

36. STATE GEAR
Andhra Pradesh Trawl net, Gill net, Seine nets
Orissa Trawl net, Gill net
Karnataka Trawl net, Seine nets
Goa Trawl net, Gill net
Maharashtra Trawl net, Dol net
Gujarat
West-bengal
Dol net, Gill net
Bag net, Trawl net, Gill net
STATE-WISE DISTRIBUTION OF GEAR :-

38. MANAGEMENT :-
Ribbon fish is very important species as a by-catch, so for
save this species many management options like effort
regulation, closed season, closed area, gear regulation, mesh
regulation.
Intensive approach also seen for ensure good brood stock,
for fishery industry.

39. OTHER FAcTOR:-
It has low price in the market, so acceptable for
poor people as a food- used as a cheap protein.
Dried ribbon fish also use as fish product.
Pearl essence formed from the guanine(present
in the skin)
Frozen & dried fish both are exported China,
Japan and other southeast Asian countries.

40. THANK YOU