Length-Weight Relationships of Fifty Fish Species from Indian Waters

Length-weight relationships (LWRs) were estimated for 50 fish species belonging to 14 families from Indian waters. During the fishery surveys, specimens were collected from various fishing gears such as ring seines, gill nets, trawls and long lines between 2015 and 2017. The number of specimens measured varied by species. All the values of the parameterbwere found within the expected range of 2.5-3.5. Thebvalues in the relationships,W = aL(b)varied between 2.562 (Stolephorus insularis) and 3.461 (Auxis thazard) with mean value of 3.032 (SE = +/- 0.029). The LWRs of all the 50 fish species estimated in this study were highly significant (p < 0.001,r(2) >= 0.850). The study provides the first estimate of LWRs forScomber indicus,Sphyraena arabiansisandUpeneus margarethae, and complements the existing LWRs in the international literature and FishBase database. In addition, this study reports the new maximum size forNematalosa nasus(28.5 cm TL, 281 g TW),Scomberoides commersonnianus(122 cm TL, 11400.5 g TW),Scomberoides tol(56 cm TL, 1000 g TW),Alepes djedaba(33.5 cm TL, 343.8 g TW) andUpeneus margarethae(19 cm TL, 87 g TW). This study provides basic biological information in the form of a length-weight key for 50 commercially important fish species from Indian waters as a valuable tool to assist fishery managers.