Biology of Indian sand whiting, Sillago sihama (Forsskal) along the Ratnagiri coast

摘要

The study found S. sihama to be an omnivore and having bottom feeding habit. Crustaceans formed the main food of the species and included juvenile of crabs, mysids and crustacean appendages. Preference for crustaceans gradually increased with size. The fish has got a prolonged breeding season from June to February, with peak spawning activity during the period of September to December. Length at first maturity for females was found to be 167 mm. The average sex ratio of the males and females was found to be 1: 1.04 for the entire period of study. The fecundity of S. sihama ranged from 12023 to 122274 eggs.