Research Article
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Year 2026, Volume: 9 Issue: 1, 63 - 77, 16.01.2026
https://doi.org/10.3153/AR26007

Abstract

References

  • Barry, J.P., Tegner, M.J. (1990). Inferring demographic processes from size–frequency distributions: simple models indicate specific patterns of growth and mortality. Fishery Bulletin US, 88, 13–19.
  • Beverton, R.J.H., Holt, S.J. (1966). Manual of methods for fish stock assessment. Part 2. Tables of yield functions. Rome: FAO, FAO Fish Technical Paper No 38 (Rev. 1), Rome.
  • Bindu, L., Padmakumar, K.G. (2014). Reproductive biology of Etroplus suratensis (Bloch) from the Vembanad wetland systems, Kerala. Indian Journal of Geo Marine Science, 43(4), 646–656. https://doi.org/10.21077/ijf.2019.67.2.69586-18
  • Bindu, L., Padmakumar, K.G. (2020). Catch and size composition of Etroplus suratensis (Bloch, 1790) from Kumarakom region of Vembanad Lake, India. Indian Journal of Fisheries, 67(2), 125-129. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00005346
  • Branstetter, S. (1987). Age, growth and reproductive biology of the silky shark, Carcharhinus falciformis, and the scalloped hammerhead, Sphyrna lewini, from the northwestern Gulf of Mexico. Environmental Biology of Fishes, 19(3), 161–173.
  • Cooke, S.J., Allison, E.H., Beard, T.D., Arlinghaus. R., Arthington, A.H, Bartley, D.M et al. (2016). On the sustainability of inland fisheries: Finding a future for the forgotten. Ambio, 45, 753–764. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13280-016-0787-4
  • Dahanukar, N., Raghavan, R. (2013). Freshwater fishes of Western Ghats: Checklist v 1.0 August 2013. MIN - Newsletter of IUCN SSC/WI Freshwater Fish Specialist Group - South Asia and the Freshwater Fish Conservation Network of South Asia (FFCNSA).
  • Dahanukar, N., Raghavan, R., Ali, A., Abraham, R., Shaji, C.P. (2011). The status and distribution of freshwater fishes of the Western Ghats. Chapter 3. In The status and distribution of freshwater biodiversity in the Western Ghats, India. (Eds S Molur, KG Smith, BA Daniel, WRT Darwall) pp. 21–48 (Cambridge, UK and Gland, Switzerland: IUCN, and Coimbatore, India: Zoo Outreach Organisation).
  • Froese, R. (2006). Cube law, condition factor and weight–length relationships: History, meta-analysis and recommendations. Journal of Applied Ichthyology, 22, 241–253. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1439-0426.2006.00805.x
  • Fricke, R., Eschmeyer, W.N., van der Laan, R. (2023). Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes: Genera, Species, References. Available at https://researcharchive.calacademy.org/research/ichthyology/catalog/fishcatmain.asp (accessed September 4, 2024).
  • Gayanilo, F.C., Sparre, P., Pauly, D. (2005). The FAO-ICLARM stock-assessment tools II (FiSAT II). User's guide. Revised version FAO Computerized Information Series (Fisheries) Vol. 8. FAO, Rome.
  • Gulland, J.A. (1971). The fish resources of the Ocean West Polyfleet Survey. FAO Technical Paper. 97, Rome.
  • King, A.J, Humphries, P., Lake, P.S. (2003). Fish recruitment on floodplains: The roles of patterns of flooding and life history characteristics. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, 60, 773–786. https://doi.org/10.1139/f03-057
  • Kurup, B.M., Sebastian, M.J., Sankaran, T.M., Rabindranath, P. (1993). Exploited Fishery Resources of the Vembanad Lake, Status of Residents and Migrants. Fishery Technology (Special issue: Society of Fishery Technologists, India), Kerala, India.
  • Kurup, B.M., Sebastian, M.J., Sankaran, T.M., Rabindranath, P. (1995). Exploited fishery resources of Vembanad lake 4: estimates of marketable surplus of production. Journal of Marine Biological Association of India, 37, 1–10.
  • Jayaprakas, V., Nair, N.B. (1981). Maturation and spawning in the pearl spot Etroplus suratensis (Bloch), Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, India Section B: Biological Sciences, 47(6), 828–836.
  • Le Cren, E.D. (1951). The length-weight relationship and seasonal cycle in gonad weight and condition of perch (Perca fluviatilis). Journal of Animal Ecology, 20, 201–219. https://doi.org/10.2307/1540
  • Menon, A.G.K. (1999). Check list - freshwater fishes of India. Records of the Zoological Survey of India, Miscellaneous Publication, Occasional Paper No. 175, Kolkata, India.
  • Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF). (2013). Report of the high level working group on Western Ghat, Volume 1. Published by the Government of India. Available at http://uttarakannada.nic.in/docs/Publication/HLWGWESTERNGHATSVOLUME1.pdf (accessed 26 September 2024)
  • Myers, R.A., Mertz, G. (1998). The limits of exploitation: A precautionary approach. Ecological Application, 8, 165–169. https://doi.org/10.2307/2641375
  • Padmakumar, K., Bindu, L., Manu, P. (2012). Etroplus suratensis (Bloch), the State Fish of Kerala. Journal of Bioscience, 37, 925–931. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12038-012-9271-x
  • Pauly, D. (1984). Fish population dynamics in tropical waters: A manual for use with programmable calculators. ICLARM Studies Review, 8, 325.
  • Pauly, D., Munro, J.L. (1984). Once more on the comparison of growth in fish and invertebrates. Fishbyte, The WorldFish Center, 2(1), 1–21.
  • Prasad, G., Ali, A., Harikrishnan, M., Raghavan, R. (2012). Population dynamics of an endemic and threatened Yellow Catfish, Horabagrus brachysoma (Gunther) from Periyar River, Southern Western Ghats, India. Journal of Threatened Taxa, 4, 2333–2342. https://doi.org/10.11609/JoTT.o2590.2333-42
  • Qasim, S.Z., Qayyum, A. (1961). Spawning frequencies and breeding seasons of some freshwater fishes with special reference to those occurring in the plains of Northern India. Indian Journal of Fisheries, 8 (1), 24–43.
  • Raghavan, R., Prasad, G., Ali, A., Pereira, B. (2008). Fish fauna of River Chalakudy, part of Western Ghats biodiversity hotspot (South India): patterns of distribution, threats and conservation needs. Biodiversity Conservation, 17, 3119–3131. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fishres.2011.03.008
  • Raghavan, R., Ali, A., Dahanukar, N., Rosser, A. (2011). Is the Deccan Mahseer, Tor khudree (Sykes) fishery in the Western Ghats Hotspot sustainable? A participatory approach to assessment. Fisheries Research, 110, 29–38. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fishr es.2011.03.008
  • Raghavan, R., Das, S., Nameer, P.O., Bijukumar, A., Dahanukar, N. (2016). Protected areas and imperilled endemic freshwater biodiversity in the Western Ghats Hotspot. Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems, 26, 78-90. https://doi.org/10.1002/aqc.2653
  • Raghavan, R., Ramprasanth, M.R., Ali, A., Dahanukar, N. (2018). Population dynamics of an endemic cyprinid (Hypselobarbus kurali): Insights from an exploited reservoir fishery in the Western Ghats of India. Lakes & Reservoirs: Science, Policy and Management for Sustainable Use, 23(3), 250–255. https://doi.org/10.1111/lre.12233
  • Rahman, M.M., Kashmi, M.N.S., Rahman, M.A., Sarwar, M.G., Sujana, F.M., Rahman, O., Hossain, M.S., Abedin, M.J., Laboni, T.A., Khatun, M.S., Hossain, M.Y. (2023). First report on population dynamics and stock status of Badis badis in a wetland ecosystem (NW Bangladesh): Insights from a new recorded maximum length. Heliyon, 9(12), e22777. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e22777
  • Renjithkumar, C.R. (2015). Fish germplasm and exploited fisheries resources of Kerala and Bionomics of Red Canarese barb, Hypselobarbus thomassi (Day, 1874), PhD Thesis, MG University, India
  • Renjithkumar, C.R., Roshni, K. (2024). Demographics and reproductive characteristics of threatened Malabar pufferfish (Carinotetraodon travancoricus) from Western Ghats hotspot, India. Marine and Freshwater Research, 5, MF23170. https://doi.org/10.1071/MF23170
  • Renjithkumar, C.R., Harikrishnan, M., Kurup, B.M. (2011). Exploited fisheries resources of the Pampa River, Kerala, India. Indian Journal of Fisheries 58(3), 13–22.
  • Renjithkumar, C.R., Roshni, K., Kurup, B.M. (2016). Exploited Fishery Resources of Muvattupuzha River, Kerala, India. Fishery Technology 53, 177–182.
  • Renjithkumar, C.R., Roshni, K., Harikrishnan, M., Kurup, B.M. (2020). Population dynamics of Hypselobarbus thomassi (Day 1874), an endemic cyprinid fish from a tropical reservoir of Southern Western Ghats, India. Lakes & Reservoirs: Science, Policy and Management for Sustainable Use, 25(4), 388–393. https://doi.org/10.1111/lre.12343
  • Roshni, K., Renjithkumar, C.R. (2023). Population dynamics of two sympatric native and exotic cichlids in a tropical microtidal estuary, India. International Journal of Aquatic Biology, 11(1), 20–29.
  • Roshni, K., Renjithkumar, C.R., Kurup, B.M. (2016). Length-weight relationship of two cichlid fish species, Etroplus suratensis (Bloch, 1790) and Etroplus maculatus (Bloch,1795) from Lake Vembanad, Kerala, India. Journal of Applied Ichthyology, 32, 1308-1309. https://doi.org/10.1111/jai.13141
  • Roshni, K., Renjithkumar, C.R., Kurup, B.M. (2017). The downturn of the state fish, Etroplus suratensis, in Vembanad Lake: a Ramsar site, Kerala, India. In ‘Perspectives Biodiversity in India. Vol. III: Proceedings of Fourth Indian Biodiversity Congress, pp. 352–354 (Pondicherry University, Puducherry, India).
  • Roshni, K., Renjithkumar, C.R., Sreekanth, G.B., Raghavan, R., Ranjeet, K., Harikrishnan, M., & Kurup, B.M. (2021a). Trophic interactions between native and exotic cichlids in a shallow tropical estuary (Lake Vembanad, India). Marine and Freshwater. Research, 73(3), 411–416. https://doi.org/10.1071/MF21044
  • Roshni, K., Renjithkumar, C.R., Kurup, B. M. (2021b). Reproductive Biology of the Endemic Fish Etroplus suratensis (Cichlidae) from a Tropical Estuary in Southern India. Journal of Applied Ichthyology, 61, 460–466. https://doi.org/10.1134/S0032945221030097
  • Samuel, C.T. (1969). Problems and prospects of the estuarine fisheries of Kerala. In ‘First All India Symposium on Estuarine Biology’ (Tambaram, Madras, India). Shaji, C.P., Laladhas, K.P. (2013). Monsoon flood plain fishery and traditional fishing methods in Thrissur District, Kerala. Indian Journal of Traditional Knowledge, 12(1), 102–108.
  • Suresh, V. (2000). Floating Islands: A Unique Fish Aggregating Method. Naga, the ICLARM Quarterly, 23, 11–13.
  • Swapna, S. (2009). Fish Diversity in Achenkovil River, Kerala, India. Journal of Bombay Natural History Society, 106, 104–106.
  • Zar, J.H. (1999). Biostatistical Analysis. 4th Edition. (Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey) ISBN: 013081542X

Demographic patterns of an endemic cichlid, Etroplus suratensis, across five rivers in the Western Ghats Biodiversity Hotspot, India

Year 2026, Volume: 9 Issue: 1, 63 - 77, 16.01.2026
https://doi.org/10.3153/AR26007

Abstract

Etroplus suratensis (Cichlidae), a commercially important food fish endemic to the Western Ghats (WG) biodiversity hotspot in India, has shown a marked decline in population due to excessive exploitation. To assess the impacts of overexploitation on E. suratensis, as detailed information on the fishery and current population status is lacking. The study examined the fishery, length-weight relationships (LWRs), growth patterns, mortality rates, and exploitation status of E. suratensis across five major rivers in the Western Ghats of India. The annual catches of E. suratensis ranged from 1.3 to 4.75 tons/year. Total mortality ranged from 0.93 yr-1 to 2.16 yr-1, while fishing mortality varied from 0.36 yr-1 to 1.37 yr-1. The length at first capture (Lc) was lower than the length at first maturity (Lm), indicating that more than half of the E. suratensis population is harvested before attaining reproductive maturity. The stock of E. suratensis in most rivers appears to be approaching full exploitation under the current fishing levels. Implementing management measures such as seasonal fishing closures, mesh size regulations, establishment of fish sanctuaries, and adoption of quota systems could help promote the sustainable utilisation and conservation of E. suratensis populations.

Ethical Statement

As Etroplus suratensis is not listed as threatened on the IUCN Red List or under any national or regional legislation, including the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, and since no fish were killed explicitly for this study, the research was considered non-invasive. Samples were obtained from commercial catches available at fish landing sites, eliminating the need for specific ethics approval. The study was exempted from ethics review based on institutional guidelines.

Thanks

The authors express their gratitude to the local fishers for their assistance in collecting fish samples.

References

  • Barry, J.P., Tegner, M.J. (1990). Inferring demographic processes from size–frequency distributions: simple models indicate specific patterns of growth and mortality. Fishery Bulletin US, 88, 13–19.
  • Beverton, R.J.H., Holt, S.J. (1966). Manual of methods for fish stock assessment. Part 2. Tables of yield functions. Rome: FAO, FAO Fish Technical Paper No 38 (Rev. 1), Rome.
  • Bindu, L., Padmakumar, K.G. (2014). Reproductive biology of Etroplus suratensis (Bloch) from the Vembanad wetland systems, Kerala. Indian Journal of Geo Marine Science, 43(4), 646–656. https://doi.org/10.21077/ijf.2019.67.2.69586-18
  • Bindu, L., Padmakumar, K.G. (2020). Catch and size composition of Etroplus suratensis (Bloch, 1790) from Kumarakom region of Vembanad Lake, India. Indian Journal of Fisheries, 67(2), 125-129. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00005346
  • Branstetter, S. (1987). Age, growth and reproductive biology of the silky shark, Carcharhinus falciformis, and the scalloped hammerhead, Sphyrna lewini, from the northwestern Gulf of Mexico. Environmental Biology of Fishes, 19(3), 161–173.
  • Cooke, S.J., Allison, E.H., Beard, T.D., Arlinghaus. R., Arthington, A.H, Bartley, D.M et al. (2016). On the sustainability of inland fisheries: Finding a future for the forgotten. Ambio, 45, 753–764. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13280-016-0787-4
  • Dahanukar, N., Raghavan, R. (2013). Freshwater fishes of Western Ghats: Checklist v 1.0 August 2013. MIN - Newsletter of IUCN SSC/WI Freshwater Fish Specialist Group - South Asia and the Freshwater Fish Conservation Network of South Asia (FFCNSA).
  • Dahanukar, N., Raghavan, R., Ali, A., Abraham, R., Shaji, C.P. (2011). The status and distribution of freshwater fishes of the Western Ghats. Chapter 3. In The status and distribution of freshwater biodiversity in the Western Ghats, India. (Eds S Molur, KG Smith, BA Daniel, WRT Darwall) pp. 21–48 (Cambridge, UK and Gland, Switzerland: IUCN, and Coimbatore, India: Zoo Outreach Organisation).
  • Froese, R. (2006). Cube law, condition factor and weight–length relationships: History, meta-analysis and recommendations. Journal of Applied Ichthyology, 22, 241–253. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1439-0426.2006.00805.x
  • Fricke, R., Eschmeyer, W.N., van der Laan, R. (2023). Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes: Genera, Species, References. Available at https://researcharchive.calacademy.org/research/ichthyology/catalog/fishcatmain.asp (accessed September 4, 2024).
  • Gayanilo, F.C., Sparre, P., Pauly, D. (2005). The FAO-ICLARM stock-assessment tools II (FiSAT II). User's guide. Revised version FAO Computerized Information Series (Fisheries) Vol. 8. FAO, Rome.
  • Gulland, J.A. (1971). The fish resources of the Ocean West Polyfleet Survey. FAO Technical Paper. 97, Rome.
  • King, A.J, Humphries, P., Lake, P.S. (2003). Fish recruitment on floodplains: The roles of patterns of flooding and life history characteristics. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, 60, 773–786. https://doi.org/10.1139/f03-057
  • Kurup, B.M., Sebastian, M.J., Sankaran, T.M., Rabindranath, P. (1993). Exploited Fishery Resources of the Vembanad Lake, Status of Residents and Migrants. Fishery Technology (Special issue: Society of Fishery Technologists, India), Kerala, India.
  • Kurup, B.M., Sebastian, M.J., Sankaran, T.M., Rabindranath, P. (1995). Exploited fishery resources of Vembanad lake 4: estimates of marketable surplus of production. Journal of Marine Biological Association of India, 37, 1–10.
  • Jayaprakas, V., Nair, N.B. (1981). Maturation and spawning in the pearl spot Etroplus suratensis (Bloch), Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, India Section B: Biological Sciences, 47(6), 828–836.
  • Le Cren, E.D. (1951). The length-weight relationship and seasonal cycle in gonad weight and condition of perch (Perca fluviatilis). Journal of Animal Ecology, 20, 201–219. https://doi.org/10.2307/1540
  • Menon, A.G.K. (1999). Check list - freshwater fishes of India. Records of the Zoological Survey of India, Miscellaneous Publication, Occasional Paper No. 175, Kolkata, India.
  • Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF). (2013). Report of the high level working group on Western Ghat, Volume 1. Published by the Government of India. Available at http://uttarakannada.nic.in/docs/Publication/HLWGWESTERNGHATSVOLUME1.pdf (accessed 26 September 2024)
  • Myers, R.A., Mertz, G. (1998). The limits of exploitation: A precautionary approach. Ecological Application, 8, 165–169. https://doi.org/10.2307/2641375
  • Padmakumar, K., Bindu, L., Manu, P. (2012). Etroplus suratensis (Bloch), the State Fish of Kerala. Journal of Bioscience, 37, 925–931. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12038-012-9271-x
  • Pauly, D. (1984). Fish population dynamics in tropical waters: A manual for use with programmable calculators. ICLARM Studies Review, 8, 325.
  • Pauly, D., Munro, J.L. (1984). Once more on the comparison of growth in fish and invertebrates. Fishbyte, The WorldFish Center, 2(1), 1–21.
  • Prasad, G., Ali, A., Harikrishnan, M., Raghavan, R. (2012). Population dynamics of an endemic and threatened Yellow Catfish, Horabagrus brachysoma (Gunther) from Periyar River, Southern Western Ghats, India. Journal of Threatened Taxa, 4, 2333–2342. https://doi.org/10.11609/JoTT.o2590.2333-42
  • Qasim, S.Z., Qayyum, A. (1961). Spawning frequencies and breeding seasons of some freshwater fishes with special reference to those occurring in the plains of Northern India. Indian Journal of Fisheries, 8 (1), 24–43.
  • Raghavan, R., Prasad, G., Ali, A., Pereira, B. (2008). Fish fauna of River Chalakudy, part of Western Ghats biodiversity hotspot (South India): patterns of distribution, threats and conservation needs. Biodiversity Conservation, 17, 3119–3131. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fishres.2011.03.008
  • Raghavan, R., Ali, A., Dahanukar, N., Rosser, A. (2011). Is the Deccan Mahseer, Tor khudree (Sykes) fishery in the Western Ghats Hotspot sustainable? A participatory approach to assessment. Fisheries Research, 110, 29–38. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fishr es.2011.03.008
  • Raghavan, R., Das, S., Nameer, P.O., Bijukumar, A., Dahanukar, N. (2016). Protected areas and imperilled endemic freshwater biodiversity in the Western Ghats Hotspot. Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems, 26, 78-90. https://doi.org/10.1002/aqc.2653
  • Raghavan, R., Ramprasanth, M.R., Ali, A., Dahanukar, N. (2018). Population dynamics of an endemic cyprinid (Hypselobarbus kurali): Insights from an exploited reservoir fishery in the Western Ghats of India. Lakes & Reservoirs: Science, Policy and Management for Sustainable Use, 23(3), 250–255. https://doi.org/10.1111/lre.12233
  • Rahman, M.M., Kashmi, M.N.S., Rahman, M.A., Sarwar, M.G., Sujana, F.M., Rahman, O., Hossain, M.S., Abedin, M.J., Laboni, T.A., Khatun, M.S., Hossain, M.Y. (2023). First report on population dynamics and stock status of Badis badis in a wetland ecosystem (NW Bangladesh): Insights from a new recorded maximum length. Heliyon, 9(12), e22777. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e22777
  • Renjithkumar, C.R. (2015). Fish germplasm and exploited fisheries resources of Kerala and Bionomics of Red Canarese barb, Hypselobarbus thomassi (Day, 1874), PhD Thesis, MG University, India
  • Renjithkumar, C.R., Roshni, K. (2024). Demographics and reproductive characteristics of threatened Malabar pufferfish (Carinotetraodon travancoricus) from Western Ghats hotspot, India. Marine and Freshwater Research, 5, MF23170. https://doi.org/10.1071/MF23170
  • Renjithkumar, C.R., Harikrishnan, M., Kurup, B.M. (2011). Exploited fisheries resources of the Pampa River, Kerala, India. Indian Journal of Fisheries 58(3), 13–22.
  • Renjithkumar, C.R., Roshni, K., Kurup, B.M. (2016). Exploited Fishery Resources of Muvattupuzha River, Kerala, India. Fishery Technology 53, 177–182.
  • Renjithkumar, C.R., Roshni, K., Harikrishnan, M., Kurup, B.M. (2020). Population dynamics of Hypselobarbus thomassi (Day 1874), an endemic cyprinid fish from a tropical reservoir of Southern Western Ghats, India. Lakes & Reservoirs: Science, Policy and Management for Sustainable Use, 25(4), 388–393. https://doi.org/10.1111/lre.12343
  • Roshni, K., Renjithkumar, C.R. (2023). Population dynamics of two sympatric native and exotic cichlids in a tropical microtidal estuary, India. International Journal of Aquatic Biology, 11(1), 20–29.
  • Roshni, K., Renjithkumar, C.R., Kurup, B.M. (2016). Length-weight relationship of two cichlid fish species, Etroplus suratensis (Bloch, 1790) and Etroplus maculatus (Bloch,1795) from Lake Vembanad, Kerala, India. Journal of Applied Ichthyology, 32, 1308-1309. https://doi.org/10.1111/jai.13141
  • Roshni, K., Renjithkumar, C.R., Kurup, B.M. (2017). The downturn of the state fish, Etroplus suratensis, in Vembanad Lake: a Ramsar site, Kerala, India. In ‘Perspectives Biodiversity in India. Vol. III: Proceedings of Fourth Indian Biodiversity Congress, pp. 352–354 (Pondicherry University, Puducherry, India).
  • Roshni, K., Renjithkumar, C.R., Sreekanth, G.B., Raghavan, R., Ranjeet, K., Harikrishnan, M., & Kurup, B.M. (2021a). Trophic interactions between native and exotic cichlids in a shallow tropical estuary (Lake Vembanad, India). Marine and Freshwater. Research, 73(3), 411–416. https://doi.org/10.1071/MF21044
  • Roshni, K., Renjithkumar, C.R., Kurup, B. M. (2021b). Reproductive Biology of the Endemic Fish Etroplus suratensis (Cichlidae) from a Tropical Estuary in Southern India. Journal of Applied Ichthyology, 61, 460–466. https://doi.org/10.1134/S0032945221030097
  • Samuel, C.T. (1969). Problems and prospects of the estuarine fisheries of Kerala. In ‘First All India Symposium on Estuarine Biology’ (Tambaram, Madras, India). Shaji, C.P., Laladhas, K.P. (2013). Monsoon flood plain fishery and traditional fishing methods in Thrissur District, Kerala. Indian Journal of Traditional Knowledge, 12(1), 102–108.
  • Suresh, V. (2000). Floating Islands: A Unique Fish Aggregating Method. Naga, the ICLARM Quarterly, 23, 11–13.
  • Swapna, S. (2009). Fish Diversity in Achenkovil River, Kerala, India. Journal of Bombay Natural History Society, 106, 104–106.
  • Zar, J.H. (1999). Biostatistical Analysis. 4th Edition. (Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey) ISBN: 013081542X
There are 44 citations in total.

Details

Primary Language English
Subjects Fish Biology, Fisheries Management, Aquaculture and Fisheries Stock Assessment
Journal Section Research Article
Authors

Chelapurath Radhakrishnan Renjithkumar 0000-0001-6569-5075

Kuttanelloor Roshni 0000-0002-2542-2600

Submission Date October 6, 2025
Acceptance Date January 13, 2026
Early Pub Date January 16, 2026
Publication Date January 16, 2026
Published in Issue Year 2026 Volume: 9 Issue: 1

Cite

APA Renjithkumar, C. R., & Roshni, K. (2026). Demographic patterns of an endemic cichlid, Etroplus suratensis, across five rivers in the Western Ghats Biodiversity Hotspot, India. Aquatic Research, 9(1), 63-77. https://doi.org/10.3153/AR26007

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Article evaluation and submission rules for reviewers and authors are given in the link below.


https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/download/journal-file/26282 

The journal “AQUATIC RESEARCH” adheres to the highest standards of publishing ethics guided by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), World Association of Medical Editors (WAME), Council of Science Editors (CSE), Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), European Association of Science Editors (EASE)Open Access Scholarly and Publishers Association (OASPA), and  Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ).

Authors must comply with the IUCN Policy Statement on Research Involv-ing Species at Risk of Extinction and the Convention on the Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora for research involving plants.

Manuscripts submitted should align with the journal's purpose and scope and must be original, unpublished, and not under consideration elsewhere. Changes to authorship (name, order, additions) require written consent from all declared authors.

The following actions constitute unethical behavior and result in rejection or retraction: plagiarism, duplication, false authorship, data fabrication, slicing, copyright infringement, and undisclosed conflicts of interest. 

Journal Responsibilities
The "AQUATIC RESEARCH" journal is committed to preventing publication malpractice. Submitted works must represent original contributions free from plagiarism. Authors must disclose actual or potential conflicts of interest. The journal ensures objective and fair double-blind peer-review to prevent conflicts between editorial staff, reviewers, and authors
The journal provides an open platform for public discussion requiring registration for accountability. Reviewer identities remain confidential unless explicitly disclosed to the editors.
Publication Decisions
The editor of the "AQUATIC RESEARCH" journals is responsible for deciding which of the articles submitted to the journal should be published. The editor may be guided by the policies of the journal's editorial board and constrained by such legal requirements as shall then be in force regarding libel, copyright infringement and plagiarism. The editor may confer with other editors or reviewers in making this decision.
The journal submission and publication process involves manuscript submission, ethical checks, double-blind peer review, editorial decision-making (including potential conflict resolution), typesetting, author review, DOI assignment, online publication, and archiving, as detailed in the workflow diagram below.
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Fair Play
An editor at any time evaluate manuscripts for their intellectual content without regarding race, gender, sexual orientation, religious belief, ethnic origin, citizenship, or political philosophy of the authors.
Confidentiality
The editor and any editorial staff must not disclose any information about a submitted manuscript to anyone other than the corresponding author, reviewers, potential reviewers, other editorial advisers, and the publisher, as appropriate.
Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest
Unpublished materials disclosed in a submitted manuscript must not be used in an editor's own research without the express written consent of the author.
Research Ethics
An approval of research protocols by the Ethics Committee in accordance with international agreements (World Medical Association Declaration of Helsinki “Ethical Principles for Medical Research Involving Human Subjects,” amended in October 2013, www.wma.net) is required for experimental, clinical, and drug studies. If required, ethics committee reports or an equivalent official document will be requested from the authors.
For manuscripts concerning experimental research on humans, a statement should be included that shows the written informed consent of patients and volunteers was obtained following a detailed explanation of the procedures that they may undergo. Information on patient consent, the name of the ethics committee, and the ethics committee approval number should also be stated in the Materials and Methods section of the manuscript. It is the authors’ responsibility to carefully protect the patients’ anonymity. For photographs that may reveal the identity of the patients, signed releases of the patient or of their legal representative should be enclosed.
AQUATIC RESEARCH” journal requires experimental research studies on vertebrates or any regulated invertebrates to comply with relevant institutional, national and/or international guidelines. The journal supports the principles of the Basel Declaration (https://animalresearchtomorrow.org/en) and the guidelines published by the International Council for Laboratory Animal Science (ICLAS) (https://iclas.org/). Authors are advised to clearly state their compliance with relevant guidelines.
This journal advises authors to comply with IUCN Policy Statement on Research Involving Species at Risk of Extinction and the Convention on the Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora for research involving plants.
Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) Tools
Our journal adheres to international standards of publication ethics and requires complete transparency regarding the use of artificial intelligence (AI)-based tools (e.g., ChatGPT, Copilot, etc.) during manuscript preparation.
Disclosure Requirement: Authors must disclose the use of any AI tool in the manuscript, specifying the name of the tool, the stage(s) at which it was used, and its purpose. This text should be included in the "Disclosure". Authors must affirm that all scientific content is their own and that they retain full responsibility for any material generated with the assistance of AI tools.
Content Limitation: The use of AI tools must remain supplementary. If the proportion of AI-generated text content exceeds 20% of the total manuscript, the submission will be considered ineligible for review and rejected on ethical grounds.
Responsibility: AI tools cannot be listed as authors. All named authors are solely accountable for the content of the submission, including any material produced with AI assistance. Failure to disclose the use of AI tools or excessive reliance on them will be considered a breach of publication ethics.
Plagiarism
Submitted manuscripts that pass preflight are scanned for plagiarism using iThenticate software. Authors will be notified if plagiarism/self-plagiarism is detected. Editors can resubmit the article for any peer-review or similarity check during production, if necessary. High similarity scores can cause an article to be rejected before or even after it is accepted. Depending on the type of article and the percentage of similarity scores from each article, the overall similarity score is generally expected to be less than 20%.
Double-Blind Referee Evaluation
After the plagiarism check, the appropriate ones are evaluated by the editors in terms of originality, methodology, importance of the subject and suitability to the scope of the journal. The editor directs the submitted articles to a fair double-blind peer-review (submits the articles that comply with official rules to at least two national/international referees for evaluation) and gives approval by managing the processes for publication after they are modified by the authors in accordance with the referees' rules.
Open Access Statement
The journal is an open access journal and all its content is freely available to the user or institution. Users are permitted to read, download, copy, print, search or link the full texts of articles in this journal without prior permission from the publisher or author. This conforms to Budapest Open Access Initiative (BOAI) 's definition of open access.
Open access articles in the journal are licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license.
Article Processing Fee
All journal processes are free of charge. No article processing fee, submission fee or publication fee is charged for submitted or accepted articles.
Copyright Notice
Authors publishing with the journal retain copyright to their work licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license (CC BY 4.0) (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), and Publisher retains the exclusive right to publish the work. The CC BY 4.0 license permits unlimited distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided that the original work is properly cited.
The copyright of any open access article in the "AQUATIC RESEARCH" journal published on the "ScientificWebJournals" web portal hosted by "DergiPark" belongs to the author(s).
Correction, Withdrawal, Expression of Concern
If minor errors are detected that do not affect the results, comments and conclusions of the published article, the editor accepts the correction. If major errors and/or abuses are detected by the editor, which invalidates the results and conclusions, their withdrawal is considered.
If there is evidence of research or publication abuse by the authors, there is evidence that the findings are unreliable and that the authors' institutions did not investigate the incident, or the potential investigation seems unfair or inconclusive. The editor should consider issuing a statement of concern.
COPE and ICJME guidelines are considered regarding correction, withdrawal or expression of concern.
Archiving Policy
To preserve and permanently access all articles published in the journal "Aquatic Research", the papers are nationally archived under the name Dergipark (https://dergipark.org) by TÜBİTAK Turkish Academic Network and Information Center (ULAKBİM) affiliated with the Ministry of Industry and Technology of Türkiye. It is stored with a system established for journal publishing activities that allow LOCKSS to collect, preserve and present the content.
Additionally, authors are encouraged to self-archive the final PDF version of their articles in open electronic archives with that conform to standards of Open Archives Initiative (https://www.openarchives.org/). Authors should provide a link from the deposited version to the URL of journal website.

Processing and publication are free of charge with the journal. There is no article processing charges or submission fees for any submitted or accepted articles.

Open Access Statement:

This is an open access journal which means that all content is freely available without charge to the user or his/her institution. Users are allowed to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of the articles, or use them for any other lawful purpose, without asking prior permission from the publisher or the author. This is in accordance with the BOAI definition of open access.

Sorumlu Editör

Food Properties, Food Engineering, Food Sciences, Aquaculture and Fisheries, Post-Harvest Fisheries Technologies (Incl. Transportation), Fisheries Technologies

Sorumlu Editör Yardımcısı

Nutrition and Dietetics, Public Health, Food Sciences, Food Packaging, Preservation and Processing, Food Biotechnology, Food Safety, Traceability, Certification and Authenticity, Food Chemistry and Food Sensory Science, Food Microbiology, Food Technology, Post-Harvest Fisheries Technologies (Incl. Transportation), Veterinary Food Hygiene and Technology

Language Editors

Fish Breeding, Pisciculture, Shellfish Culture, Fisheries Technologies, Aquaculture

Ethics Editor

Aquatic Toxicology , Food Consumption, Fermentation Technology, Food Packaging, Preservation and Processing, Food Safety, Traceability, Certification and Authenticity, Food Microbiology, Food Technology, Drying Technologies, Fisheries Technologies

Editörler Kurulu

Agricultural Extension and Communication
Ecology, Oceanography
Ecological Applications, Water Quality and Water Pollution, Surface Water Quality Processes and Contaminated Sediment Assessment, Aquaculture and Fisheries, Pisciculture, Farm Enterprises, Agribusiness
Plant Biotechnology in Agriculture
Microbiology, Environmental Biotechnology, Environmental Biotechnology Diagnostics (Incl. Biosensors), Water Quality and Water Pollution, Environmental Engineering, Renewable Energy Resources
Entomology, Invertebrate Biology
Pisciculture, Aquaculture and Fisheries (Other)
Fish Biology, Fish Physiology and Genetics, Fish Breeding, Pisciculture, Aquaculture
Analytical Biochemistry, Environmental Assessment and Monitoring, Food Safety, Traceability, Certification and Authenticity, Aquaculture
Hydrobiology, Water Quality and Water Pollution, Aquaculture and Fisheries, Pisciculture
Food Packaging, Preservation and Processing, Food Biotechnology, Food Safety, Traceability, Certification and Authenticity, Food Chemistry and Food Sensory Science, Food Microbiology, Post-Harvest Fisheries Technologies (Incl. Transportation), Fisheries Technologies

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is licensed under a CreativeCommons Attribtion-ShareAlike 4.0 International Licence 14628   1325927040

Diamond Open Access refers to a scholarly publication model in which journals and platforms do not charge fees to either authors or readers.

Open Access Statement:

This is an open access journal which means that all content is freely available without charge to the user or his/her institution. Users are allowed to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of the articles, or use them for any other lawful purpose, without asking prior permission from the publisher or the author. This is in accordance with the BOAI definition of open access.

Archiving Policy:

Archiving is done according to TÜBİTAK ULAKBİM "DergiPark" publication policy (LOCKSS).