On a whale shark caught at Vizhinjam, Kerala

On 20th June 2005, a female whale shark Rhincodon typus entangled in a ozhukuvala net at about 1000 hrs from 45 meter depth was dragged to the Vizhinjam landing centre

Report on the rare quagga cat shark landed

Quagga catshark, Halaelurus quagga (Alcock, 1899) one of the rarest sharks in the family Scyliorhinidae (Order Carcharhiniformes) was observed at Muttom landing centre, Tamil Nadu on June 5 2017. It was landed as a bycatch in the demersal-trawl operated off Muttom at 150-200 m depths. The male specimen collected measured 298 mm in total length (TL) and its morphometrics were recorde

Unusual landing of blue shark

The fishermen of Thoothoor and Thengapattanam are experts in hook and line operations for sharks and conduct multiday distant water shark fishing off Maharashtra and Gujarat coasts at 150-180 km from shore. Large-sized elasmobranchs caught here are landed in southern India, where the meat is saltdried and sold for domestic consumption. Blue sharks are not regular contributors to the shark fishery in India and are rarely seen in such large numbers as in the present observation

Particle size analysis of two distinct classes of wheat flour by sieving

The most commonly used method for particle size analysis of wheat flour in the grain industry is a sieve shaker following either the ASABE or AACC standard. This study involved the determination of mean particle size of flour from two different classes of wheat, hard red winter (HRW) and soft white (SW), at sieving times of 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, and 18 min. Particle size measured by sieve analysis was compared with size as measured using laser diffraction. It was found that sieving time and wheat class had a significant effect on the measured final particle size. Increase in sieving time reduced the calculated average particle size of the flour. The mean particle size for HRW and SW flour was 110.98 µm and 570.29 µm, respectively, at 14 min of sieving. The mean particle size as measured by laser diffraction was 45.6 µm and 44.5 µm for HRW and SW flour, respectively. A flow agent helped the flour particles overcome the interparticle cohesive force during sieving and resulted in a smaller particle size with better size distribution. However, due to the higher cohesiveness of SW flour, flow agent at 0.5% of the sample mass had no effect on the measured mean particle size. Weibull and log-normal equations predicted the size distribution of flour with lower percent relative deviation compared to the Rosin-Rammler and Kumaraswamy equations

Wheat Mill Stream Properties for Discrete Element Method Modeling

A discrete phase approach based on individual wheat kernel characteristics is needed to overcome the limitations of previous statistical models and accurately predict the milling behavior of wheat. As a first step to develop a discrete element method (DEM) model for the wheat milling process, this study determined the physical and mechanical properties of wheat mill streams (wheat kernels, break stream, and wheat flour) required as input parameters. The parameters measured were particle size and size distribution, bulk density, Young’s modulus, static and rolling coefficients of friction, and coefficient of restitution. The effect of moisture content (12% to 16% wet basis) on these properties was evaluated. The density, Young’s modulus, and coefficient of restitution tended to decrease while the coefficients of friction tended to increase with increasing moisture content of wheat kernels. The effect of moisture content on material properties was significant for break stream, but there was no significant (p > 0.05) material property change with moisture content for flour. It was concluded that moisture content had a greater significant effect on physical properties (bulk, true, and tapped densities and particle size) of the mill streams than it did on the mechanical properties (Young’s modulus, coefficients of static and rolling friction, and coefficient of restitution)

Vizhinjam Marine Aquarium Haven for Marine Ornamentals

There has been a huge growth of public aquaria since the opening of the first public aquarium display in the Fish House at the London Zoo in t 826, and particularly in the past 20 years (Hall and Douglas 2003)

Emerging fishery for Japanese ruby fish in Vizhinjam

Unique catch of Japanese ruby fish, Erythrocles schlegelii (Richardson, 1846) locally known as Imbooraan accurred at Vizhinjam Landing Centre for the last few months. A demersal fish (family Emmelichthyidae) they are commonly known as ruby fishes, rovers, bonnet mouths and redbaits. Marine plywood boats fitted with two 9.9 HP engines are operating hooks and line to exploit these fishes. Daily trips with fishermen departing early at 3.00 am from the shore, travelling about 20-25 km to operate at more than 100 m depths and reaching back by 3.00 pm in the afternoon is common

Polymicrobial skin lesions in the red spot emperor, Lethrinus lentjan (Lacepede 1802) during mass incursion towards shore along Kanyakumari coast, south India

Mass incursion of fishes with polymicrobial skin lesions, fin erosions and scale loss was recorded in the red spot emperor Lethrinus lentjan (Lacepede 1802) along the Kanyakumari coast, south India during August 2009. An estimated 2.5 t of fish, mostly the red spot emperors were found to migrate in live condition to the shore areas in a stressful state. Microbiological analyses of tissue from sampled fishes revealed three distinct types of bacterial colonies forming 5.2 x 105 CFU g-1 of the infected tissues. The predominant bacterial colonies were characterized as Aeromonas sp. (70.0%) followed by Flavobacterium sp. (20%) and Vibrio sp. (10%). The Aeromonas isolate was highly susceptible to norfloxacin while the Flavobacterium and Vibrio isolates were susceptible to chloramphenicol. The Aeromonas and Vibrio isolates exhibited protease and amylase enzyme activities in vitro, suggesting their possible role in the progression of skin lesions and scale loss. The possibilities of ambient unknown stressors weakening the fish and subsequent infections by these bacterial isolates are discussed

Open Sea Floating Cage Farming of Lobsters Successful Demonstration by CMFRI off Kanyakumari Coast

Lobsters. a seafood item, are highly relished throughout the world. In India, lobsters are mostly available in rocky " coastal habitats. Impacted by their delicious taste, the demand for lobsters is increasing at a fast rate in the national as well as international markets

Agricultural dust explosions in 2009

There were 8 dust explosions reported in the U.S. in 2009 according to Kingsly Ambrose, Assistant Professor, Kansas State University. This compares to 19 in 2008 and a ten-year average of 9.5 explosions