Taxonomical Identification and Diversity of Flat Fishes from Mudasalodai Fish Landing Centre (Trawl by Catch), South East Coast of India

Bycatch and discards are common and pernicious problems faced by all fisheries globally. It is recognized as unavoidablein any kind of fishing but the quantity varies according to the gear operated. In tropical countries like India, bycatch issueis more complex due to the multi-species and multi-gear nature of the fisheries. Among the different fishing gears, trawlingaccounts for a higher rate of bycatch, due to comparatively low selectivity of the gear. A study was conducted during June2018 - Dec 2019 in the Mudasalodai fish landing centre, southeast coast of India. During the study period six sp. of flatfishes collected and identified taxonomically.