Meta-analysis of fish stock identification in India: current status and future perspectives

Abstract

A meta-analysis of research on fishstock identification in India was performed to examine the trends and patterns of work conducted in fish-stock identification between 2000 and 2021. The publication data extracted from the Web of Science database with different sets of keywords resulted in a total of 214 research articles dealing with fish-stock identification. The common methods applied for stock identification are mtDNA sequencing, microsatellite markers and truss morphometrics. Published records showed that 14.49% of the research used different stock-identification methods in a single study to arrive at an accurate result on the stock structure of the studied species. Teleosts were the most studied group, followed by crustaceans, bivalves and elasmobranchs, and most of the studies focused on the fishes belonging to the orders Cypriniformes and Siluriformes. Fishes caught from the wild populations accounted for most of the studies, rather than the farmed ones. The study highlighted pitfalls in the stock-identification studies in India, viz. fewer studies on the marine realm and more specifically on elasmobranchs, farm escapees into the wild, threatened species, etc. The study also highlighted the need for strengthening stock-identification studies so that they aid in data-driven fisheries management measures.