Landings of IUCN Red Listed finfishes at Chetlat Island of Lakshadweep, southeastern Arabian Sea

Abstract

The Lakshadweep Islands are well-known for their abundant fishery resources. Present study primarily focused on the systematic representation of IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) Red Listed marine finfish landings of Chetlat Island of Lakshadweep archipelago (India). Monthly collections were carried out from September 2019 to February 2020 from the study area. A list of finfishes along with their scientific name, common name, family, and present conservation status was prepared. As per the IUCN Red List, out of 41 fish species identified, one species is ‘Endangered’ (EN), two species are ‘Near Threatened’ (NT), four species are ‘Vulnerable’ (VU), one species ‘Data Deficient’ (DD), 29 species ‘Least Concern’ (LC), and four species are ‘Not Evaluated’ (NE) categories. Information on the conservation status of fishes plays a significant role in fisheries science since it forms the basis for managing marine fishery resources.