Length-weight relationship of flying fishes (Exocoetidae) from Bay of Bengal, Eastern Indian Ocean

The Length-weight relationship is a commonly used tool for fishery data analysis especially for fish population stock assessment study to support developing fisheries management policy and sustainable fishery. Flying fishes are considered as commercially and ecologically important species across the globe. The Length-weight relationships of flying fish is very rare and even limited to the Bay of Bengal. Length-weight relationship parameters were analysed for four flying fish species from the Southeast coast of India, Bay of Bengal. The samples were collected from March 2020 to January 2021 from different landing centres such as Tuticorin, Mandapam and Chennai along the Southeast coast of India by drift gill net, and commercial trawls. Samples were captured in the depth range between 30 and 200 m. Values of the parameter b ranged from 2.852 for Cheilopogon abei to 3.1263 for Cheilopogon suttoni indicating the allometric growth. The present study provides length-weight relationship of species Cheilopogon abei, Cheilopogon furcatus, Cheilopogon cyanopterus and Cheilopogon suttoni for the first time.