Abstract:
In the Eastern province of Sri Lanka, about 30%o of the beach seine sites are found.
Scientific information on the composition of the catch of beach seine in Batticaloa
District is not yet available. In the present study, beach seine fisheries in ten landing
sites in three sub-fishing areas in Chenkalady FI Division in the Batticaloa fisheries
administrative district were investigated during the beach seine fishing season from
June2023 to November 2023'. The main objective of the present study was therefore to
determine the composition. diversity index, and dominance of beach seine in
Kaluvankeni, Punnaikuda, and Savukkadi. Data collection is carried out by following
the operation of the beach seine unit with eight days of data collection at each station.
The research data were in the form of the type and weight of fish caught and analyzed
descriptively. Prior to analysis, each fish was taxonomically identified using a species
identification field guide for fishery purposes. In the composition analysis of the beach
seine catch, I 14 species were identified at Kaluvankeni, with the spotted sardinella, a
member of the Clupeidae family, dominating the group. 106 species were found at
Punnaikuda, with the Indian anchovy, which is a member of the Engraulidae family,
predominating. Moreover, 128 species were found in Savukkadi, with the Indian
anchovy, which is a member of the Engraulidae family of fish, dominating the
collection. The beach seine net has a high degree of diversity, as indicated by the
favorable results of the catch diversity indexes for Kaluvankeni, punnaikuda, and
Savukkadi, which are 2.15, 1.95, and 2.46. on the.other hand, high dominance or low
tool selectivity are indicated by a species catch dominance index in every beach seine
at Kaluvankeni, Punnaikuda, and Savukkadi, namely 0.25,0.27,and 0.16.
