Catches of Coryphæna hippurus (L.) in the Western Indian Ocean

Abstract

WHILE carrying out a survey of the pelagic fishes of East African waters, twenty-seven specimens (twenty-four female, three male) of the dorade or dolphin fish were caught during multiple trolling operations during September 1951–August 1952. All the dorade were taken close inshore, and from the graph it can be seen that the catches were limited to the months February–June. Although the total catch is not large, it must be remembered that the dorade is of widespread distribution in tropical seas and is nowhere abundant. In all specimens the state of maturity of the gonads was determined.