Primary production and fishery potential of the Panangad region in the Cochin estuarine system

The environmental parameters and primary production at selected stations in the Cochin Estuary, Kerala, India surrounding Panangad are presented. This part of estuary becomes completely fresh water during southwest monsoon. Primary production showed a tri-modal annual variation with peaks during April, July and November. Maximum production was seen in November (183.33 mg C/m super(3)/hr) and minimum in June (52.08 mg C/m super(3)/hr). The production showed significant positive correlation with chlorophyll, but no correlation was found with environmental parameters. The fishery potential in the study region is estimated from the primary production and compared with available data on fish catch.