Length-weight relationship of six deep-sea fish species from the shelf regions of western Bay of Bengal and Andaman waters

Length-weight relationships for six deep-sea fish species inhabiting the shelf regions of the western Bay of Bengal and the waters of Andaman and Nicobar of India are presented. Samples were collected using high-speed demersal trawl and expo demersal trawl nets at depths of 231-514m in August and September 2010. The b values in the analyses ranged from 3.05 to 3.31, showing a mean and median value of 3.21 (SE +/- 0.039, SD +/- 0.097) and 3.2, respectively. Comparisons of b values with earlier estimations confirm the presence of spatial and temporal variations in the length-weight relations among the species. Coefficient of determination scores ranged from 0.94 to 0.97, indicating robustness of the samples analysed. This study provides the first estimates of length-weight relationships for four of the deep-sea fishes, enriching the understanding of the growth patterns and population dynamics of these less-studied deep-sea fishery resources in Indian Ocean waters.