Sustainable Ocean Resources Network

Abstract

Sri Lanka has unique indigenous marine faunal assemblage with very high biodiversity. One of the key ecological problems threatening our marine ecosystems is bio-invasions. As an Island country located within strategic east-west maritime route with a long history of maritime transportation, the presence of introduced species is promising. However, information on native, indigenous or non-indigenous faunal assemblage is lacking in our port environs. Therefore, present study is to augment such data gaps. Present study targeted taxonomic composition and distribution of ichthyofaunal and decapode assemblage in ten sampling sites within Colombo port. Sampling was carried out between April and December 2013 and sampling methods closely followed international protocol developed by Centre for Research on Introduced Marine Pests (CRIMP) in Australia. Multiple sampling techniques such as crab traps, hook and line, gee-minnow trap, fish cage traps, cast nets, scoop nets and visual observations were used. 45 fish species belong to families, Siganidae, Sillaginidae, Terapontidae, Tetraodontidae; and 5 crabs belong to families, Xanthidae, Portunidae, Grapsidae and Eriphiidae were recorded. Highest number of species was recorded from South Jetty (SJ) followed by Passenger Jetty (PJ) and South Asia Gateway Terminal (SAGT); the least number of species was recorded from New Dock Pier (NDP). According to the findings, 30 species of fishes and four species of crabs were new to port environment. Two species of near threaten fishes, Epinephelus malabaricus and Epinephelus coioides were also recorded in present study. There were no known non-indigenous fish or crab species recorded. However, continuous monitoring is essential for early detection of any non-native species.