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Table 1
Fishing areas, seasons, and fishing methods for jellyfish species in southern Asian counties. Note: Each number in the second column correspondence to Fig. 2.
| Country | Fishing grounds and relevant landing sites | Target species | Fishing season | Fishing method | Remarks on catch | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bahrain | 01 | Gulf of Bahrain (RECOFI Fisheries Reports 2012; FAO 2020) off the Northern Bahrain coast (RECOFI Fisheries Reports 2012) | Catostylus perezi (present study) | April to September (TradeArabia 2011) | Using ladles to pick jellyfish from the sea up to 10 m deep, and 35-speed fiberglass boats (Tarad) with an outboard engine (RECOFI Fisheries Reports 2012) | 1,759 tonnes of jellyfish were landed in 2007 (RECOFI Fisheries Reports 2010); about 3,340 tonnes valued at approximately 6.738 million US dollars (2.533 million BD) were landed in 2009 (RECOFI Fisheries Reports 2012); The average annual landing was 2,764.4 tonnes between 2004 and 2021 (FAO 2024a) |
| Iran | 02 | Abadan at Khuzestan coast (present study) | Catostylus perezi (present study) | April to September (present study) | Jellyfish collection from nearshore areas is done using scoop nets and small fiberglass boats with outboard engines, while offshore fishing is conducted using larger wooden vessels equipped with pelagic trawls (present study) | The average annual landing was 2,229.5 tonnes [regardless of landing site] between 2010 to 2012 and 2015 and 2019 (FAO 2024a) |
| 03 | Bandar Bushehr at Bushehr coast (present study) | [as above] | [as above] | [as above] | [see above] | |
| Pakistan | 04 | Balochistan coast: Sonmiani Bay (Muhammed and Sultana 2008), Damb Bandar, Gadani, Hingol, Jiwani, Kalmat, Ormara and Pasni (Gul et al., 2015) | Catostylus perezi (Muhammed and Sultana 2008 [as Catostylus mosaicus]; Tahera and Kazmi 2008 [as C. mosaicus]; Gul et al., 2015 [also as Catostylus sp., and ‘Banana Jellyfish’]; Psomadakis et al., 2015) | February/March to July/August (the peak season is June and July) (Muhammed and Sultana 2008; Gul et al., 2015) | Gillnets, pelagic trawls (Psomadakis et al., 2015), and hand nets, with traditional wooden fishing boats equipped with diesel engines (Gul et al., 2015) | The annual estimated total catch at Sonmiani Bay in the peak season (June and July) of each year, 2005 and 2006 was 762.5 tonnes (10 to 15 tonnes per day during peak seasons at each location [data from Muhammed and Sultana 2008]); in 2015, fishers sold the oral arms of C. perezi at approximately 40 to 50 PKR (0.38 to 0.48 US dollars) per kilogram (Gul et al., 2015) |
| 05 | Sindh coast: Gharo Creek, Mirpur Sakro and Keti Bandar (Muhammed and Sultana 2008) | Catostylus perezi (Muhammed and Sultana 2008 [as Catostylus mosaicus]) | [as above] | [as above] | Annual estimated total catch at Gharo Creek, Mirpur Sakro, and Keti Bandar in the peak season (June and July) of each year, 2005 and 2006 was 1,906.25 tonnes (10 to 15 tonnes per day during peak seasons at each location [data from Muhammed and Sultana 2008]) | |
| Sindh coast: Kemari (Muhammed and Sultana 2008), Keti Bandar (Muhammed and Sultana 2008; Gul et al., 2015), Clifton, Ibrahim Haideri, Keti Bandar, Manora, Char creek, Chhan Waddo creek, Dabbo creek, Gharo creek, Kharo Chan creek, Kajar creek, Khuddi creek, and Sir creek (Gul et al., 2015) | Rhopilema hispidum (Muhammed and Sultana 2008 [as Rhizostoma pulmo]; Gul et al., 2015 [also as ‘Flower Jellyfish’]; Psomadakis et al., 2015 [as R. pulmo]) | [as above] | Gillnets, pelagic trawls (Psomadakis et al., 2015), set nets (Bhoola), and hand nets, with traditional wooden fishing boats equipped with diesel engines (Gul et al., 2015) | Annual estimated total catch at Kemari and Keti Bandar in the peak season (June and July) of each year, 2005 and 2006 was 1,143.75 tonnes (10 to 15 tonnes per day during peak seasons at each location [data from Muhammed and Sultana 2008]); in 2015, fishers sold the oral appendages of R. hispidum at 30 PKR (0.28 US dollars) per kilogram (Gul et al., 2015) | ||
| India | 06 | Jakhau and Okha in the Gulf of Kutch, Gujarat (Kumawat et al., 2023) | Catostylus perezi (Behera et al., 2022; Kumawat et al., 2023 [also as ‘Banana-jhar’]) | March to May and October to December (CMFRI 2010; Kumawat et al., 2023) | Fibreglass canoes with inboard engines (Odi) engage using primarily multifilament gillnets (CMFRI 2010) and scoop nets, usually at a depth of 10 to 30 m (Kumawat et al., 2023); more than 100 fishing vessels are engaged in the fishery (Kumawat et al., 2023) | The recorded total jellyfish landings from November 2017 to February 2020 amounted to about 11,140.93 tonnes, contributed by Jakhau (67.37 %) and Okha (32.63%) (Kumawat et al., 2023); fishers gained an average of 12 INR (0.17 US dollars) kilogram−1 at the first sale for oral arms (Kumawat et al., 2023) |
| Rhopilema hispidum (Kumawat et al., 2023 [also as ‘Flower-jhar’]) | March to May (Kumawat et al., 2023) | Fibreglass canoes with inboard diesel engines at a depth of 10 to 30 m, primarily using scoop nets (Kumawat et al., 2023) | The recorded total jellyfish landings from November 2017 to February 2020 amounted to about 2,429.02 tonnes, which were contributed by Jakhau (67.37%) and Okha (32.63%) (Kumawat et al., 2023); fishers gained an average of 12 INR (0.17 US dollars) kilogram−1 at the first sale for oral appendages (Kumawat et al., 2023) | |||
| 07 | Porbandar, Veraval and Navabandar (Kumawat et al., 2023) along the Saurashtra coast of Gujarat | Catostylus perezi (Kumawat et al., 2023 [also as ‘Banana-jhar’]) | March to May and October to December (Kumawat et al., 2023) | [as above] | [no data] | |
| 08 | Udupi coast (present study) of Karnataka (HFS 2005; Riyas and Biju Kumar 2021) | Crambionella orsini (present study) | August to December (present study) | Beach seines, gillnets, and scoop nets (present study) | Respectively 27,837 tonnes and 14,524 tonnes of jellyfish landings were reported from Karnataka in 2002 and 2003 (HFS 2005) | |
| 09 | Neendakara Fisheries Harbour, Sakthikulangara Fisheries Harbour, Azheekal Fisheries Harbour, and Vaddy Fisheries Harbour (Sreeram et al., 2021) in Kollam coast of Kerala (Chinnadurai et al., 2021; Riyas and Biju Kumar 2021; Sreeram et al., 2021); labourers gathered oral arms from jellyfish bycatch discards on the beaches of Kovalam and Puthenthope in Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum), some trawlers from Thengapattinam and Neendakara operated on the Trivandrum coast for fishing jellyfish, and sold the catch to intermediaries who transport them to Thengapattinam, but there hasn’t been any organized fishery reported from the coast of Trivandrum (Sreeram et al., 2021) | Crambionella orsini (Chinnadurai et al., 2021; Riyas and Biju Kumar 2021; Sreeram et al., 2021) | August/September (Sreeram et al., 2021) to December/January (Chinnadurai et al., 2021; Sreeram et al., 2021) | Using various gears such as ring seines, beach seines, gillnets, scoop nets (Riyas and Biju Kumar 2021), and hundreds of single-day trawler units (Chinnadurai et al., 2021; Sreeram et al., 2021) and a few multi-day trawlers at a depth of 15 to 20 m (Sreeram et al., 2021) | 500 tonnes of jellyfish were landed in 2018 (Riyas and Biju Kumar 2021); an estimated 453.16 tonnes of jellyfish were landed at Neendakara and Sakthikulangara fishing harbours during a 44-day fishery in 2020–21, and the average landing in December 2020 was 1,129.54 kilograms per boat and in January 2021, 577.61 kilograms per boat (Sreeram et al., 2021); according to Chinnadurai et al., (2021), about 2,500 tonnes of jellyfish were landed on the Kollam coast of Kerala from December 2020 to January 2021, but this datum is doubtful when compared to data from Sreeram et al. (2021); in 2020, the landing centre or harbour price for C. orsini ranged 5–10 INR per kilogram (Sreeram et al., 2021), and the average price of C. orsini at the landing centre of Kerala was low compared to the average price of C. annandalei from Andhra Pradesh (Riyas and Biju Kumar 2021) | |
| 10 | Arokiyapuram, situated in the eastern part of Kanyakumari; in the western part, i.e. Muttom and Colachel; and further north, Melmidalam, Enayam, Ramanthurai, Thoothur, and Poothurai, with the catch being landed in the Thengapattanam Fishing Harbour (Sreeram et al., 2021) | Crambionella orsini (Sreeram et al., 2021) | October to January, with peak landings between October and December (Sreeram et al., 2021) | Shore seines, gillnets, and modified gillnets with an increased number of floats were used for the fishery, which was mainly concentrated in inshore waters utilising Fibreglass Reinforced Plastic (FRP) boats up to a depth of 6 to 12 m (Sreeram et al., 2021) | Catches were made from dense swarms of jellyfish that appeared in 2020–21 (Sreeram et al., 2021), while there were no specific landing data; the landing centre or harbour price for C. orsini ranged 5–10 INR per kilogram in 2020 (Sreeram et al., 2021) | |
| 11 | Tharuvaikulam (Murugan and Durgekar 2008) at the Tuticorin coast (Manickaraja and Balasubramanian 2006; present study) of the Gulf of Mannar, Tamil Nadu | Lobonema smithii (Manickaraja and Balasubramanian 2006 [as ‘Aluvai Chori’]; Murugan and Durgekar 2008) | June to October (Murugan and Durgekar 2008) or to December (Manickaraja and Balasubramanian 2006) | Fishers employed motorised crafts (Vallam) with scoop nets (Murugan and Durgekar 2008) | Tharuvaikulam reported the average jellyfish landing of 33.5 tonnes (range from 20 to 55 tonnes) per day, likewise, in total about 5,125 tonnes were landed from June to October in 2007 (data from Murugan and Durgekar 2008: Fig. 5.1); in 2008, about 250 tonnes of jellyfish were landed on the Tuticorin (present study) | |
| 12 | Valinokkam, Ervadi and Keelakarai (Murugan and Durgekar 2008) at the Ramanathapuram coast of the Gulf of Mannar, Tamil Nadu (present study) | Lobonema smithii (Murugan and Durgekar 2008) | June to October (Murugan and Durgekar 2008) | [as above] | The estimated mean landing of jellyfish at three sites, Valinokkam, Ervadi, and Keelakarai, was 38.1 tonnes (ranging from 4 to 32 tonnes) per day, likewise, in total about 5,830 tonnes were landed from June to October in 2007 (data from Murugan and Durgekar 2008: Fig. 5.1); in 2008, about 250 tonnes of jellyfish were landed on the Ramanathapuram coast (present study) | |
| 13 | Thirumullaivasal (Kuthalingam et al., 1989), Pondicherry and adjacent coasts (Chidambaram 1984; Kuthalingam et al., 1989) | Crambionella orsini (Chidambaram 1984 [as Rhizostoma sp., and ‘Muttai Chorri’ in Tamil]; Kuthalingam et al., 1989 [as C. stulhmanni]) | January to June (Chidambaram 1984) | By hand-picking or by using scoop nets (Chidambaram 1984) | [no data] | |
| 14 | Marakkanam Beach, Ekkikuppam (Kuthalingam et al., 1989) and Alambaraikuppam (near Alamparai Fort), south of Mahabalipuram (James et al., 1985; Kuthalingam et al., 1989) | Crambionella orsini (James et al., 1985 [as C. stulhmanni]; Kuthalingam et al., 1989 [as C. stulhmanni]) | July to September (Kuthalingam et al., 1989) | Using traditional vessels (Catamaran) with scoop nets (Nandu Katcha) (Kuthalingam et al., 1989) | A single vessel brought in 300 to 1,000 jellyfish per day (2,000 to 3,000 individuals in good seasons); likewise, up to 13,000 jellyfish were landed at Alambaraikuppam per day (Kuthalingam et al., 1989) | |
| 15 | Lake waters off Pulicat landing centre (CMFRI 2009; Mohan et al., 2011; Kannappan et al., 2013; present study) on the Thiruvallur coast of Tamil Nadu, with the involvement of fishers from fishing villages such as Pasiavaram (Chaturvedi 2004), Arangamkuppam, Kottaikuppam, Vairavankuppam, Sathankuppam, Lighthousekuppam, Thirumalnagarkuppam, Sempasapalallikuppam, Gunamkuppam, Andikuppam, Kavimanalkuppam, Nadukuppam (Mohan et al., 2011), and Thoniraevu (Kannappan et al., 2013) | Crambionella annandalei (present study) | November (present study) | By scoop nets and motorised traditional crafts (Vallam) (present study) | A small quantity of jellyfish was landed in 2023, but no precise data is available (present study) | |
| Crambionella orsini (CMFRI 2009 [as C. stulhamani, and ‘Muttai Chorri’ in Tamil]; Mohan et al., 2011 [as C. stulhamani, and ‘Muttai Chorri’ in Tamil]; Kannappan et al., 2013 [sp. not clearly mentioned]) | August (CMFRI 2009; Mohan et al., 2011) to October (Kannappan et al., 2013) | Jellyfish were collected into gunny bags by using scoop nets (CMFRI 2009; Mohan et al., 2011) and mechanised boats (Kannappan et al., 2013) within a depth of about 11 to 13 m (Mohan et al., 2011) | Approximately 540 tonnes of jellyfish were landed in 2009 (Mohan et al., 2011); the fishers sold oral arms of the jellyfish for 500 INR per gunny bag (60 kilograms) at the Pulicat landing centre in 2009 (CMFRI 2009) | |||
| 16 | Nizampatnam Harbour, Vodarevu in Ongole (CMFRI 2007; present study) and Chirala (Behera et al., 2020a) at Prakasam coast of Andhra Pradesh | Crambionella annandalei (CMFRI 2007 [as Munthakayalu in Telugu]; Behera et al., 2020a [also as Munthakaya / Neetikaya in Telugu]; present study) | March to July, peaking in June and July (Behera et al., 2020a) | Jellyfish brought in by about 100 (20 at Nizampatnam and 80 at Vodarevu) traditional crafts (Catamarans) operating the net Chanduvala Valu (CMFRI 2007; present study), and by motorised fishing crafts operating gillnets (Polusuvala) at a water depth of 10 to 40 m during daytime (Behara et al., 2020a) | In 2007, unusual landings of jellyfish were recorded from Ongole, while the estimated total landing at Nizampatnam and Vodarevu in a 22-day fishery was 1,210 tonnes (catches ranged from 300 to 800 kilograms per unit per day [data from CMFRI 2007]); in 2018, 1,100 tonnes of oral arms valued at 385 lakhs INR (540,000 US dollars) were landed at Chirala (Behera et al., 2020a) | |
| 17 | Machilipatnam at Krishna coast of Andhra Pradesh (Nitin and Ranipeta 2018; Behera et al., 2020a) | Crambionella annandalei (Nitin and Ranipeta 2018 [sp. not mentioned]; Behera et al., 2020a [also as Munthakaya / Neetikaya in Telugu]) | March to July (Behera et al., 2020a), peaking in June and July (Nitin and Ranipeta 2018; Behera et al., 2020a) | Gillnets (Polusuvala) were operated from motorised fishing crafts at a water depth of 10 to 40 m during the daytime (Behera et al., 2020a) | A total of 3,000 tonnes of oral arms valued at 1,050 lakhs INR (1,470,000 US dollars) were landed in 2017 and 2018 (Behera et al., 2020a); on a good day, fishers manage to catch 1.2 to 2 tonnes of jellyfish on each trip (Nitin and Ranipeta 2018) and they can even makeover 1 lakh INR | |
| 18 | Kakinada Fisheries Harbour (Naik et al., 2016; Nitin and Ranipeta 2018) and Uppada at East Godavari coast of Andhra Pradesh (Behera et al., 2020a) | Crambionella annandalei (Naik et al., 2016 [as Crambionella sp., and as ‘Muntha Kaya / Neeti Kaya’ in Telugu]; Behera et al., 2020a [also as Munthakaya / Neetikaya in Telugu]) | March to July, peaking in June and July (Naik et al., 2016; Behera et al., 2020a) | Gillnets (Jogavala / Naravala / Polusuvala) were employed from mechanised and non-mechanised boats at a water depth of 10 to 30 m during the daytime (Naik et al., 2016; Behera et al., 2020a) | In 2013, mechanised boats landed approximately 540 tonnes of jellyfish, while non-mechanised boats landed about 1,345 tonnes at Kakinada Fisheries Harbour (Naik et al., 2016); a total of 3,647 tonnes of oral arms valued at 1,469 lakhs INR (2,060,000 US dollars) were landed during 2017 to 2019 (Behera et al., 2020a) | |
| 19 | Pudimadaka, Bangarammapalem, Revupolavarem, Rajanagaram, and Venkatanagaram at Visakhapatnam coast of Andhra Pradesh (Behera et al., 2020a) | Crambionella annandalei (Behera et al., 2019, 2020a [also as Munthakaya / Neetikaya in Telugu]) | March to July, peaking in June and July (Behera et al., 2020a) | Gillnets (Polusuvala) were operated from motorised fishing crafts at a water depth of 10 to 40 m during the daytime (Behera et al., 2020a) | In 2017 to 18, the total estimated landing of oral arms valued at 3,618 lakhs INR (5,040,000 US dollars) was 8,808 tons, while Pudimadaka recorded the highest landing of oral arms in 2018, reaching 1,825 tonnes (Behera et al., 2020a) | |
| 20 | Pentakota, Chandrabhaga, and Arakhakuda on the Puri coast (Roul et al., 2021a) of Odisha (Roul et al., 2021a, b) | Crambionella annandalei (Roul et al., 2021a, b) | December to March / April (Roul et al., 2021a, b) | Using gillnets from motorised and non-motorized fishing crafts (nearly 70 to 100 boats, 2 to 3 hauls per boat) up to depths 5 to 12 m (Roul et al., 2021a, b) | In 2020–2021, each fishing boat typically brought in approximately 20 to 500 kilograms of oral arms per trip, and they were then sold to local traders at landing centres for 15–20 INR (0.21 to 0.30 US dollars) per kilogram (Roul et al., 2021a, b); the estimated landings in December 2020 were 93.5 tonnes and were 280.5 tonnes from January to March 2021 (data from Roul et al., 2021a, b) | |
| 21 | Digha coast (present study) of West Bengal (HFS 2005; Riyas and Biju Kumar 2021) | Crambionella annandalei (present study) | December to March / April (present study) | Using gillnets and scoop nets (present study) | Landings were 2,010 tonnes and 5,000 tonnes in 2002 and 2003, respectively (HFS 2005) | |
| Bangladesh | 22 | Cox’s Bazar (present study) on the southwest coast (Das et al., 2023) | Crambionella annandalei (Das et al., 2023 [also as ‘Surjomukhi Nuinna’ in Bengali]) | November to March (Das et al., 2023) | By artisanal fishing trawlers (Das et al., 2023) | About 3.5 tonnes of oral arms were landed in 2019 (present study) |
| Lobonemoides gracilis (Das et al., 2023 [as L. robustus]) | [no data] | By artisanal fishing trawlers (Das et al., 2023) | [no data] | |||
| Sri Lanka | 23 | Southeast coast from Hambantota to Batticaloa via Kirinda (Karunarathne and de Croos 2023b, 2025) | Crambionella orsini (Perera 2008 [sp. not mentioned]; Karunarathne and de Croos 2023b [also as ‘Ball type’], 2025 [also as ‘Ball type’]; Karunarathne et al., 2024b [also as ‘Ball type’]) | June to September (Karunarathne and de Croos 2023b, 2025) | Scoop nets with mechanised day boats (Karunarathne and de Croos 2023b, 2025) | During 2004, 2007, 2008, 2010, and 2017, the estimated average landing per production year was 4,958 tonnes, with an average of 800 kilograms (range 400 to 1,200 kilograms) of jellyfish being landed per single fishing trip (data from Karunarathne and de Croos 2025); in the jellyfish fishing season of 2008, 100 to 150 tonnes of jellyfish were processed daily (Perera 2008) |
| 24 | Northwest coast from Chilaw to Mannar via Puttalam (Karunarathne and de Croos 2023b, 2025) | Lobonemoides gracilis (Karunarathne and de Croos 2023b [also as ‘White type’], 2025 [also as ‘White type’]; Karunarathne et al., 2024b [also as ‘White type’]) | June to September (Karunarathne and de Croos 2023b, 2025) | Hand fishing, scoop nets, and gillnets, with non-mechanised vessels (small fibreglass day boats or traditional crafts) (Karunarathne and de Croos 2023b, 2025) | During 2008, 2011, 2015, and 2017, the estimated average landing per production year was 110 tonnes, with an average of 200 kilograms (100 to 300 kilograms) of jellyfish being landed per single fishing trip (data from Karunarathne and de Croos 2025) | |
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