Annually 161 t of Metapenaeopsis stridulans was landed on an average in the Kasimedu fishing harbour (Chennai) during the period 2003-2007. The peak season of fishery was June- September and the overall sex ratio was 1:1.2. Females were slightly larger than males, the mean size was 79.8 mm against 73.8 mm for males. The length range for females was 41-125 mm and for males 41-115 mm. L∞ was estimated at 125 mm for females and 114 mm for males; the growth constant K was 1.1 yr-1 for females and 1.3 yr-1 for males. The mortality rates were: Z = 3.80, M = 1.20 and F = 2.60 for females and Z =3.73, M = 1.52 and F = 2.21 for males. The length at first capture (L50) was 63.82 mm for the species. Beverton and Holt’s relative yield-per-recruit (Y’/R) analysis revealed that the current exploitation rate is higher than the optimum exploitation rate(E 0.5), hence fishing mortality should be reduced by about 45% to sustain the stock.

Fiddler shrimp, Metapenaeopsis stridulans, maturity growth parameters, mortality, exploitation rate.