Temporal variability of economic fish assemblage of the Northern Bay of Bengal in relation to its environment

The Northern Bay of Bengal (NBoB) contributes largely towards the fish production of India and its neighboring countries. A pioneering attempt was made to understand temporal variability of the fish assemblage (exclusively to those of fisheries interest) of the NBoB (20°20ʹ–21°30ʹN and 87°30ʹ–89°E) in relation to sea surface temperature (SST) (°C), sea surface salinity (SSS), and chlorophyll-a (Chl-a) (µg/l) changes. Between 2006 and 2015, the inter-annual variations of SST, SSS, and Chl-a were minor. Seasonal variability of SST, SSS, and Chl-a was observed and a yearly bi-modal peak of Chl-a production was evident. Inter-annual variability of the species dominance (D) was most plausibly explained by the SST*Chl-a (Δ AIC = 0) model. Variation of evenness index (J) was explained most plausibility by the Chl-a (Δ AIC = 0) model. Seasonal variability of SST and Chl-a levels, possibly influence the fish community of the NBoB, therefore, a regular monitoring programme is suggested for understanding the long-term changes of the fish assemblage of the NBoB.