Coastal Aquaculture and Mariculture

Unit 3 - Indian Ocean capture fisheries

3.1. Introduction
The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceans, covering about 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bound on the north by Asia (including the Indian subcontinent, after which it is named); on the west by Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and Australia; and on the south by the Southern Ocean (or, traditionally, by Antarctica). One component of the all-encompassing World Ocean, the Indian Ocean is delineated from the Atlantic Ocean by the 200 east meridian running south from Cape Agulhas, and from the Pacific by the 1470 east meridian. The northern most extent of the Indian Ocean is approximately 300 North latitude in the Persian Gulf and, thus, has asymmetric ocean circulation. This ocean is nearly 10,000 km (6,200 mi) wide at the southern tips of Africa and Australia; its area is 73,556,000 km2 (32.1 mi), including the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf. The ocean's volume is estimated to be 292,131,000 km3 (70,086,000 mi3). Small islands dot the continental rims. Island nations within the ocean are Madagascar, the world's fourth largest island; Comoros; Seychelles; Maldives; Mauritius; and Sri Lanka. Indonesia borders it on the east. The Indian Ocean is the warmest ocean in the world.

Geography
The ocean's continental shelves are narrow, averaging 200 kilometres (125 miles) in width. An exception is found off Australia's western coast, where the shelf width exceeds 1,000 kilometres (600 mi). The average depth of the ocean is 3,890 metres (12,760 ft). Major choke points include Bab el Mandeb, Strait of Hormuz, Strait of Malacca, southern access to the Suez Canal, and the Lombok Strait. Seas include Andaman Sea, Arabian Sea, Bay of Bengal, Great Australian Bight, Gulf of Aden, Gulf of Oman, Laccadive Sea, Mozambique Channel, Persian Gulf, Red Sea, Strait of Malacca, and other tributary water bodies.