Mangalore: Rare Breed of Fish Caught in the Net - Freak or Exotic?

by Richie Lasrado, Resident Editor
Daijiworld.com, Mangalore
Pics Rajesh Shetty

Mangalore, Jun 1: Sensation was created in the fishing sector here on Friday, when a rare fish with its young one was caught in the net belonging to Vasu Putran at Kulur-Kulai here.

Its looks were so different from the hundreds of fish breeds which the fishing community is familiar with that no one knew its name nor its living habits.

With feather-like, freakish outer scaless, it looked like a kite or an owl from a distance. Even its mouth resembled an animal's pout. As the fish lay on display at the wharf at the old port, experts of all shades came to analyse its shape and genus. But none could give an honest opinion.

It was so different from the normal catch that no one was sure of its taste. For one, people hesitated to buy it going by its rare appearance, as they felt it was worth preserving in a museum. At least a few may have yearned to try its taste, as it gave all looks of an exotic breed. But all said and done, no one was sure what was to be done about it.

With a busy schedule on hand, our correspondent could not afford to wait for long to record its fate for the sake of a news piece. But before he left, a lot of people around could not resist the temptation of being photographed in the company of the fish.

It is not yet known if the fish was sent to any fish museum - one of them reportedly in existence in Malpe near Udupi - or if it found its way to someone's kitchen to form the menu of 'tawa fry' or 'rava fry' or just the mouth-watering Mangalorean fish curry.

By the way, any marine or oceanographical experts among our readers can try to identify it and write to us or refer it to an expert for an analysis.