125-kg fish baffles wildlife lovers in Uttarakhand
HALDWANI: An unusually big devil catfish, estimated to be 125kg, from Ramganga river, caught by villagers near Corbett national park in Almora district has baffled wildlife lovers as normal size of this species in Himalayan rivers is about 60-70 kilogram.
Wildlife experts were not able to recall the last time such a big fish was caught from a Himalayan river.
“The weight of the fish is unusual,” said JA Johnson, a fisheries expert at Wildlife Institute of India (WII). “The Goonch (Bagarius bagrius), popular name of the fish locally, lives in large pools and is carnivore. During monsoon, it migrates to upstream for spawning”.
The catch has, however, landed villagers in trouble as four of them have been booked for illegal fishing during monsoon, a breeding season for fish.
Almora’s Divisional forest officer SR Prajapati said, an FIR has been filed with the Revenue Police post against the group of people that caught the fish.
“The fish could not be weighed as the villagers have eaten it. Based on people’s accounts and the video, we think it will be the range of 120-125kg. We have only identified 4 people — Ganesh Ram, Jeet Ram, Suresh Ram and Lali Ram — from the video. They are absconding,” he told HT.
The photos and videos of the catch uploaded on social media by the locals in Manila village were shared several times in the last 24 hours.
In one of the videos, the villagers were seen clicking pictures with the wriggling fish. One villager was also seen trying to block its nostrils.
The incident has invited the ire of forest and district administration. Almora district magistrate Savin Bansal said the fisheries inspector will submit a report on the incident after gathering more details.
“We will take action based on the report submitted by the inspector,” Bansal told HT.
Experts say catfish, scientifically known as Bagarius bagarius, plays a pivotal role in maintaining the ecosystem of the Ramganga river, the lifeline of Corbett National Park.
The ‘near-threatened’ species features in the IUCN Red list. Johnson said the population of the species is on the decline because of selective harvesting, habitat loss and barrier effect. Quantity of fish tells about the health of the river ecosystem and studies show that there number is on a decline in Himalayan rivers. Anup Sah, biologist and member of the Uttarakhand Wildlife Board, said fishing is prohibited on both sides of Ramganga river to protect them from rampant poaching.
“Our rivers face rampant poaching activities. The government must give licenses for angling so that the species can be conserved even as the local communities continue to earn their revenue,” he said.
“This omnivorous fish can grow up to two metres and weigh up to 100kg. This fish can adapt to mountain streams as it has a corrugated belly,” he added.