Anglers return empty-handed
Picture for representational purpose
Kozikhode: Traditional fishing in overflowing streams and canals during the monsoon is slowly dying. It is not because of the lack of interest among people, but mainly because the traditional varieties of fresh water fishes have almost become extinct. Those who venture out for fishing these days, return home empty-handed or with an unwelcome catch of African catfish or another variety of fish that is locally known as ‘Kaithakora’, which was reportedly introduced into the fresh water ponds to control mosquito menace and has now infested the fresh water ponds.
The native varieties such as walking cat fish (muzhi), banded snakehead (viral), Giant Danio (paral) freshwater garfish (kola or koli) have all vanished from our ponds and streams. The loss of habitat and introduction of foreign varieties like African catfish could have contributed to the decrease in population of these native varieties.“I have been using nets to catch fresh water fish during the monsoon for the last 40 years. Now I have stopped it as I do not get any of our native fish that are very tasty. Earlier during the monsoon, we used to get a lot of fish but I do not even get to see them in the streams or ponds now. The fields are disappearing to promote construction and in no time all these varieties would be extinct,” Sreepathy K, a resident of Chevayur said.
Those who had reveled in monsoon fishing say that they were very careful not to use nets with smaller mesh size to avoid catching the hatchlings as the monsoon is also the season for fish spawning. But these varieties, so carefully conserved by an older generation, are now on the verge of extinction.
“We now see big sized African Catfishes everywhere. They largely feed on smaller native fish varieties. The introduction of that species killed a lot of our native fish varieties. Moreover, the use of pesticides in agricultural fields would have also contributed to the loss of such species,” Baiju K, a resident of Chevaryambalam said.
These native varieties of fishes may still be available in rural Kerala, where the fields are not completely taken over by the construction mafia. But in the backyards of cities, where patches of greenery remain, such varieties have disappeared.
( Source : k praveen kumar )
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