Thiruvananthapuram: An injured fish was rescued by fishermen and operated upon by doctors at CMFRI Vizhinjam centre on Thursday. It is not often that a fish goes under the knife and comes out alive. But this one happened to be a specimen Giant Humphead Wrasse, enlisted as endangered species in the IUCN Red List. “Weighing 25 kg with a length of 1.5 m, it is perhaps the largest specimen of Humphead Wrasse caught in India, as we have not heard of any other reports of a specimen this large,” said a CMFRI scientist.
The officials here had immediately contacted Government Veterinary Dispensary, Vizhinjam. The surgeon there, Dr A.K. Abhilash, had once operated upon a carp, but other than that he had little experience of a fish in the operating theatre. “I operated because the situation warranted it. Had we waited to hunt for experts, we would have lost precious time,” said Dr Abhilash.
The surgery was not easy, especially as there was no means to assess how big the wound was. Though anaesthetics were available, using any was too risky, according to officials. They say that the fish was physically restrained, aerated using an oxygen tube, and with its eyes covered, it was sutured. It will be another week before they can be sure that the fish is saved, but it is recovering well, they say. “This was a great opportunity. I was happy that we could save it,” said the doctor.
Giant Humphead Wrasse is a species associated with reefs. Since the stretch between Kollam and Kanyakumari has a reef ecosystem, there could be many more rare and endangered species off these coasts, according to scientists. This one, once it recovers completely, can be used for educational purposes at CMFRI Marine Research Aquarium, Vizhinjam.
