Visakhapatnam: A rare, huge and unidentified fish, measuring 16 feet in length and 6 feet wide, washed ashore on the beach in Ichhapuram mandal of Srikakulam district, as per reports on Monday.
The fish landing occurred three days ago. Srikakulam district has the longest coastline in AP, stretching for 193km along the Bay of Bengal. There are frequent occurrences of unusual marine life sightings in the region.
Local fishermen estimated the weight of the dead fish to be two tonnes. The local name for the fish, marine biologists said, is "Puli Baggu Porra.”
News of the fish-landing spread rapidly, attracting large crowds to the scene from nearby villages, including Donkuru. Palasa forest officer Muralinaidu arrived at the location for a post-mortem of the fish, followed by its burial on the seashore.
Shaik Lal Mohammad, joint director of Fisheries, Visakhapatnam, told Deccan Chronicle, “It was a ray fish and the size is equal to those of shark fishes. They are found in the deep sea. These fishes belong to the Elasmobranch family and don’t have any commercial value. This fish might have died due to a hit from some fishing boat.”
