[Reader-list] Puffer fish wreaks havoc

[T Peter]

Published: August 8, 2011 11:37 IST | Updated:Hindu
Thiruvananthapuram,
Puffer fish wreaks havoc
Traditional fishermen of Veli, Poonthura suffer heavy loss

Fishermen who set out to sea from several locations in the district on
Saturday returned with shredded nets and little or no catch. Shoals of
puffer fish prowling the coastal waters are wreaking havoc, damaging
fishing nets, preying on other species, and causing heavy loss to
traditional fishermen.

Fishermen who set out to sea from Veli to Poonthura reported the
maximum damage caused by the predatory species. Fish workers estimated
that the loss would run into lakhs of rupees. “The net is bitten and
shredded to pieces by the puffer fish, leaving fishermen with no
option but to buy a new net. Other fish caught in the net are picked
clean, leaving only the bones,” said T. Peter, State president, Kerala
Swathantra Matsya Thozhilali Federation (KSMTF). Last year, the
proliferation of puffer fish was reported from Kollam. The problem
usually lasts for a week.

Puffer fish is known by several names in local parlance, including
‘yaava,' ‘petha,' and sea frog. It is drawn to the small fish caught
in nets. Once it gets entangled in the net, it uses its beak to break
free. In the process, the net is often irreparably damaged. Scientists
said the migration of puffer fish to coastal waters was a normal
phenomenon. A predatory species, it mostly migrated for food. It was
endowed with a hard, sharp beak instead of teeth.

Local fishermen, however, suspected that the sudden emergence of
puffer fish in large numbers was triggered by the resumption of
trawling after the monsoon ban. They believed that the seabed
disturbance caused by bottom trawling could be driving them to migrate
to the coastal waters.

‘‘Puffer fish feed mainly on the mussels and shellfish that inhabit
coral reefs, cracking them open with their sharp beaks. The decline in
the shellfish population, post tsunami, could be another factor that
had led them to migrate to new areas,'' Mr. Peter said.

Yet another reason, fish workers said was the practice of dumping
coconut peduncles off the coast to create an artificial reef that
acted as breeding ground for several commercially important species,
including the squid. A section of fishermen opposed to the practice
believed that such peduncle reefs attracted puffer fish along with
squid.

The simmering tension between the groups had often led to open
hostility, threatening peace in the coastal areas.

Call for scientific study
The federation called for a scientific study to assess the reason for
the proliferation of puffer fish. It also demanded a special package
to compensate fishermen for the losses.