Karwar, Jan 18: An eighteen-feet-four-inch largetooth sawfish (Pristis microdon) was caught by fishermen in their fishing net in the deep sea near here between Karnataka and Goa on Monday.
Head of Karnatak university’s post-graduate studies centre, Dr V N Nayak, said it is of a rare fish genus, Pristis, and regarded as being on the verge of extinction. It is said to prey on smaller fish making use of its saw-like formation at the mouth. Its tail is used in preparing soup in China and is hence in great demand.
The sawfish caught here on Monday weighed between 300 and 400KGs. Perhaps the fishermen were not aware that it belonged to an almost-extinct category. Until it was carted along to the shore, it was reportedly alive. While getting it ashore, one of the fishermen, Dattatreya Narayan Kumtekar, got hurt by its sawteeth.
The giant fish was bought by vendors from Kerala and fetched a price of Rs 47,000 to match its size. A similar fish was caught only 30 years ago, said well-known photographer Pandurang Harikantra.
Team Mangalorean
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