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Flying fish send spirits soaring
A rare fish, which has the unique ability to fly, is spotted by fishermen of Nellore district giving hopes for tourism potential. Though the number of flying fish is not that encouraging, they make their presence around this time during their sojourn to their habitats.
​Nellore: A rare fish, which has the unique ability to fly, is spotted by fishermen of Nellore district giving hopes for tourism potential. Though the number of flying fish is not that encouraging, they make their presence around this time during their sojourn to their habitats.
Fishermen have been occasionally spotting the flying fishes in the Bay of Bengal which are normally seen off Chennai and Konkan coast. There are at least ten species of flying fish in the Bay of Bengal.
The schools of fish are seen in the southern parts of Nellore coast as they migrate from northern parts of Tamil Nadu. This is an important fishery resource in Indonesia, the Pacific Islands, Korea, China and the Sea of Japan, southern California, USA, West Africa, and some parts of South India.
“It is a pleasant experience to watch flying fish. We try to catch them but they are quick enough to give us the slip. But we enjoy this experience,” said K Yedukondalu from Kondurupalem in Kota mandal.
These fishermen of Pulicat area catch them using gill net in the Bay of Bengal whenever they get a chance to spot them. Normally, flying fish live in all of the oceans, particularly in tropical and warm subtropical waters, according to fisheries experts.
There are about 64 species of such fish in the world. Thanks to their streamlined torpedo shape that gives them the ability to gather enough underwater speed to break the surface for flight for considerable distances above the water’s surface.
The Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) was observing their presence in the Bay of Bengal for a long time but their population has been declining. According to the officials, there were 4,402 lands in the country in 2015 whereas there were 365 in Andhra Pradesh in 2013, 217 in 2014 and 508 in 2015.
“The flying fish is available in the Bay. But, their population is not that much huge due to human activities. It is a very beautiful fish with flying capability and it needs to be conserved,” said Dr K Madhu, Principal Scientist in Mariculture division of the institute at Kochi.
Usually the trajectory of their fly is about 50 metres, but there were cases where the flying fish to overcome the distance of 200 metres or more. Some of these fish have typical fins that allow them to glide like a flying squirrel up to 400 metres.
“This will give a big boost to tourism if the fish population is located off Nellore coast close to the Pulicat lake. Sightseers enjoy their travels and attractive scenes in the Bay.
But, their presence depends on people who always hunt for them,” said retired lecturer Dr Ramakrishna who is well versed in fisheries sciences.
