Croaker renamed corona by fishermen

Mangaluru: When Narendra Modi became Prime Minister in 2014, the humble sardines coming from the Gujarat coast were called as ‘Modi Bhutai,’ similarly, when Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussain was executed, ‘Neimeen’ or butterfish caught in the coast were rechristened after him. Now it’s the turn of large size croakers or koddai in the local language, which have found a new name—corona.
Recently, fishermen who ventured into the sea got lucky and caught a large black spotted croaker. It is also known as sciaenidae or Jewfish. The fish is costly because its dried air bladder is used as a clarifying agent in breweries. The fishermen who caught the fish rechristened it corona. A kg of the fish fetched somewhere between Rs 1,200 to 2,000, said a fishermen at Old Port Mangaluru. A large croaker usually weighs somewhere between 7kg to 8 kg. “A month ago, a fishing boat had netted a ‘corona’ fish worth Rs 2 crore. The fish is mainly exported to foreign countries and buyers come from Gujarat,” the fisherman explained.
Pratibha Rohit, principal scientist and head, Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI), Mangaluru, says that though fishermen have named the fish as Corona but it’s the real name is croaker or koddai in the Tulu language. However, there is a fish called Melanotaenia Corona, which is a freshwater fish.
“It is common in the coast to name a fish according to the situation or after a person. Fishermen in Malpe dock call neimeen or butterfish as Saddam and it is still in practice for a long time. The trend started after Saddam Hussein was executed. A few years ago, large size sardines (bhutai) were named after him. These sardines, also called as Oman sardines, were transported here from Gujarat. It looks like fishermen have renamed croaker or koddai as corona, which is now declared as a pandemic,” she explained.
Another marine expert, requesting anonymity, said that croaker/koddai is very much in demand, and used for preparing fish maws or dried air bladder. Maws is a Chinese word and used mostly for purification of wine and beer. Its swim bladder and meat is expensive, which is used to prepare soups and home decor.
“The bladder of the croaker fetches about US $1,000 in Hong Kong and South East Asia. The fish is also used for medicinal purposes. The price is higher than shark fins,” the expert added.