PANAJI: Fishing activity in a fresh water pond at Cuelim, Cansaulim, on Sunday yielded a large catch of Janitor fish, even as scientists raised a suspicion about an invasion of local water bodies by this ornamental variety, kept domestically in aquariums.
A sizeable yield last month in a nearby pond comprised this dangerous carnivore - Pterygoplichthys or more popularly known as sucker fish. The locals are still baffled after finding this South American native about three to four years back and have not been able to find out who released the fish in ponds.
“We had a good catch with a variety of fish - though local species such as pitoll and keri were absent - but sagor, as it is locally called - was a substantial part of the haul,” Honorato Saldanha, a villager said
Goa’s water bodies are known to be already invaded by African catfish and Mozambique tilapia. While the population of local species of catfish and other fresh water species has decreased, the African native is another voracious carnivore that consumes smaller fish.
Tilapia, though not a carnivore, but hardy like other invasive species is known to breed quickly and reduces the food for other local fish.
The harvesting in Kanttea Tollem on Sunday was only a first round of fishing, as locals will wait for the water to dry up further. The fishermen will wait till May to cast their nets in another bigger water body, Pale lake, which may have a larger population of sucker fish.
“The size of the sucker fish in Kanttea Tollem was even bigger than in the other pond,” Neville Saldanha, another villager said.
Fisheries scientists of Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) have collected samples of the sucker fish and are studying the dynamics of its entry in local ponds. The scientists were alerted after an animal rescuer, Johnson Stephen, posted photos on social media of the discarded sucker fish, which locals had dumped.
The sucker fish has also created havoc in parts of Kerala. “It seems it was also found in some ponds of Baramati, Maharashtra. This raises a concern about the competition provided by invasive species to local commercially and ecologically important species. Therefore, a focussed study is the need of the hour to control the spread of this unwanted and dangerous species,” Baban Ingole, a well-known fisheries scientist, said.