Goa’s fish knocks on Bengal’s doors!

PANAJI - West Bengal could soon begin to relish the same fish delicacies which Goa prides in.

According to marine scientists in Goa, sardines and mackerels - popularly eaten fish in this part of the country, are slowly migrating from the western coast off Goa in the Arabian sea to the Bay of Bengal, in the seas off West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh.

According to Baban Ingole, a top marine scientist at the National Institute of Oceanography (NIO), a marine research organisation, rampant poaching of bigger predator fish like king fish and sharks could have led to the flight of fish conventionally found off Goa’s coast.

“In absence of predators, these fish varieties get a space to venture into lower level,” Ingole told reporters on the sidelines of a Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) workshop held in Goa.

“Sardines and mackerels are normally found in the south Indian seas, but they are increasingly being fished in the Bay of Bengal. This is something new as this fish variety was restricted only to Goa, Karnataka and Kerala,” said Ingole, adding that the central marine fisheries institute was carrying out extensive studies on the phenomenon.

“Sardines and mackerels are pelagic fish and usually found in the top level of water. They feed on planktons. But when there are no predators around they slip into the lower oceanic levels and travel distances,” the scientist said.

“The fishing community has noticed the sudden shift of these varieties which could also occur due to climate change or changes in the water resulting in the oxygen minimum columns,” he said.

Fish curry and rise is staple fare at lunch and dinner in Goan homes, with mackerel (bangdo) and sardines (tarle) considered one of the most commonly consumed fish varieties in the state.