Giant 75 Kg ‘Telia Bhola’ Fish Caught in Sunderbans River, Sold For Over Rs 36 Lakh
Balasore: A team of 5 fishermen were left awestruck after they caught a gigantic ‘Telia Bhola’ fish measuring about 7 feet in length, and weighing 78.4 kilos in the rivers of the Sunderbans, in 24 Parganas of West Bengal. The fishermen used their combined strength to pull up the massive fish caught in their net. Notably, the fish is taller than the normal height of a human! After the fish was caught, locals of the area gathered in the area to witness the huge rare catch.
The giant fish was later brought to the Canning market for auction on Saturday evening. It is for the first time, such a huge fish was brought to the the market for auction, a fisherman said. The fish was auctioned for a whopping Rs 36, 53,605 and a Kolkata-based fish trading company called KMP bought it, News 18 reported.
“We had never seen such a giant fish in this market. The fish was sold at the rate of Rs.47,880 per kilo in the auction,” Prabhat Mondal, a fish trader in Canning told The Telegraph.
Why is the fish so expensive?
According to the fishermen, the giant fish, colloquially known as ‘Telia Bhola’, has immense medicinal value. It is said that the fish has some valuable resources in its stomach, which is what makes it so expensive. The blubber of this fish has huge demand in the overseas markets and is exported for use in the manufacture of medicines.
Recently, a fisherman in Maharashtra’s Palghar went on to become a millionaire after catching 157 Ghol fishes worth Rs 1.33 crore. Majorly found in the Indo-Pacific region, Ghol fish is one of the most expensive marine fish in the world. The fish is prized in east Asia for its medicinal properties. From iodine, omega-3, DHA, EPA, iron, taurine, magnesium, fluoride, to selenium, it is loaded with rich nutrients.