Rare 'Titan Triggerfish' caught in fishermen's nets in Bay of Bengal

Rare Titan Triggerfish caught in fishermens nets in Bay of Bengal

Patuakhali: A rare species of marine fish 'Titan Triggerfish' has been caught in fishermen's nets in the Bay of Bengal adjacent to Kuakata in Patuakhali. It is also known as 'leather fish' or 'pig fish' in the coastal areas due to its extremely hard and rough skin.

This exceptionally strange fish weighing about 800 grams was brought to the Moon Traders fish shop of Mahipur Fisheries Port on Saturday (August 29) afternoon. At this time, a huge crowd of locals was seen gathering with curiosity and eagerness.

It is known that this strange fish was caught in the deep sea along with Hilsa and Poya fish in a fishing trawler named 'FB Mayer Doa'. Later, the fish was brought to Mahipur Fisheries Port. The fish has been preserved in ice at the store as it is not certain whether it is edible or not.

Trawler's skipper Shahidul Islam said, "Its skin is very hard and its structure is completely different and beautiful than other fish. I have never seen such a fish before and brought it to the shore without throwing it away. This is the first time such a fish has been caught in my net."

Moon Traders Fish Store Manager Md. Miraj said, "This type of fish has never come to our store before. Its structure and skin are completely different from ordinary fish. It has been preserved in ice for now as it is not certain whether it is edible or not."

According to fisheries experts, the scientific name of this rare titan triggerfish is Balistoides viridescens. The fish has a strong spine on its back, which can lock it in place in times of danger; this special feature is why it is called 'triggerfish'. In addition, it has very strong jaws and large sharp teeth to break and eat animals with hard shells on the seabed.

Md. Bakhtiar Rahman, Research Assistant of the ‘Healthy Sea’ project implemented with the funding of the Blue Action Fund, said, ‘During breeding, this species becomes quite aggressive to protect its territory and eggs. Although it is eaten in some parts of the world, special awareness and caution are required when eating this fish due to the risk of Ciguatera poisoning.’

Dr. Rajib Sarkar, Chairman of the Fisheries Biology and Genetics Department of Patuakhali University of Science and Technology, said, ‘Titan triggerfish is an important species of marine biodiversity. Its presence in the Bay of Bengal indicates the richness of our coastal biodiversity. If information regarding the fish’s samples, weight and location can be preserved, detailed research on its distribution will be possible in the future.’

Kalapara Upazila Senior Fisheries Officer Apu Saha said, ‘Several exceptional marine fish have been caught in Mahipur Fisheries Port this year, Titan triggerfish is one example of that. When such fish are caught, it is very important to preserve information about the image, weight and exact location of the catch, which facilitates the collection of overall information on marine fisheries and biodiversity.

Notably, in the recent incident of rare species of marine fish being caught in the nets of fishermen in the Bay of Bengal, researchers believe that this is opening new horizons of the rich marine biodiversity existing in Bangladeshi waters. - Gofran Palash