Arrival of weird fishes
Saturday, 1 September 2007
A local TV channel showed in its evening news last Tuesday that a variety of South American fish, which eats, among others, the human flesh and for the obvious reason attacks an individual found close by in water, has arrived for culture in our country. It is being raised and sold in plenty in our markets, falsely naming it by traders as the Thai rupchanda, a glamourous sea fish, which is widely looked for by local consumers for its splendid taste.
A TV reporter talked with the director general of the fisheries department on the local culture of the weird fish. The conversation was covered in the news bulletin. He stated that his department had issued a circular to warn the people about the adverse effects of raising the fish. While speaking, he was in fact stammering.
Perhaps, he fumbled as he talked knowing fully well that the department under his leadership should have done more to effectively wipe out the invader fish from our waters. It could have worked to have a law framed to have the culture of the fish banned and to make its raising and sale a major punishable offence.
Previously, some fish cultivators brought in and hosted the terrorising giant African catfishes in our waters.
These are also another aquatic version of the ferocious tigers. These invader fishes have threatened the local marine resources and the ecology.
We seem to have a fisheries department, which is yet to arrive in the twenty-first century when knowledge on varied subjects of public interest is on wide circulation. A lady research scientist of the department, who also spoke for the audience in the news bulletin, impressed us that she was awake to the problem. We expect the government to be active about it.
Anwarul Azim
Central Road
Dhaka
A TV reporter talked with the director general of the fisheries department on the local culture of the weird fish. The conversation was covered in the news bulletin. He stated that his department had issued a circular to warn the people about the adverse effects of raising the fish. While speaking, he was in fact stammering.
Perhaps, he fumbled as he talked knowing fully well that the department under his leadership should have done more to effectively wipe out the invader fish from our waters. It could have worked to have a law framed to have the culture of the fish banned and to make its raising and sale a major punishable offence.
Previously, some fish cultivators brought in and hosted the terrorising giant African catfishes in our waters.
These are also another aquatic version of the ferocious tigers. These invader fishes have threatened the local marine resources and the ecology.
We seem to have a fisheries department, which is yet to arrive in the twenty-first century when knowledge on varied subjects of public interest is on wide circulation. A lady research scientist of the department, who also spoke for the audience in the news bulletin, impressed us that she was awake to the problem. We expect the government to be active about it.
Anwarul Azim
Central Road
Dhaka