Many people were drawn to the big catch, and residents congregated in the port area to see the massive fish. A fisherman went deep sea fishing off the Malpe port in Mangaluru on Wednesday and grabbed two enormous manta rays weighing 750 kg and 250 kg. Subhash Sailan, the fisherman, had boarded his boat Nagasiddhi on Tuesday. After he returned to shore, a crane was brought in to load them into a pick-up truck. Many people were drawn to the big catch, and residents congregated in the port area to see the massive fish. Images and recordings of the incident went viral on social media and in private chat groups.
Yathish Baikampady, previous President of the Fishermen’s Association in coastal Karnataka, said TNM, “This enormous catch is neither too usual nor too exceptional.” The size varies, but they are captured on a regular basis. This occurred in Malpe, not in a secluded place where it would not have been recorded. However, because of the enormous throng in Malpe and social media, it has gone viral. The fish will be exported and is expected to command a high price. This is also the first major haul in Malpe since deep sea fishing began following the shutdown.
The gigantic manta ray is endangered, according to NOAA Fisheries, a United States government organization responsible for the protection of national marine resources. “With a wingspan of up to 29 feet, the huge manta ray is the world’s biggest ray.” They are filter feeders that consume vast amounts of zooplankton. Giant manta rays are slow-growing, migratory creatures with small, highly fragmented populations that are dispersed globally.
The major danger to the giant manta ray is commercial fishing, with the species being both targeted and taken as bycatch in a variety of global fisheries across its range, according to NOAA. In May of this year, a deep sea fishing boat grabbed a 1200 kg stingray after spending 10 days in the sea off the same Malpe port. Seafood experts regard stingrays to be a delicacy. The fish is marketed for roughly Rs 400 per kilogram in Bengaluru.
Stingrays belong to the shark family and are cartilaginous fish, which means they lack truebones. While there are 220 recognized species of stingrays, several are on the danger of extinction owing to unregulated deep sea fishing, with the International Union for Conservation of Nature classifying 45 of them as vulnerable.
