Visakhapatnam: The carcass of a Moray eel fish has created a stir in the vicinity of Visakhapatnam's Sagar Nagar beach on Tuesday. People were frightened by this huge fish that was in the shape of a snake.
The carcass was found in the vicinity of Gudlavanipalem Ammavaru temple where fishermen live. As per the forest department, fishermen caught this fish in their net. Since it did not have a commercial value, they left it on the shore and it died there.
Sometimes they fry such fish and eat but if they catch more than one fish, they may take one and leave the other on the shore, and the fish perishes. When locals saw the snake-like fish lying dead on the shore, they informed the fisheries officials. They reached the spot and identified it as one from a family of eel fish.
According to the joint director of fisheries in Visakhapatnam, Shek Kal Muhammad, snakes exist very deep in the sea. Snakes in the sea are 3 to 4 feet long. Sea snakes are very poisonous and they won't come to shore.
He told Deccan Chronicle, “We initially felt that the creature is an Eel fish that lives in the shallow waters of the ocean and burrows into sand, mud, or among rocks. Most eel species are nocturnal and are rarely seen.”
Fisheries officials informed the district forest department that they identified this huge fish as Moray eel fish. According to the founder of East Coast Conservation and Marine Biologists Association, Sri Chakra Pranav, “Moray eels, or Muraenidae are a family of eels that are found worldwide. There are approximately 200 species and are almost exclusively marine, but several species are regularly seen in brackish water and a few in freshwater.”
There, he said, is a need to create awareness among fishermen about such catches. “Instead of leaving the unwanted fish on sea shore, they should leave them in the sea waters so that they survive and it will be good for ecology.”
