The highly priced grouper fish (bonthu chepa in Telugu), once abundantly available along the middle east coast of the country, is in deep trouble as its numbers are dwindling at an alarming rate.
The high calorie marine food, which is much in demand internationally, is on the brink of extinction due to indiscriminate fishing. It is a preferred species in the South-East Asia and is priced higher than any other species especially in the aquarium trade. The survival of this marine fish is at stake because of its utility as a delicacy, an ornamental fish, a curio and a medicine.
A research scholar at Andhra University, KVL Shrikanya Rao, has conducted a regional study under the supervision of his guide K. Sujatha to understand the behaviour, ecology, biology, spatial and seasonal distribution, migration of fish for better management of groupers.
“Groupers are particularly vulnerable to over-fishing due to their life history characteristics and behaviour. Many species of grouper mature at a relatively large size. According to reproductive biology, the dominant sexual strategy of groupers appears to be protogyny whereby individuals mature first as females and then change sex to male at some stage during their life,” Shrikanya Rao said.
Visakhapatnam coast that falls along the middle east coast of India is known for its rocky habitats and their associated fish species has been the base of traditional fishing for a long time. As many as 500 fishing boats are operated from the Vizag fishing harbour and about 4,000 persons are involved in fishing. India is now reverting to catching fish in the place of shrimp due to the decline in the catch.