MANGALURU: Hundreds of people visited the fish carnival at K Shivaram Karanth Pilikula Nisargadhama on Sunday. Fingerlings were released into the park lake, and those released the previous year were caught this year for sale.
Two-tonne fresh water fish —Rohu, Katla, Common carp, Mrugal, Grass Carp, Thilapia and Pungasius — were trapped in the lake using gillnet over two days, specifically for the Matsyotsava.“While the previous year registered a 600-kg catch, this year it is more than triple that number,” said Prasanna V, executive director of Nisargadhama, who owed the bumper catch to the Rs 50,000 investment on food given to the fish round the year. The sales are expected to fetch Nisargadhama `2.5 lakh.
About 50,000 fingerlings of Rahu, Katla, Common carp and Mrugal, procured from Shivamogga, were let out at various spots in the lake by Moodbidri MLA Umanath Kotian, Deputy Director of Fisheries Mahesh, Pilikula Executive Director Prasanna and others from the department.
Several locals enthusiastically partook in the festival despite finding it difficult to tell one fish from the other, as most of the fish cultivated are indigenous to the Ganges water. Several also carried home fingerlings to grow in their wells or public lakes. “These fish keep the water clean,” said Yathish Baikampady, CEO Panambur beach development authority.