'Abnormal' Nepal Fish Caught In Bihar Triggers Health Alert As People Flaunt Huge Catches

Patna: Bihar has sounded an alert over the consumption of fish arriving in the Gandak river with floodwaters from Nepal after several people fell ill from eating them.

Tonnes of huge fish, rarely seen otherwise, have been flowing into the Gandak over the past few days since the catastrophic floods in Nepal. People in West Champaran, East Champaran, Gopalganj, Siwan, and Saran districts are rushing to catch and consume them, with many sharing photos of them carrying the huge catches.

"We have issued an advisory in public interest, against the consumption of unknown or abnormal kind of fish that have come with the floodwaters from Nepal into the Gandak river. We did so as some people fell ill after consuming them," Bihar fisheries director Tushar Singla told ETV Bharat.

Big-size fish that have arrived in the Gandak river in Bihar after the devastating Nepal floods (ETV Bharat)

The advisory has asked the people to be cautious about eating fish they do not recognise or that look abnormal.

"Fish from a large number of ponds, rivers, lakes and reservoirs come out doing floods and spread far with floodwaters. They become polluted with bacteria, virus, fungi and other things after remaining in contact with dirty water, dead animals, human corpses. Their consumption is harmful for health," the advisory issued by the Bihar dairy, fisheries and animal resources department said.

It also advised the people to desist from eating fish caught from floodwaters till the situation normalises and the disease and pollution spreading factors subside.

The government also appealed to the people not to buy or sell such unidentified or lesser known varieties of fish that have been caught or recovered from the floodwaters as they could cause vomiting, diarrhoea, stomach ache, dizziness, and breathing trouble.

Big-size fish that have arrived in the Gandak river in Bihar after the devastating Nepal floods (ETV Bharat)

It also asked the people to inform the concerned district fisheries officer or local administration upon noticing such fish in their areas.

"The fish that are being found in the Gandak are not seen under normal circumstances. They seem to have become polluted due to their habitat, contact or food habits. Their consumption could cause serious illness. The advisory is to deter people from eating them,” fisheries deputy director Mohammad Rashid Farooqui told ETV Bharat.

Farooqui added that the department was in the process of identifying the fish that have flown in. One of the species that he could readily identify was Rita rita, which is a species of bagrid catfish found across South Asia, including India, Nepal, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan.

"The fish coming down from Nepal in the Gandak river are all dead. Many of them are huge ones, weighing up to one to two quintals. It is not clear in what condition they are coming and how or why they died, but people are competing to catch and sell or eat them out of greed," fisheries deputy director (Tirhut range) Umesh Kumar Ranjan told ETV Bharat.

Big-size fish that have arrived in the Gandak river in Bihar after the devastating Nepal floods (ETV Bharat)

Umesh pointed out that the many of the dead fish flowing down in the Gandak are of the ‘Tengra’ (Mystus tengara or bagrid catfish) species and could have come out following the collapse of dams or reservoirs in Nepal.

Gopalganj district fisheries officer Avilamb Narayan Mishra also saw large fish in the Gandak and people rushing to take them out of water.

"All these fish are various types of catfish. All of them have barbels or whiskers. We noticed Bagarius bagarius species (giant devil catfish), which can grow up to six or seven feet, among them. Catfish have the tendency and capability of staying close to the river bed or lake bed, and also clinging to the rocks, hence are not easily caught. They must have been in lakes, reservoirs, or rivers, unnoticed and untapped, and grew up to such big sizes, only to be thrown out in the devastating floods," Avilamb said.

Catfish are any of the fishes of the order of Siluriformes. The name catfish refers to the long barbels, or feelers, which are present near the mouth of the fish and resemble cat whiskers. None of the catfishes have scales and many of them could cause painful injuries to unsuspecting people.

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