A ‘Ghol’ Fish Auctioned For Over Rs 3 Lakh In Odisha’s Bhadrak

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Bhadrak: A rare fish with high medicinal value has been sold in auction for more than Rs 3 lakh in Odisha’s Bhadrak district.

According to sources, a fisherman had caught several fish from Dhamra river mouth on Friday. His catch included a Ghol fish, locally called ‘Telia’, weighing several kgs. He took it to Chandinipala fish auction centre of Chandbali. During auction, the fish was purchased at Rs 3.10 lakh by a pharmaceutical company of Mumbai.

The Ghol with scientific name ‘protonibea diacanthus’ is also known as black-spotted croaker. An exotic species, it is considered as one of the finest and most expensive varieties of marine fish. They are usually exported to Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Hong Kong and Japan.

“The Ghol fish has iodine, iron, taurine, magnesium, fluoride, to selenium. It is also known as the fish with a heart of gold. Exporters dry this fish and take out the swim bladder. Some swim bladders fetch as much as Rs 1 lakh per piece. Its skin is sometimes cooked or used to make cosmetic products and medicines. Its fins are used by pharmaceutical companies to manufacture soluble stitches and in wine purification,” a report of DownToEarth quoted Manas Ranjan Sahoo, additional fisheries officer (marine) in Paradip, as saying.

It may be noted that a fisherman from Paradip in Jagatsinghpur district had sold a Ghol fish for Rs 1.1 lakh to an exporter in 2019.