You know how they say, “luck strikes” when something usually good happens to you? It was exactly that for Chandrakant Tare, a fisherman from Mumbai, who sold his fish for Rs 1.33 crore.
Amidst the monsoons and cyclones, Maharashtra had recently banned fishing. Although it must have been hard for them to survive, who knew the first day would be a fortune for these fishermen.
Chandrakant Tare, from Murbhe in Palghar, started sailing for fishing along with eight of his colleagues on the late evening of August 28. Little did they know that this sailing was going to change their life.
All eight of them were in the boat Harba Devi and went to Wadhwan, which is 20 to 25 nautical miles. Furthermore, they managed to catch 157 ghol fish, known as ‘sea gold’.
But, what makes it change their fortune? This ghol fish is rare to be found in the area. They have to venture deep into the sea to get such a good catch.
However, this ghol fish (Protonibea diacanthus) is high in medicinal and pharmaceutical use and is in huge demand in countries like Hong Kong, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore, and Japan.
The fins of the fish are used by pharmaceutical companies to make dissolvable stitches.
A fisherman told Hindustan Times “It is also used for wine purification in Singapore.”
Later, when the auction was held in Murbe, Palghar. The whole consignment was bought by traders from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar for Rs 1.33 crore.
Chandrakant Tare said, “Treading cautiously, the catch would help him tide over his financial woes”.
It is not the first time we have found sea gold in India.