For over two decades, the African catfish, locally known as ‘mangur’, has been banned in India. But it would be hard to tell by the ease with which it can be found. It’s cultivated because it grows fast and needs little effort, and it’s bought because it’s inexpensive. The illegal catfish business is thriving, the latest instance of which yielded 14 quintals in Bulandshahr on Friday. This year alone, about 10 such fish farms have been identified in the state. “We received information that this fish was being farmed and fed carcass and meat. We have seized the school and buried it,” Bulandshahr fishery development officer Neetu Singh said. “The farm belongs to someone called Iqram Ahmad.” In June 2000, the department of animal husbandry and fisheries under the Union ministry of agriculture had banned the rearing of African catfish, or Thai mangur, in the country, formalised under the Biological Diversity Act, 2002. In numerous orders to states, over the years, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has reiterated the need to implement this ban. “It highly tolerates adverse water quality conditions and can be raised in high densities resulting in high yields in a short period of time compared to Indian Catfish and other indigenous species,” it said in a 2016 order. “It is the most dangerous freshwater fish, introduced in the country in the ‘90s. It’s predatory.
Even a pair in a large pond can destroy every living organism in the pond within no time. It can make local species go extinct,” Dr DV Singh, officer in charge of fisheries and professor of entomology at Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel Agriculture University said. “It is also known to have high iron and lead content, which makes it carcinogenic.” The NGT, in its orders, has also flagged the water pollution it causes because of the “decomposed wastes” of cattle it is fed. Yet, the practice continues. “This year alone, we have seized about 10 such consignments,” said Anil Kumar, deputy director of the state department of fisheries. Three of these were in Varanasi (one of which was a 15-tonne consignment), two were in Lucknow and two in Meerut (one of which led to a 10-quintal stash), among others. “It’s a menace. The main reasons it thrives are that the fish can survive on anything, including cheap slaughterhouse waste, and it grows at an amazing rate. It sells cheap and the farms require little maintenance,” Kumar added. An African catfish can grow up to 3-4kg in four months. Even the fast-growing carp takes about 10 months to attain a weight of 5kg. And the African catfish sells for about Rs 80-90 a kg. “People consume it because of its low cost,” said Singh.
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