For Sajid Haji Ababakar, an ordinary fisherman from Pakistan’s port city of Gwadar, the last Sunday was perhaps the luckiest day of his life. A fish, he caught last week, fetched him a whopping $46,500. 

The fish, weighing around 48 kg, wasn’t an ordinary fish. It was the prized croaker fish which is also used in medicine and surgeries. Sajid’s boat was skippered by Waheed Baloch when he got the hold of the fish.  

“The demand for the large croaker fish is very high in Europe and China,” Abul Rahim Baloch, a marine biologist and the assistant director for environment at the Gwadar Development Authority, was quoted as saying by Dawn. 

He said, “Some fish are expensive because of their meat. But this species (large croaker fish) has a high demand because parts of it are known for their use in medicine and surgery,”

At the time of auction on Sunday, Sajid informed the price of the fish had gone up to $55,000. “However, after taking into account the discounts allowed under our traditions, we settled for a price of 72 lakhs,” he added. 

Ahmed Nadeem, who is a deputy director for fisheries in Gwadar, said he had never come across a fish that had fetched a greater price. A few years ago, the report claimed, a person named Abdul Haq had also caught a croaker fish. However, he settled for a modest price of around $5000.

(SAM)