{"id":103350,"date":"2025-06-09T22:15:29","date_gmt":"2025-06-09T16:45:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.goakhabar.com\/?p=103350"},"modified":"2025-06-09T22:15:29","modified_gmt":"2025-06-09T16:45:29","slug":"goans-should-expand-their-fish-palate-beyond-the-snapper-chonak-kingfish-says-marine-conservationist-aaron-lobo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.goakhabar.com\/?p=103350","title":{"rendered":"Goans should expand their fish palate beyond the Snapper, Chonak, Kingfish, says Marine Conservationist Aaron Lobo"},"content":{"rendered":"

Goa Khabar : Much of the fish produce marketed as \u2018fresh\u2019 in Goa today is neither fresh, local, nor wild, according to marine conservationist, Dr Aaron Savio Lobo, who at a recent MOG Sundays talk at the Museum of Goa in Pilerne, also urged Goans to look beyond the ubiquitous snapper, chonak and kingfish varieties to enhance nutrition in their staple thali.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

In his talk, titled \u2018It’s Raining Fish – Hallelujah!\u2019 Lobo also said that overfishing in the seas off Goa was reducing the \u2018catch-per-effort\u2019 ratio\u00a0 in the state, calling for a cap on the number of fishing vessels going out to sea. \u201cThe catch-per-effort is declining. We don\u2019t understand how much fish is in the sea. The issue is too many boats chasing too few fish, which need to be regulated by limiting the number of vessels going out to sea.\u201d<\/p>\n

During the monsoon fishing ban, the Margao Wholesale Fish Market continues to offer seafood varieties like\u00a0saundale\u00a0(false trevally) and\u00a0isvan\u00a0(kingfish). Lobo revealed that many of these, including popular options like\u00a0chonak, are farmed in other states and brought into Goa.<\/p>\n

The marine conservationist said that there had been an erosion of fish diversity in Goa\u2019s local diet due to class perceptions, tourism demands and market homogeneity. Bland, mass-produced varieties are replacing many nutritious species. \u201cSome may look odd, but are perfectly delicious, diverse, and healthy, like the\u00a0tambde balle\u00a0or the red eel. It makes for a very delicious\u00a0ambotik\u00a0curry,\u201d says Lobo. \u201cLocals should go beyond the usual\u00a0snapper, chonak and kingfish.\u201d<\/p>\n

India is now the third largest seafood producer globally, yet it ranks only sixth in wild capture fisheries, Lobo said, adding, that while aquaculture has seen a gain in momentum, wild fish remain nutritionally superior, rich in essential micronutrients like selenium, calcium and omega-3s, nutrients, that are often deficient in farmed fish.<\/p>\n

Lobo also highlighted the rich productivity of coastal ecosystems during the monsoons, like estuaries that are fed by nutrient-rich plumes, creating a spawning ground for diverse marine life. Mudflats and mangroves are important for fish to breed and grow, he said, adding that areas like the Chapora river mouth are vital nurseries. Traditionally, Goans relied on dried fish and\u00a0kanji\u00a0to satisfy their fish cravings during the monsoon fishing ban; today, however, markets remain flooded with fish, often imported or farmed, like\u00a0pangasius,\u00a0roopchand\u00a0and the\u00a0Norwegian Atlantic Salmon, species far removed from Goa\u2019s ecology, he said.<\/p>\n

Dr Lobo also touched on the importance of seafood literacy and gave pointers to identifying fresh fish in the marketplace. \u201cIf something smells fishy, it probably is,\u201d Lobo said, adding that while many rely on the gill colour and eye clarity to judge freshness, smell is the most reliable indicator.<\/p>\n

He encouraged parents to teach their children to reconnect with fish ecologies by taking them fishing. \u201cThat’s what I do with my son almost every weekend. We go out first thing in the morning. I’ll take them around, get them to hack a fish. You need to be able to catch, kill and smell a fresh fish, and know the difference between a \u2018fishy\u2019 fish and a fresh fish,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Goa Khabar : Much of the fish produce marketed as \u2018fresh\u2019 in Goa today is neither fresh, local, nor wild, according to marine conservationist, Dr Aaron Savio Lobo, who at a recent MOG Sundays talk at the Museum of Goa in Pilerne, also urged Goans to look beyond the ubiquitous snapper, chonak and kingfish varieties […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25169,"featured_media":103351,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[155,6],"tags":[3794],"class_list":["post-103350","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-155","category-6","tag-featured"],"read":true,"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goakhabar.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103350","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goakhabar.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goakhabar.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goakhabar.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/25169"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goakhabar.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=103350"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.goakhabar.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103350\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":103352,"href":"https:\/\/www.goakhabar.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103350\/revisions\/103352"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goakhabar.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/103351"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goakhabar.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=103350"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goakhabar.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=103350"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goakhabar.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=103350"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}