Gofran Palace, Kalapara (Patuakhali)

A rare species of marine fish 'Lynd Surgeonfish' has been caught in a fishing net in the Bay of Bengal adjacent to Kuakata in Patuakhali. This attractive fish with parallel stripes of yellow, blue and black is also known locally as 'Sundari Maas'.

The fish was brought to the 'Sifat Fish' shop at the Alipore Fisheries Landing Center at around 11 am on Sunday.

Earlier, this colorful fish weighing about half a kilogram was caught in the net of a fishing trawler named 'Mayer Doa' in the deep sea around midnight on Saturday.

Trawler's skipper Md. Selim said, "While fishing in the deep sea, it was suddenly caught in the net with other fish. I have never seen such a fish before. Since it looked beautiful, I took it separately and carefully brought it to the shore."

Local resident Md. Mainul and fisherman Md. Hossain said that even though they have been watching fish in the sea for a long time, such a strange and beautiful fish is not often seen. They came to see it out of curiosity after receiving the news.

According to fisheries experts, the scientific name of the 'Lined Surgeonfish' is Acanthurus lineatus. Internationally, it is also known as the 'Blue-banded Surgeonfish', 'Zebra Surgeonfish' and 'Striped Surgeonfish'. They usually live in coral reefs and rocky areas of the warm seas of the Indo-Pacific region. This type of fish mainly survives by eating seaweed and works to maintain the balance of the marine ecosystem. They have a very sharp spine at the base of their tail, with which they defend themselves from enemies.

Kalapara Upazila Senior Fisheries Officer Apu Saha said, "Although this fish is not commonly caught on our coast, it is found in the warm environment of the Bay of Bengal. However, fishermen should be careful while catching it due to the sharp spines on the fish's tail."