(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-03-03 16:14

BEIJING - A fisherman in China's Zhejiang province has netted a fish that, according to local tradition, may sell for over 1 million yuan (US$140,000).

A fisherman unveils the gill of the Chinese bahaba caught on March 1, 2008. [rednet.com.cn]

Li Shaoshuang, from Cangnan county of the coastal province, caught it in his Saturday's first cast while working offshore nearby the Xiangshan harbor.

"It is dark brown all over, 1.2-meter long and 15-kg in weight," said the veteran fisherman Li who has already frozen the fish. "It's my first time to see this kind of fish."

A fellow 60-year-old fisherman who came with others to Li to get a glance of the fish told him in great surprise that it is Bahaba flavolabiata (Chinese bahaba) which have disappeared from the site for at least 50 years.

Due to its extreme scarcity, the air bladder of Chinese bahaba is said to be as expensive as gold in weight. More than a decade ago, another fisherman of the same county caught a Chinese bahaba of less than 3.5 kg but fetched for more than 100,000. Therefore, fishermen on the scene urged Li to ask for at least 1 million for his.

To make sure it is a sky-high pricing Chinese bababa, the fishermen sent for an aquatic research institution expert the next day, who uttered the appearance should tell it's a Chinese bahaba no doubt, but, still, a dissection is needed to make sure it is not another species similar to Chinese bahaba.

Li declined the expert's suggestion in fear that it would ruin the fish and lower the selling price. He also turned down a fish vendor's offer of 500,000 for this queer fish, making it clear he would not let it go for less than 1 million.

In April 2007, a fisherman in Zhanjiang City, Guangdong province, netted a 49-kg Chinese bahaba and sold to a restaurant for 580,000 yuan. The restaurant cooked the fish meat but has kept the dried maw since, tagging it at 2 million yuan with words "not for sale."

   1 2   

   1 2