800 kg ray caught off the shore of Digha: Report

It was later sold to a trading firm from Ranighat, West Bengal

A huge fish was caught by a group of fishermen off the coast of Digha near the shared Odisha-West Bengal border on Monday morning, many news outlets reported.

The fish is most likely a Stingray and was caught by fishermen from Jaleswar, Balasore. The local fishermen call it a ‘Hatikania’ as it resembles the flapping ears of an elephant, Orissa Post said.

Pinaki Ranjan Kar, the Director of West Bengal United Fishermen Association, said that the fish weighed around 800 kg and was caught some 8 km off the Udaypur beach which is near Digha. The fish was 8 feet long and 5 feet wide. “Though the fishermen in Digha have earlier caught such fish, this was the heaviest,” he told Hindustan Times.

The Ray was later bought at Rs 50,000 by a trading firm from Ranighat, West Bengal.

Director of Fisheries(marine) in Bhadrak, Chitta Ranjan Sahu said that he is still verifying the authenticity of the video. “Our people are trying to speak to the fishermen who caught the fish,” Sahu told HT.

Locals and tourists alike gathered around to take a look at the huge fish. Videos of it have been widely circulated on social media.