Bombay-duck (Harpadon nehereus)

Scientific name: Harpadon nehereus Hamilton, 1822

Bombay-duck (Harpadon nehereus)

The Bombay-duck (Harpadon nehereus) is a brackish-water fish of the family Synodontidae. Native range: Indo-West Pacific, Somalia to Papua New Guinea, north to Japan and south to Indonesia.

Biology

Inhabit deep water offshore on sandy mud bottom for most of the year, but also gathers in large shoals in deltas of rivers to feed during monsoons. Spawn 6 batches of broods per year. An aggressive predator. Primarily caught along Maharashtra with the bag-net, better known as 'dol' net. Operation of this gear is timed to a strong tidal current. The bag with the mouth set against the current strains the fish which is being retained therein by the strength of the current. The net is thus retrieved before the tide turns. Very phosphorescent. Excellent food fish. Marketed fresh and dried or salted; consumed pan-fried.

Source: FishBase, licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.

Species facts

Scientific name
Harpadon nehereus
Family
Synodontidae (Lizardfishes)
Order
Aulopiformes (Grinners)
Class
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned fishes)
Maximum length
40.0
Common length
25.0
Depth range
50 m (164 ft)
Environment
Marine; brackish; benthopelagic; oceanodromous; depth range 50 - ? m
Climate
Tropical
Distribution
Indo-West Pacific: Somalia to Papua New Guinea, north to Japan and south to Indonesia.
Conservation status (IUCN)
Not Evaluated
Threat to humans
Harmless
Uses
Fisheries: highly commercial
Resilience
High, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months (K=0.5-0.7)

Sources

Taxonomy, distribution and biology data: FishBase (Froese, R. and D. Pauly, eds.), licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.

Last updated