Kanjirakode karimeen, with its rich and rare texture, is said to be the most delectable variety of pearl spot. Harvested from the Kanjirakode creek of Ashtamudi, it’s in a different league compared to the regular or farmed kinds.
But the fishers are now finding it hard to net a good catch as both the piscean population and size have collapsed over the years. “We used to get fairly large ones, not the palm-sized fish like this. It’s usually served as whole due to the solid size, but not anymore,” says Joykutty, fisher, pointing to his catch.
The story is no different for many inland fishers who depend on Ashtamudi and Vembanad for their livelihood, especially after Charru mussel, an invasive bivalve species, started colonising the creeks.
