Farahnaz N Solomon,
Fisheries Biologist,
Institute of Marine Affairs
People driving into Chaguaramas between December 2020 and January 2021 would have been greeted with the sight of numerous fishing vessels operating close to shore in the vicinity of Alcoa and William’s Bay. Inquiries by any curious onlooker would have revealed that they were fishing for “cutlassfish” in the late evenings, nights and early mornings. I was intrigued by this activity having never seen so many vessels operating in that area. On one occasion, I counted as many as 80 pirogues.
Since then, I have fielded numerous questions from both colleagues and the public about the particulars of this fishery and the role of the Institute of Marine Affairs (IMA) in managing these resources. There have also been numerous discussions on several social media sites on its sustainability and the need for regulations. In this article, I attempt to address some of these questions and issues.
Globally, the term cutlassfish collectively refers to fishes belonging to the Trichiuridae family; there are about 45 types, all of which are long, slender and flattened side to side like a ribbon. The absence of pelvic fins and a tail fin, coupled with a dorsal fin that extends almost the entire length of the body, gives it an “eel-like” appearance. Other common names for cutlassfish are beltfish, ribbonfish, knifefish and silver eel. Our cutlassfish is one species – Trichiurus lepturus, known internationally as the largehead hairtail.
Cutlassfish is widely distributed in both temperate and tropical seas in the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific oceans; here in the western Atlantic they occur from Virginia, USA to northern Argentina, in both shallow and deep waters. Their long, pointed “fang-like teeth” reflect their carnivorous feeding habits, mainly on fish, crustaceans and molluscs. Some studies have found that fishes such as sardines and anchovies– which we use as bait fish – are a large part of their diet.
Traditionally, there has been no local fishery targeting cutlassfish. Instead, cutlassfish has been caught as bycatch by a number of gears including trawl, gillnet and hook and line. Catches were either discarded or large ones taken to the market or retained for home consumption. Vendors would tell you that it is mostly the Chinese community that would purchase this fish at the market. This is not surprising as throughout China it is the most popular fish on the table. Known as “daiyu,” it is deep-fried, sautéed, braised, grilled or red cooked. It is also popular in other parts of Asia such as Korea and Japan, where it is served raw as sashimi.
In keeping with its culinary popularity, commercial fisheries for Trichiurus lepturus, throughout its range, occurs in countries such as China, India, Pakistan, Oman and Cote d’Ivoire where they are caught using a variety of gears. Globally, its. marine capture production averaged 1,326,000 tonnes live weight during the period 2004 to 2013. In 2018, annual capture
