Schoolboy reels in giant snakehead fish
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ALOR SETAR: A 16-year-old schoolboy could not believe his luck when he landed an 8kg giant snakehead fish (ikan toman) in Sungai Padang Terap here.
Mohamad Aiman Mohamad Zin from SMK Tunku Abdul Malik was with a friend on a borrowed sampan when he landed the catch at about 6.30pm on Tuesday.
“All I used was an artificial bait. I felt a big tug and knew that I had caught something big but I never imagined that it could be a fish of this size.
“I had to use all my strength to land the fish into the canoe, and this took a good 15 minutes as the toman is known for being a fighter,” he said when met yesterday.
Mohamad Aiman showing off his 8kg toman fish which he caught at Sungai Padang Terap in Kampung Titi Baru, Alor Setar. Looking on is his father Mohamad Zin.
Mohamad Aiman said he also caught a toman fish in the river last year but it was only 5kg, adding that the fish was commonly found in lakes or upstream of rivers.
“My family has yet to decide what to do with the fish.
“We may sell it or even cook it for ourselves,” Mohamad Aiman said.
Snakeheads, native to Africa and Asia, is an invasive species and could cause ecological damage because they are top-level predators and have no natural enemies outside of its native environment.
