INDIANANGLER

Hi ,
Could anybody give me the english equivalent of some of the tamil names of fish.
I know a few of them - "Koduva" is Barramundi , "Surai" is Tuna, "Mavalasi" is King Mackerel, "Mayil Kola" is Sailfish and Parai is GT.
I was looking for the english equivalent of Kalluri and the tamil names for Mahi Mahi or Dolphinfish, Barracuda, Grouper, Jewfish, Cobia and Tarpon.
If there's more fish names you could add as well both freshwater and saltwater that would help a lot.
Could someone from Mumbai and Kerala help with local fish names and the english equivalent as well.
It's easier to choose tackle and bait or lures knowing what we're targeting and seeing the same fish are called different names in different parts of the country it's pretty confusing
Many thanks for any information in advance
Wingz

Hello,
Bobby, Jeen, Maruthu and Mani ....got a little tied up with work but the list will be up soon.
Could anyone help with these fish id , one's what we call the Kalluri locally and the other is I think a leatherskin trevally ( correct me if I'm wrong) and english names
Many thanks
Wingz

The first one is a dart and the next one is a bream

Here are some pics for your info.



Silver Promfret



black pomfret

Cannot see the pictures Santy...but William unless you are kidding those names are not correct.

I do not know what Dart is called locally, but Bream, both Black and Yellowfin are called Palu or Paloo in Bombay.

Hi Santy,

Thanks for posting the Pics. The sivler one nearly resembles but on close scrutiny seems both are of different types.


wills

Hi Guys,

The fish in the first pic is actually a Leatherskin Trevally and the second one is a Black Sea Bream as i confirmed subsequently . It isnt a Pomfret.

Many thanks Bobby, Maruthu ( Lure Fisherman) , Salmonmani, Jeen, William and Santhosh for coming up with inputs. Any involvement is great.
The list is growing slowly and I'm looking for more inputs from whoever would like to chip in ...C'mon guys ... it's "our" list...Here's what we have so far
• Anchovies - Nethili Meen, maththi or chaala
• Barracuda - Seela/Sheela Meen / Pilinjan
• Bream –Kallori ( Black Bream) or Mattuvayan ( White Bream) – ( Tamilnadu) Palu or Paloo ( Maharastra)
• Butter fish -- Viral
• Cat fish -- Kelluthi
• Cod – Panna
• Crab -- Nandu
• Cuttle fish - Kanawai
• Eels -Vilongu– ( Tamilnadu)
• Grouper -Kalavan – ( Tamilnadu)
• Halibut -- Potha
• Indian goat fish , Carp -Kendai-– ( Tamilnadu)
• Indian Mackerel -Kanagnkelluthi-– ( Tamilnadu)
• King fish,Seer fish - Vanjaram Meen -– ( Tamilnadu)
• Leather skin Trevally - Thera or Kadamparai
• Little Tunny -- Soorai
• lndian Halibut - Potha – ( Tamilnadu)
• Mackerel -- Kanangeluthi
• Malabar Trevally -- Paarai
• Mangrove Jack - Kalavayan – ( Tamilnadu)
• Marine cat fish - Kelluthi-– ( Tamilnadu)
• Mullet - Salaa / Madavai/ Kendai – ( Tamilnadu)
• Murrel / Snakeheads -Viral Meen – ( Tamilnadu)
• Pomfret -- Vavval ( Tamilnadu) Halwa ( Maharastra)
• Red Snapper -- Sankara
• Ribbon fish - Vaalai
• Sailfish – Mayil Kola– ( Tamilnadu)
• Sankara Meen - Red Snapper
• Sardines -- Mathi Meen
• Saw,Gar fish - Kola Meen - – ( Tamilnadu)
• Sea Bass / Barramundi –Koduvai– ( Tamilnadu)
• Shark --Sura Meen
• Shrimp - Iraal– ( Tamilnadu)
• Snapper – Kondal – ( Tamilnadu)
• Soorai-Little Tunny
• Spade fish - Seepu Thiratai- – ( Tamilnadu)
• Squid - Oosi kanawai
• Sura-Shark
• Thirukkai-Whip tail sting ray
• Threadfins – Rava , Bameen ( Maharastra)
• Tilapia -- Kari / Neyyi
• Tuna -Soorai – ( Tamilnadu)
• Wahoo – Ceylon Mavalasi – ( Tamilnadu)
• Whip tail sting ray – Thirukkai – ( Tamilnadu)
• White fish - Kilanga Meen - – ( Tamilnadu)
• Yellowfin Tuna - Kerai-– ( Tamilnadu)

Add on please and this list will grow ..... .

Hi Wingz,

You are doing a great job here. This list will be really helpful to everyone. May i suggest that you first use a Scientific Binomial, then the English name and then the local names. I think without a scientific name a whole load of confusion is going to spring up for various species. for example....

I think the fish that you call a Leatherskin trevally is a Snub Nose Pompano (Trachinotus blochii).


We might be talking about the same fish but using different English names? With the scientific binomial this won't happen and we can call it all the english names under the sun we, without getting confused Its a load of work but will give the list a lot more value in the end. I'll try and put some help in.

All the best, Scott

Hello Scott,
Yup, that makes sense . The scientific names are going to drive me nuts but I'll give it a try. Visual references are all I can rely on and pictures of the same fish look so different on different websites.
The fish in the pic is from what I could gather a Leatherskin Trevally , Leatherskin or double spotted queen fish (Scomberoides lysan) reference - http://www.mpeda.com/FisheryResources/C ... angids.htm

The African Pompano ( Trachinotus blochii )I think looks very similiar but I 'm not sure.
Will give it a go though and any inputs would be great.
Cheers
Wingz

Noticed you have got Mangrove Jack and Red Snapper, I do not think we get the Red Snapper Chrysophrys auratus in India (but I could be wrong), they are not really a tropical fish, a lot of us call a MJ Lutjanus argentimaulatus a Red Snapper. Another fish that is confused with the Mangrove Jack is the Red Bass Lutjaus bohar mostly caught in reefs and a fish that can be toxic to eat because of their high ciguatera content, if one wants to eat this one then go with the small ones only.

Anyway, so my point is which fish are you referring to when you say Mangrove Jack and which one are you referring to when you say Red Snapper?

Hello Bobby,
The Red Snapper is also called mangrove Jack and we are refering to Lutjanus argentimaculatus. Apparently they are caught in our waters. The other red snapper mentioned is the Lutjanus sanguineus commonly referred to here in Tamilnadu as Sankara or Thendal.
Unfortunately I'm having to use visual references with the local fishermen on if a species can be caught here and if it's fish they're familiar with or have caught. will try to make the most of these inputs but I doubt they'll be completely accurate.
Ahhhhh.... I just wish this was simpler or that i had a PhD in marine biology
Cheers
Wingz

Hi Wingz,

I'm afraid i will have to disagree and stick with the Snubnose or longfin pompano (Trachinotus blochii) which itself looks similar to the African pompano (Trachinotus africanus) particularly in the juvenile stages.

Both however are quite different from the Leatherskin Trevally better known as the Doublespotted Queenfish (Scomberoides lysan)

Have a look here http://www.geocities.com/fishspecies/sn ... mpano.html

As for red snappers..

The common one most sport fisherman commonly catch is Mangrove Jack (Lutjanus argentimaculatus)

Lutjanus gibbus or humpback snapper is also red and present in the waters.

Lutjanus sanguineus or Bloodsnapper is also red and present

Lutjanus sebae or emperor snapper is also red and present

And as Bobby says Lutjanus bohar or twinspot snapper is also red and present in the indian waters


Hope this helps mate. maybe we can start a list with decent photos of the fish in question to help everyone see what we are talking about?

all the best, Scott

Hello Scott,
I'm not arguing on this point but i had a word with my fisherman friends and showed them both pics on my phone. 9/ 10 said Kadamparai and Vawaal which are leatherskin and Pomfret. I am still confused. The Pomfrets in your link and Santhosh's pic does look very much like this fish minus the spots. Apparently the spots on this variety get larger and quite distinct as the fish matures and they say it's not the Vawaal or Pomfret. One couldnt make up his mind and said he doesnt know. If only one of them knew what the 'Kadamparai" is called in english.
Getting pictures and running it through the local fishermen and then finding the equivalent local names is the only way we can sort this out. Hopefully we'll get some answers.
This actually started when I got curious about the english names because i couldnt tell my friend who doesnt know the tamil fish names we were catching Kadamparai, Oodan, Kalluri, Mattivayan, Thukanavachi, Kilangan and so on
On the side it's funny how fish names go as you'll see from the names above and i sometimes wonder who came up with these names. The other day I hooked up a small salmon which the locals called Kaala and there are apparently five species in our waters here in Tamilnadu I happily said Rava and a couple of fisherman standing nearby all burst out laughing. They said "Thambi " caught rava and next he'll catch maida. It later interested them that Salmons are called Rava in Maharastra and one sympathetic old fisherman then said these are called Kaala locally and he told me about the different types we can catch around here.
Fishing is always interesting ....
Cheers
Wingz

Hey Wingz,

Yeahs its a tricky one! and i wish you lots of luck getting to the bottom of this! Lets ask everyone on the fotum to try and get clear photos of any fish they catch or see caught, ideally against a plain background. Then we can really start figuring things out! its definately a very interesting subject you are on and you are guaranteed to learn a lot in the coming months!

I'll be really interested to know what the different types of threadfin are. maybe you can also ask around if the Giant Guitarfish/sandshark is present and also the Sawfish. Both species should be about as i have heard people talk about the Sawfish in goa but unfortunately it is very suceptible to netting and numbers have plummeted in recent years.

All the best, Scott

Trachinotus blochii (Long Finned Pompano)




Trachinotus africanus (African Pompano)




Pampus argenteus (Silver or White Pomfret)




Pampus chinensis (Chinese Pomfret also called White Pomfret)




Scomberoides lysan (Double Spot Queenfish)




Scomberoides commersonnianus (Queenfish)




Lutjanus argentimaculatus (Mangrove Jack)




Lutjaus bohar (Red Bass)




Lutjanus sanguineus (Blood Snapper)




Lutjanus gibbus (Humpback Snapper or Paddletale Snapper)




Lutjanus sebae (Emperor Snapper)

Quote
“The Ravas or Threadfin Salmon is probably the most underrated fish as far as angling goes, arguably, it is the strongest fighting fish pound for pound. And they can put on a few pounds."

Bobby, I'll second that, one has to just experience a fight with a Rawas.!!
Syd.