Fish trader booked for illegal possession, sale of critically endangered spinetail devil ray in Kolhapur

Kolhapur:A case was registered against a fish trader from Kolhapur under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, for illegally possessing and circulating a video of a spinetail devil ray fish, which comes under Schedule 1 and is included in the critically endangered ‘Red Data' list of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).The accused man posted a video on social media, saying that a rare fish had been caught and that the fish would be cut for customers at 1pm on Wednesday. He said those who wanted to consume the fish should arrive at the store to purchase it.Range forest officer Nandkumar Nalawade said, "Based on information received on Wednesday, action was taken against a fish trader from Apte Nagar-Phulewadi Ring road area in Kolhapur city. A dead spinetail devil ray, also known as mobula mobular, was found kept for sale in the shop. Accordingly, the fish was seized ,and a case has been registered against the accused, Sunil Satpute. Further investigation is ongoing".