BY MA. THERESA LADIAO
ILOILO – A fisherman was killed by a needlefish, locally known as tambilawan, while fishing off shore of Tigbauan town on Wednesday, April 24.
The 59-year-old Rudy Tinasas, a resident of the town’s Barangay Parara Norte, was declared “dead on arrival” at the hospital.
Tigbauan police said Tinasas was onboard a fishing boat with his child when a jumping needlefish stabbed through the abdomen of the victim.
Irene Legaspi, an associate researcher at the Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center, described the incident as a rare occurrence.
For the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) Region 6, this was the first fatality from needlefish they have recorded in the region.
According to wildsingapore.com, needlefishes belong to the Family Belonidae. They have long, narrow pointed jaws that are beak- or needle-like, thus their common name. “Belone” means ‘needle’ in Greek. These slender jaws are usually filled with sharp needle-like teeth. The jaws are shorter in juveniles, elongating as they age. They have a single dorsal fin./PN
