Big Rush For 'Viagra' Fish In India

NEW DELHI, INDIA - Scores of people were making a beeline for a local fish variety in India's southern Tamil Nadu state after claims that it is a cure for male impotency and a cheap alternative to Viagra, a news report said Wednesday. The surging demand for the fish locally known as Ayrai Kunchu, has ensured brisk business for fishermen in the Mettur town, which lies some 300 kilometres south-west of state capital Chennai, the Asian Age daily reported.
"Suddenly there has been a spurt in the fishing activity here," a fisherman, A Nagaraj, told the paper.
"Fishermen are going all out to catch Ayrai Kunchu following demand caused by the belief that it is a cheap replacement for Viagra."
The small fish which was hardly in demand earlier, is now sold for 200 rupees (4.5 dollars) per kilogramme and is supplied to major cities in the state where it is in high demand.
But environmentalists were wary that the large-scale exploitation of the fish could disturb the marine life in the reservoir.
Nearly 16,000 families dependent on fishing live around the Mettur reservoir, which has a rich variety of fish and produces up to five tons of catches every day.
from The Raw Story