Fisherman Chang Wen-tien (張文田) on Thursday caught a 6kg albino bighead carp near the Shihmen Reservoir in Taoyuan.
Chang attributed the catch to a large earthquake on the same day, saying: “It must have been scared out of hiding.”
Bighead carp are often seen in the reservoir, with some growing to immense sizes, Chang said.
Photo: Hsu Cho-hsun, Taipei Times
However, they are usually black or multi-hued, he said.
The carp he caught was not particularly large, but its color was spectacular, he said.
It was probably startled out of hiding by the quake and swam headlong into his stationary trap, he said.
A magnitude 6 earthquake struck northeastern Taiwan at 5:28am that morning, with its epicenter 36.5km southeast of Yilan County Hall at a depth of 22.5km, Central Weather Bureau data showed.
In Taoyuan, the quake’s intensity registered level 4, bureau data showed.
“The older generation said that it was auspicious to catch a rare fish,” Chang said.
Its golden coloring was because of albinism, he said, citing experts he consulted.
It was the first time in his three decades of fishing in the area that he has seen a carp with such coloring, he said.
Local fishers and others took photographs with the carp, prompting Chang to say he had became a one-day celebrity.
He was still elated over the experience, he said.
The carp had multiple injuries and would only survive for two or three days in captivity, so Chang took it home, where it made an excellent meal, he said.
Carp are delicious deep-fried or braised, he said, adding that there are great carp meals at most Shihmen area freshwater fish restaurants.
Additional reporting by CNA
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