''Harpadon nehereus'', commonly known as the Bombay duck or bummalo, is a species of lizardfish. Adults may reach a maximum length of , but the usual size is around .

Etymology

The small bomelon fish caught in Bombay (now

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

) was traditionally coated in

asafoetida Asafoetida (; also spelled asafetida) is the dried latex (Natural gum, gum oleoresin) exuded from the rhizome or tap root of several species of ''Ferula'', perennial herbs of the carrot family. It is produced in Iran, Afghanistan, Central As ...

and dried in the sun, becoming pungent with a strong salty taste. Fried and crumbled, the fish preparation called Bombay duck became a popular condiment in Anglo-Indian cookery. An 1829 book of poems and "Indian reminiscences" published under the pseudonym "Sir Toby Rendrag" notes the "use of a fish nick-named 'Bombay Duck'" and the phrase is used in texts as early as 1815.

Distribution and fisheries

The Bombay duck lives in the tropical areas of the

Indo-Pacific The Indo-Pacific is a vast biogeographic region of Earth. In a narrow sense, sometimes known as the Indo-West Pacific or Indo-Pacific Asia, it comprises the tropical waters of the Indian Ocean, the western and central Pacific Ocean, and the ...

, with a discontinuous distribution along the Indian coast. It has traditionally been caught in the waters off

Maharashtra Maharashtra () is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. It is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, the Indian states of Karnataka and Goa to the south, Telangana to th ...

Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the List of states and union territories ...

in the Lakshadweep Sea, where it is an important item of the yearly catch. It is fished in the

Bay of Bengal The Bay of Bengal is the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean. Geographically it is positioned between the Indian subcontinent and the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese peninsula, located below the Bengal region. Many South Asian and Southe ...

and the

South China Sea The South China Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean. It is bounded in the north by South China, in the west by the Indochinese Peninsula, in the east by the islands of Taiwan island, Taiwan and northwestern Philippines (mainly Luz ...

in smaller numbers.

International availability

Following the discovery of a batch of imported seafood contaminated by ''

Salmonella ''Salmonella'' is a genus of bacillus (shape), rod-shaped, (bacillus) Gram-negative bacteria of the family Enterobacteriaceae. The two known species of ''Salmonella'' are ''Salmonella enterica'' and ''Salmonella bongori''. ''S. enterica'' ...

'' in 1996, the

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the primary Executive (government), executive arm of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with a number of European Commissioner, members of the Commission (directorial system, informall ...

prohibited fish imports from India other than from approved freezing and canning factories. As Bombay duck is not produced in a factory, this meant it too was banned. After a campaign to "Save Bombay Duck", the Indian High Commission approached the European Commission, which adjusted its regulations so that the fish can still be dried in the open air, but has to be packed in an "EC approved" packing station. A

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

wholesale merchant located a packing source in Mumbai, and the product became available again. File:Bombay duck.jpg, Fresh Bombay duck for sale in

Kolkata Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary ...

File:Harpadon nehereus - Bombay Ducks - drying (seafood).jpg, Bombay duck drying in open air File:Bombay Duck dried for sale.jpg, Dried Bombay duck for sale in

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q311730 Synodontidae Fish of Bangladesh Fish dishes Culture of Mumbai Fish described in 1822