‘పుస్తెలు అమ్మైనా సరే పులస చేపలు తినాలి’ .. a famous Telugu proverb shows the importance of Pulasa Fish in India especially in the areas of East and West Godavari districts of Andhra Pradesh.

Pulasa, the fish namely Ilish (Pulasa) migrate from Australia, New Zealand, Tanzania to India. We cannot cultivate this fish in artificial ponds. It is a sea fish but travel towards the River Godavari for laying eggs. After laying eggs at River Godavari, they swim back to the Sea. While swim back they caught in the nets of fishermen.

The fish will change its colour and along with it the taste also gets better when it enters the waters of Godavari from the Sea for laying eggs. Pulasa is a very popular, rare and tasty sea fish found in the very few places of River Godavari and Krishna of Andhra Pradesh. It is a seasonal fish available only during the flood season in the months of July, August and September. The Pulasa is rich in oil which provides mainly 16:0 and 18:1 omega 3fatty acids. The unique taste of Pulasa is due to certain fatty acids like stearic acid, Olic acid and Poly-unsaturated fatty acids.

Although, it is fatty and contains cholesterol, it may reduce blood cholesterol level. Pulasa is one of the highly recommended oily fish for a healthy diet.