Guide to Jun Yu

The anchovy is not a pincer!

Last month, the word "Ao" suddenly became popular in Cantonese circles, and many people realized that "Pinfish" should have been written as "Ao (han, the first sound) fish".

The reason why "Xi Jiang Ao" is so popular is that "Xi Jiang Ao is newly listed as a national second-class protected wild animal", which shows that Cantonese people can no longer "arbitrarily" put Xi Jiang Ao on the table in the future.

So, will we never taste it again?

according to the latest announcement of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of the State Forestry and Grassland Bureau, No.3 List of National Key Protected Wild Animals in 221, spotted catfish (commonly known as Xijiang) is officially listed as a national second-class key protected wild animal (wild population only), which is illegally hunted, killed, purchased, transported and sold. All cases that meet the requirements of criminal accountability shall be transferred to judicial organs.

Yao Ming, a catering person in Yunan, said that the Agriculture and Rural Bureau of Yunan had recently launched a large-scale publicity campaign, distributed publicity materials on Xijiang Ao protection to local fishermen, and made a presentation in combination with relevant laws and regulations.

He went on to say that it is illegal to capture and transport Xijiang Ao in the future. Once it is caught, it will be put back to Xijiang River and reported to the Agricultural and Rural Bureau for handling, and it cannot be taken home directly for eating or selling. In case of violation, the management department will punish the wildlife and its products according to the law, and may impose a maximum fine of 2 times its value. If it constitutes a crime, criminal responsibility will also be investigated according to law.

According to the Fishery Resources Protection Section of Zhaoqing Agriculture and Rural Bureau, the spotted snakehead, also known as Xijiang Ao, has no scales, and its body color is gray, like a layer of gum, and its sword fin is sharp. It is also named Sesame Ao because of its sesame-like spots. It is an extremely precious freshwater fish, and it can often be seen in Yunfu, Yunan and Zhaoqing sections of Xijiang River.

The reporter learned from the relevant professional and technical personnel of the Pearl River Fisheries Research Institute that around 2, many research institutions in Guangdong and Guangxi carried out research on artificial propagation technology of spotted catfish, and achieved certain success. However, due to the low success rate of fertilization, the eggs are not easy to mature, the amount of eggs squeezed is small, and the requirements for the growth environment of Siniperca chuatsi are harsh, so the large-scale artificial reproduction of Siniperca chuatsi cannot be realized at present.

Although Xijiang Ao has been listed as a protected animal, it is worth mentioning that even before Xijiang Ao was protected, people rarely saw them.

So, what was the "Xijiangao" on the dining table in the past?

According to the information provided by the famous natural science website "Fruit Shell" and the investigation by reporters, the so-called "Xijiang Ao" is actually the common name of fishermen for some kinds of anchovies with sesame spots and similar length and appearance, which are produced in Xijiang River basin.

Therefore, scientifically, there is no strict definition of what exactly is "Xijiang anchovy", or even "anchovy".

However, through years of scientific investigation, we can actually know that there are two kinds of "Xijiang Ao" * * * on the dining table in the past:

One is the spotted snakehead, which is currently listed as a second-class protected animal, and we temporarily call it "authentic Xijiang Ao". Since the end of the 199s, due to the serious decline in production, it has been

The other one, which we can call "Shanzhai Xijiang Ao", is called Spotted Fork-tailed Ao academically. It is understood that since more than 2 years ago, most of the Xijiang Ao that we can see on the dining table are "shanzhai Xijiang Ao", which accounted for as high as 95% in the Xijiang Ao market in the past, and it is often unreasonable because the spotted Xijiang Ao gets the light of "authentic Xijiang Ao".

It is understood that the sexually mature channel catfish is over 4 years old, and a few 3-year-old fish with good artificial feeding conditions are mature and can weigh more than 1 kg. Individuals with a body length of more than 53cm and a weight of more than 1.5 kg are common in pond culture. The trade names of channel catfish are not only Xijiang channel catfish, but also channel catfish and the familiar pincers (white pincers, spotted pincers, etc.).

because channel catfish can be raised artificially, the channel catfish "Shanzhai Xijiang Channel Catfish" currently on the market still belongs to fish that can be raised, transported, sold and eaten.

As for the difference in taste, Zhao Guoqing, an expert in freshwater fish, said that taking 5-1g of the same weight as an example, the meat quality of spotted catfish is elastic, tough and refreshing, with incomparable umami, while the meat quality of spotted catfish is a little soft, with insufficient umami. However, when the weight exceeds 1 grams, channel catfish is not only fresh and tender, but also stronger and more refreshing because of its larger adult.

Therefore, people don't have to insist on eating the wild spotted catfish, in fact, the spotted catfish is just as delicious. Let's say that spotted catfish has become a protected animal, so everyone has the obligation and responsibility to protect it and never eat it again; On the contrary, channel catfish is spotted. Since it can provide similar delicacies, everyone may wish to satisfy their cravings.

Graphic | Guang Yue Culture Food Guide Rong Media reporter Feng Ruijun

Part of the picture source | Comprehensive network

Editor &; Typesetting | Guang Yue Culture Food Guide Rong Media Editor Mou Nan