Guide junyu

The anchovy is not a pincer!

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

The reason why "Ao" is so popular is that "Xijiang Ao has been newly listed as a national second-class protected wild animal", which shows that Cantonese people can no longer "willfully" send Xijiang Ao to the table in the future.

So, will we never taste it again?

According to the List of National Key Protected Wild Animals No.3 in 20021issued by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of the State Forestry and Grassland Bureau, spotted catfish (commonly known as Xijiang) is officially listed as a national second-class key protected wild animal (only in the wild), and it 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 preached them 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. After it is caught, it will be put back to Xijiang and reported to the Agriculture and Rural Bureau for handling, and it cannot be taken home to eat or sell directly. 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 20 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 Qing, has no scale and gray body color, just like being covered with a layer of gum, and its sword fin is sharp. It is also named Sesame Qing because of its sesame-like spots. It is an extremely precious freshwater fish and 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 2000, many research institutions in Guangdong and Guangxi had carried out research on the artificial propagation technology of spotted snakehead, 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 Museum Science Network "Fruit Shell" and the reporter's investigation, the so-called "Xijiang" is actually the common name of fishermen for some kinds of silver carp which are produced in Xijiang River basin and have sesame spots and are "similar in length and appearance".

Therefore, scientifically, there is no strict definition of what kind of fish "Xijiang Ao" is, or even "Ao Fish".

However, through years of scientific investigation, we can generally know that there are two kinds of "Xijiang Ao" * * * that used to appear at the dinner table:

First, the spotted snakehead, which is currently listed as a second-class protected animal and we call it "authentic Xijiang Ao" for the time being, has been a "scarce product" since the end of the 1990s due to the serious decline in output, and is generally called "wild Xijiang Ao" by fishermen, with the price ranging from 100 yuan/500g to thousands of yuan/500g.

The other one, let's just call it "Shanzhai Xijiang Ao", and its academic name is Spotted Fork-tailed Ao. It is understood that since more than 20 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 can reach maturity and weigh more than 1 kg. Individuals with body length over 53cm and weight over 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.

When it comes to the difference in taste, Zhao Guoqing, a freshwater fish expert, said that taking the same weight of 500-1000g as an example, the meat quality of spotted catfish is elastic, tough and refreshing, and the flavor is incomparable, while the meat quality of spotted catfish is slightly soft and the flavor is insufficient. However, when the body weight exceeds1000g, channel catfish is not only fresh and tender, but also firmer and more refreshing.

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 | Guangyue Culture Food Guide Rong Media Reporter Feng Ruijun

Part of the picture source | integrated network

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