|
|
The flesh of many fish are primarily valued as a source of food; there are many edible species of fish as well as other sea food.
Shellfish include shelled molluscs and crustaceans used as food. Shelled molluscs include the clam, mussel, oyster, winkle and scallop; some crustaceans are the shrimp, lobster, crayfish, and crab.
Eggs, called roe, of various species may be eaten; roe comes from fish and certain marine invertebrates, such as sea urchins and shrimp. In some cultures, roe is considered a delicacy, for example caviar from the sturgeon.
Squid and octopus are valued as food.
Sea cucumber is considered a delicacy in Chinese cooking and is often served at New Year’s feasts, usually in soups.
In some cultures, for example China, Japan, and Vietnam, certain species of jellyfish are consumed.
Fish oil is valued as a dietary supplement.
Live fish are collected for the international live food fish trade. Some seafood restaurants keep live fish in aquaria for display or for cultural beliefs. The majority of live fish kept at seafood restaurants, however, are desired for the freshness of the seafood, being killed only immediately before being cooked. Suiting customer preference, this practice makes the seafood higher in quality and better in taste. The prevalence of cultural beliefs and consumer standards helps to drive the demand for the live food fish trade. Hong Kong, for example, is estimated to have imported in excess of 15,000 tonnes of live food fish in 2000. This brought the value of their live food fish trade industry to US$400 million as reported by the World Resources Institute.
Fish can also be collected in ways that do not injure them such as in a seine net or by placing an electric current into the water. Such techniques are used most often by researchers for observation and study but are also used by those who collect fish for the aquarium trade. There are several organizations devoted to improving the methods of collecting, handling, transporting, exporting and farming of wild and domesticated live food fish, as well as freshwater and marine tropical fish destined for aquaria.
Pearls and mother-of-pearl are valued for their lustre. Traditional methods of pearl hunting are now virtually extinct.
Sharkskin and rayskin which are covered with, in effect, tiny teeth (dermal denticles) were used for the purposes that sandpaper currently is. These skins are also used to make leather. Sharkskin leather is used in the manufacture of hilts of traditional Japanese swords.
Sea horse, star fish, sea urchin and sea cucumber are used in traditional Chinese medicine.
Tyrian purple is a pigment made from marine snails Murex brandaris and Murex trunculus.
Sepia is a pigment made from the inky secretions of cuttlefish.
Fish glue is made by boiling the skin, bones and swim bladders of fish. Fish glue has long been valued for its use in all manner of products from illuminated manuscripts to the Mongolian war bow.
Isinglass is a substance obtained from the swim bladders of fish (especially sturgeon), it is used for the clarification of wine and beer.
Fish emulsion is a fertilizer emulsion that is produced from the fluid remains of fish processed for fish oil and fish meal industrially.
Origins Techinques Modern Fishing Preservation Fish Products Downloads