Pacific jackfish
| Pacific jackfish | ||||||||||||
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Pacific jackfish ( Cololabis saira ) |
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| Cololabis saira | ||||||||||||
| ( Brevoort , 1856) |
The Pacific jackfish ( Cololabis saira ; Korean 꽁치 kongchi , Japanese サ ン マ or 秋刀魚 sanma , Chinese 秋刀鱼 qiūdāoyú , Russian сайра saira ) is a slender, predatory sea fish that lives in schools and is common in the North Pacific. It is an important food fish in East Asian cuisine.
etymology
The Pacific mackerel borrowed its scientific name from the regional name saira , as it is called on the Japanese Kii Peninsula. In the Kanji of the Japanese language it is written "autumn knife fish" (秋刀魚), which is a reference to its streamlined shape, which resembles a blade, as well as that it is a popular food fish at this time of the year. In English usage it is also known as saury .
features
The body is elongated with a small mouth, several small fins extend from the dorsal fin and the anal fin towards the fork-shaped caudal fin. The markings are blue to dark green on the back and silvery on the belly with many small light blue spots on the sides. Adult animals measure on average between 25 and 28 cm body length and they can live up to four years.
Distribution and way of life
The pelagic fish can be found in schools across the North Pacific from Korea and Japan to the Gulf of Alaska and occur south to the height of Mexico. The distribution area depends on the preferred water temperatures (between 15 and 18 ° C). The schools swim in the epipelagic up to about 200 m depth, whereby they prefer to stay near the surface.
The jackfish are oviparous . Eggs are preferably laid on floating seagrass and fastened with sticky threads. The seaweed is still used by the young animals as a hiding place, as adult animals they move into the open water, where they hunt their prey on the surface and undertake long migrations.
Zooplankton such as cephalopods , krill and fish eggs or larvae serve as food . The Pacific mackerel, in turn , is eaten by tuna , squids and large marine mammals such as dolphins . When threatened, the animals jump out of the water and can even slide over the water surface for short distances (similar to the closely related flying fish , which also belong to the garfish).
use
In East Asia in particular, the Pacific mackerel is an important food fish with great economic benefits. He is attracted by strong lamps that are attached to the fishing boats. White or blue lamps are lit on one side of the boat, while red lamps are weakly lit on the other side. When a swarm gathers under the brighter lamps, the lighting is switched to the other side of the ship and the swarm is lured into the net. While the Pacific mackerel is eaten fresh or lightly prepared in Asia, it is rarely available in the West and then mostly only as fish meal for animal feed.
In Japan, the pike is a very popular dish in the fall season. The sanma is often salted and grilled over a shichirin or cooked and served garnished with daikon . White rice and miso soup are served as side dishes. The bitter-tasting entrails are often not removed as many claim that, when combined with the appropriate use of spices, they would enhance the flavor of the dish. The fish is also increasingly available as sashimi . It is rarely used in sushi , but is a regional delicacy on the Kii Peninsula. For this purpose, the fish is placed in salt and vinegar and sometimes also bitter oranges and then placed on the soured sushi rice.
In Korea, gwamegi , a dish made from half-dried mackerel, is served in the winter season. The fish are also cooked in broth and eaten as jorim .
In Russia, the fish is particularly eaten in the regions of the Pacific coast. There are canned fish with salted and seasoned fish, sometimes in vegetable oil or tomato sauce.
