Pacific saury

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Pacific saury

Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Beloniformes
Family: Scomberesocidae
Genus: Cololabis
Species: C. saira
Binomial name
Cololabis saira
(Brevoort, 1856)

The Pacific saury, Cololabis saira, is a saury, a member of the family Scomberesocidae. This fish, which is a food source in some East Asian cuisines, is also known by the name mackerel pike.

It is known as sanma (サンマ / 秋刀魚) in Japanese, kongchi (꽁치) in Korean, qiu dao yu (秋刀魚) in Chinese, and saira (сайра) in Russian.

The term saira used in its scientific name is the fish's local name in the Kii Peninsula region of Japan.

The Chinese symbols used in the Chinese and Japanese names of the fish (秋刀魚) means "autumn knife fish", in reference to its body-shape, somewhat resembling a knife, and its peak season.

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[edit] Appearance

It is a fish with a small mouth, an elongated body, a series of small finlets between the dorsal and anal fins and a small forked tail. The colour of the fish is dark green to blue on the dorsal surface, silvery below, and there are small bright blue blotches distributed haphazardly on the sides. The average overall body length of the Pacific saury is 36 - 40 cm and their maximum reported age is 2 years.

[edit] Biology

These pelagic schooling fish are found in the North Pacific, from Japan eastward to the Gulf of Alaska and southward to subtropical Mexico; 67°N - 18°N, 137°E - 108°W, preferring temperatures around 15 - 18°C. Pacific saury are usually found near the surface (though they may have a depth range of 0 - 230 m) and they are known to glide above the surface of the water when moving away from predators (a behavior that links them to the flying fish, a cousin of the saury family).

The Pacific saury is a highly migratory species. Adults are generally found offshore, near the surface of the ocean, in schools. Juveniles associate with drifting seaweed. Pacific saury are oviparous. Eggs are attached to one another and to floating objects such as seaweed via filaments on the shell surface.

The saury feeds on zooplankton such as copepods, krill, amphipods, and the eggs and larvae of common fish such as anchovies due to their lack of stomach, and their short straight intestines.

A few of the natural predators of Pacific saury include marine mammals, squid and tuna.

[edit] Trade

Pacific saury (often marketed as mackerel pike) are sought after by Taiwanese, Russian and Japanese fishermen. This fish has a great economic importance in the part of the world where it is found.

Fishing of saury is facilitated by the fact that it is attracted by the light. Thus, a common way of catching it is to stick powerful lighting fixtures with a number of 500 W blue or white lamps from one side of a boat, and some weaker red lamps from other. When fish congregate under the stronger white lamps, the lighting is switched to the other board, where the fish - often the whole school - is collected by the nets.

[edit] Cuisine

Sanma, miso soup and rice
Sanma, miso soup and rice

Saury, or sanma, is one of the most prominent seasonal food which represents autumn in Japanese cuisine. It is most commonly served salted and grilled (broiled) whole, and garnished with daikon oroshi (grated daikon) and served alongside a bowl of rice and a bowl of miso soup. Other condiments may include soy sauce, or lime, lemon or other citrus juices. The intestines are bitter, but many people choose not to gut the fish, as many say its bitterness, balanced by the condiments, is part of the enjoyment. Salt-grilled saury is also served in Korea, where it is known as kongchi gui (꽁치구이).

Sanma sashimi is becoming increasingly available but is not common. It is rarely used for sushi; however sanma-zushi is a regional delicacy along parts of the Kii Peninsula, especially along the coast of southern Mie Prefecture. It is prepared by pickling the sanma in salt and vinegar (depending on the region, bitter orange or citron vinegar may be used), and then placing it on top of vinegared rice to create the finished sushi.

The fish can also be pan-fried, or made into canned kabayaki. It is also used for fish meal and pet food in some Western countries, while Alaska pollock is more often used for this in others.

The flesh of Pacific saury contains good quality protein, easily digestible, absorbed, and utilized by human bodies. The flesh is rich in unsaturated fatty acids such as EPA and DHA, good fats which aid in the prevention of heart disease.

[edit] References