The comeback fish, good eating aplenty
Print Edition
SONGJIANG-FARMED sisai bass have laid the first batch of eggs in the Year of Monkey at the fish aquaculture center in Yongfeng Community.
The females spawn the eggs and the males protect them. The parents then die after a one-month incubation saps them of their energy.
This year, 500 female bass are expected to produce about 150,000 fingerlings, up 30 percent from last year. Due to the low temperatures this winter, the spawning period was about two weeks late in starting.
Sisai bass are about 17 centimeters long and weigh 100 grams each. They are sought after for their succulent, oily meat and lack of excess boniness.
The orange branchial arches near its breathing gills give it the appearance of having an extra set of gills — hence the name sisai, which translates as “four gills” in Chinese.
February to March is a crucial breeding season for the fish.
The center’s experts try to simulate wild aquatic conditions of shallow sea waters to produce the best crop of fish. The fish ponds, where water temperature, salinity, alkalinity and acidity are monitored, are under 24-hour surveillance.
Wild sisai bass were once a disappearing species, gracing only the tables of the wealthy.
However, modern breakthroughs in aquaculture have restored fish stocks, lowering prices for ordinary households.
For the recent Spring Festival, stocks were sold out. Orders for frozen bass from online shops keep flooding in.
There is now an annual bass festival held by locals every November. It attracts gourmet fish lovers.
Sisai bass have become a signature dish in Songjiang’s top hotels, and the popularity of the fish has spread into downtown Shanghai restaurants.
In January, three experienced chefs from some of Shanghai’s finest restaurants were invited to Songjiang to develop new recipes for sisai bass. They created six new dishes that will soon appear on the menus of top-ranked hotel restaurants.
Last December, staff at the bass aquaculture center launched frozen packs of the fish, using new techniques of quick freezing to retain the texture of the fish and prevent nutritional loss.
In addition, Internet-conscious farmers in Songjiang are also marketing the fish on Taobao.com and the WeChat social networking platform.
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