What kind of fish is "Ba Yu"?

[dermur]

Any time I visit Dalian I see this fish in supermarkets, restaurants, etc. but no one I know can tell me what fish it is in English. They're usually pretty big too - about the size of a salmon but it's not trout, salmon, mackerel, sea bass, etc.

Whatever it is, its very tasty though!!

[liuzhou]

鲃鱼 = Barbel

[studentyoung]

鲅鱼(马鲛)：Spanish mackerel

http://www.tzfishery.com/data/attach/P3vW_wu323tPjMQ==.jpg(picture)

大连人对鲅鱼食用颇有创意，有久负盛名的系列知名小吃，如鲅鱼水饺、鲅鱼丸子、鲅鱼烩饼子、熏鲅鱼、红烧鲅鱼等，已成大连的名吃，外地游客慕名来连，以争相品尝为快。尤其是鲅鱼氽丸汤，那真是丸香、汤鲜、味美的海鲜一绝，更是四季皆宜、老少皆宜、中外皆宜、食客同赞的人间美食。

http://cache.baidu.com/c?word=%F6%D1%D3%E3&url=http%3A//baike%2Ebaidu%2Ecom/view/153049%2Ehtm&p=882a954783d812a05ba2d13a7f4d&user=baidu

Thanks!

[liuzhou]

It's unlikely to be a Spanish mackerel.Have you seen the size of those things? Somewhat larger than a salmon!

[studentyoung]

It's unlikely to be a Spanish mackerel.Have you seen the size of those things? Somewhat larger than a salmon!

Sometimes, Spanish mackerel can be 100kg.

10月6日，在浙江省台州市椒江区的一个码头上，椒渔运595号船长李富国展示捕到的一条罕见的野马鲛。此马鲛长约1.9米，重100公斤，实属罕见。

http://cache.baidu.com/c?word=%C2%ED%F6%DE&url=http%3A//baike%2Ebaidu%2Ecom/view/964455%2Ehtm&p=99769a4690934eaf5aad883b5755&user=baidu

Thanks!

[dermur]

Thanks LiuZhou and StudentYoung!

I have to say the barbel definitely looks like the fish I've seen in the supermarkets. The scales are very distinctive. Its funny, I had never heard of the English name either! I don't think barbel is very popular here in Ireland...!

The Spanish mackerel looks too smooth and shiny - not to mention that it's as big as a whale!!

Thanks again for your quick replies.

[Rincewind]

Barbel is a very common and popularly fished fish in the UK and Ireland. However, it's very rarely eaten. Barbel are fresh water fish found in the rivers. They fall into the group of 'course' fish along with carp, chub and so on. Usually after catching one of these, the angler will take a photo and then put the fish back in the water again. Seems like a waste of time to me. If you're not going to eat the thing, why bother catching it.

[laolee]

Usually after catching one of these, the angler will take a photo and then put the fish back in the water again. Seems like a waste of time to me. If you're not going to eat the thing, why bother catching it.

Fish like carp and catfish (don't know about barbel) are bottom feeders so if the waters are polluted they will consume heavy metals like mercury and pcb. If you eat the fish, you are eating what they eat.

And then some people fish just for the sport.

[muyongshi]

And then some people fish just for the sport

I fish for sport...and that makes me hungry so I have some dinner after my victorious catch. Oh did I mention that the catch is the dinner?

I have to agree that catch and release seems odd to me. I don't mind people doing it but I still do it for sport too. The fish just likes me less...

[Rincewind]

I can understand the pollution problem if catching fish from some large river within a city. For example I wouldn't eat anything that came out of the River Thames east of London. Nor would I take anything form the river Clyde in Glasgow. But where I see people fishing for barbel in the UK and Ireland is in crystal clear mountain lakes and lochs where there is absolutely no pollution of any kind.

In the UK, course fish have a reputation for tasting muddy and so have gone out of fashion. But anyone who has eaten these fish in China (as the original poster will agree) will have found them to be quite delicious.

[liuzhou]

where there is absolutely no pollution of any kind.

I would be deeply surprised if there is anywhere on the planet which has "absolutely no pollution".

But you are right about the fish!

[dermur]

I'd agree - as much as I'd love to say that all of our lakes and rivers are crystal clear and unpolluted, the reality isn't quite the case. Compared to many European and other countries, Ireland and Scotland have cleaner water but, in Ireland anyway, many rivers and lakes are impacted by (a) woefully over-utilised sewage plants as a result of housing development, (B) spreading of manure on farmland and © other farming and industrial effluents.

I'd love to see global water and air quality indices to put it all into perspective though!

Do people fish much for recreation in China? The only recreational fishing I've seen so far has been in Dalian's Labour Park. It's literally "fish in a barrel" stuff where people pay a nominal fee to catch goldfish from various habitats ranging from a bucket to medium sized ponds!

[randall_flagg]

There is quite a bit of recreational fishing going on here in Dalian. Fish are really small, but people (including me) eat anything they catch. Haven't been able to catch anything to write home about, though.

[ai_ya]

Actually funnily enough, this reminds me of a small town about 2-3 hours by train north of Dalian called 鲅鱼圈！

[Long Zhiren]

Can anyone recommend a good encyclopedia of fish, complete with photos? I went up and down Wangfujing's bookstores and came up with nothing. I want to learn my fish in Chinese. Thanks.

I'd like to see all 魚 listed: 甲魚, 魷魚, 鱷魚, etc.

Perhaps I need to post this question under vocabulary or something.

[imron]

This the sort of thing you're after?

[Long Zhiren]

imron,

Thanks. I'll have to look at that some other way some time. My firewall prevents me from opening that link at the moment.

[DrWatson]

While we're on the topic of fish and other sea beasts, what is the chinese for those sea worms or sea slugs that you see all over the place in Taiwan or San Francisco's Chinatown?

[imron]

My firewall prevents me from opening that link at the moment.

Here are a couple of other links to try:

http://hi.baidu.com/356074510/blog/item/ed038182f72b8b93f603a627.html

http://www.21food.cn/news/spsc/showShouce.jsp?id=5984

The both contain the same list as above.

[liuzhou]

Here is another list This one is illustrated.

May require proxy in China.

Edited July 18, 2008 at 05:14 AM by liuzhou