What Common Sea Fish Are Available in the Market? Analysis of Their Nutritional Value and Benefits
Sea fish has a delicious taste and is rich in nutrients, making it an indispensable delicacy on our dining tables. Usually, sea fish die when they enter freshwater because seawater has high density and strong pressure, and the blood pressure of sea fish adapts to seawater pressure. After entering freshwater, the freshwater pressure is low, and the fish's blood pressure exceeds the water pressure, causing blood vessels to burst and death. So what are the common sea fish in the market? What are their nutritional values and benefits?
Salmon
Salmon is one of the more commonly used fish ingredients in Western cuisine. It is also known as northern trout, chum salmon, humpback salmon, dog salmon, and spotted salmon. In the consumer markets of different countries, salmon covers different species. Norwegian salmon is mainly Atlantic salmon, Finnish salmon is mainly farmed large-size red-fleshed rainbow trout, and American salmon is mainly Alaskan salmon. Chum salmon generally refers to fish of the genus Oncorhynchus in the family Salmonidae, order Salmoniformes. There are many species, such as the chum salmon and humpback salmon produced in Northeast China.
Tuna
Tuna is a large, important commercial food fish of the open ocean. It is called吞拿鱼 in Hong Kong, China, and was formerly translated from Portuguese as 亚冬鱼 in Macao, China. It is distributed in the Indian Ocean, the central Pacific Ocean, and the central Atlantic Ocean, belonging to tropical-subtropical oceanic fish. It migrates very long distances. In the past, tuna that had migrated from California in the United States was found in the waters near Japan. Tuna has 8 species, most of which are huge, with the largest reaching 3.5 m in length and 600 to 700 kg in weight, while the smallest species weighs only 3 kg.
Cod
Cod is one of the fish with the largest annual catch in the world and has important edible and economic value. True cod refers to fish of the genus Gadus, divided into Atlantic cod, Greenland cod, and Pacific cod. The usual concept of cod has expanded to fish of the family Gadidae, with more than 50 species, most distributed in the continental shelf waters of the North Atlantic. Important species include haddock, blue whiting, pollock, whiting, Norwegian ling, and Alaska pollock.
Pacific saury
Pacific saury is the only species in the genus Cololabis of the family Scomberesocidae, order Beloniformes, and is also one of the important edible fish. It is a pelagic fish and a very common fish species in food cuisine in some East Asian regions. It inhabits subtropical or temperate Pacific waters at depths of 0 to 230 m and is distributed in the North Pacific region, including the Sea of Japan, Alaska, the Bering Sea, California, and Mexico.
Chinese herring
Chinese herring is also known as fire herring, kuai fish, white-scale fish, white-force fish, Caobai fish, spring fish, yellow anchovy, etc. It is an important commercial fish that migrates in warm-water nearshore pelagic waters. It prefers habitats along the coast and where coastal water meets offshore water. At dusk, night, dawn, and on cloudy days, it prefers the middle and upper layers of the water; during the day, it mostly moves in the middle and lower layers; during strong winds, freshwater, or thunder, it sinks to the seabed.
Red stingray
The red stingray is also known as pu fish, straw-hat fish, palm-leaf fan fish, yellow stingray, etc. Its disc is flat above and below, and its tail is slender like a whip. On the back of the front part of the tail there is one serrated hard spine, and the base of the spine has a venom gland. It is a benthic fish, often lying in deep pools of rivers, active at night, and feeding on mollusks. It is distributed in the western Pacific, including China, Taiwan, China, southern Japan, and the southwestern Korean Peninsula, as well as the South China Sea and East China Sea, Vietnam, Cambodia, the Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia, Fiji, Tuvalu, and the Maldives. It also swims up the West River to reach Nanning.
Hairtail
Hairtail belongs to the family Trichiuridae, order Perciformes, class Osteichthyes, subphylum Vertebrata, phylum Chordata. It is also known as knife fish, skirt belt, fat belt, oil belt, tooth belt fish, etc. It has a pointed head and large mouth, gradually tapering toward the tail. Its body height is 2 times its head length, and its total length is about 1 m. It is ferocious and mainly feeds on Acetes shrimp and squid. It is mainly distributed in the western Pacific and Indian Oceans, and in China it is found from the Yellow Sea, East China Sea, and Bohai Sea all the way to the South China Sea. Together with large yellow croaker, small yellow croaker, and squid, it is known as one of China's four major marine products.
Pomfret
Pomfret is a large fish of tropical and subtropical waters that serves both as food and as an ornamental fish. It is also known as mirror fish, tuo fish, flat fish, Changhou turtle, Chang rat, etc. It is a nearshore mesopelagic and demersal fish that feeds on small fish, jellyfish, diatoms, etc. It often inhabits sea areas with slow currents at depths of 30 to 70 m. It is mainly distributed along the coast of China, central Japan, Korea, and eastern India.
Japanese grenadier anchovy
The Japanese grenadier anchovy is also known as phoenix-tail fish, zi ji, roasted roe fish, etc. It is an estuarine migratory fish. It usually inhabits shallow seas. Every spring, large numbers of fish migrate from the sea to the brackish water area of estuaries to spawn, but they never go deep into purely freshwater areas. Newly hatched larvae fatten up in the deep water of river estuaries, then return to the sea, and reach sexual maturity the following year.
Conger eel
The conger eel is a ferocious carnivorous commercial fish with schooling behavior and broad temperature and salinity tolerance. It usually inhabits sea areas with muddy and sandy bottoms at depths of 50 to 80 m. It has seasonal migration habits. Spawning grounds are generally at depths of 20 to 40 m. It is widely distributed in eastern Africa, the Indian Ocean, and the northwestern Pacific. It is produced along the coasts of China, with the East China Sea as the main producing area.
Turbot
Turbot and Atlantic halibut are the same species of fish. In natural sea areas, adult fish can grow up to 75 cm. It is widely distributed in warm and hot seas and mainly feeds on benthic invertebrates and fish. It inhabits sandy seabeds in shallow seas and preys on small fish and shrimp. Its flat body is especially suitable for benthic life on the seabed. Under artificial farming, its growth period is noticeably shortened, and under suitable conditions it can reach about 500 to 600 g in the same year.
Flounder
Flounder is the collective name for fish of the family Bothidae in the flatfish group. Its body is laterally compressed and asymmetrical, with both eyes on the left side. The mouth is anterior, the lower jaw is more or less protruding, and the front edge of the preoperculum is free. The eyed side is dark gray or has patches, and the blind side is white. It is mainly distributed in tropical and temperate seas and is produced along the coasts of China, such as olive flounder, spotted flounder, and spotted halibut. Olive flounder and turbot are valuable marine products.
Grouper
Grouper is also known as shiban, kuai fish, etc. Its flesh is tender and white, similar to chicken, and it has long been known as “sea chicken.” It is also a low-fat, high-protein premium food fish and has been promoted by Hong Kong, China and Macao, China as one of China's four famous fish. It mostly inhabits tropical and temperate seas and prefers sea areas with rocky reefs, gravel, and coral reef substrates near coastal islands. It generally does not form schools, and the water layer it inhabits rises and falls with changes in water temperature.
Black pomfret
Black pomfret is a fish of the genus Formio in the family Bramidae. It is also known as black pomfret, iron-plate pomfret, black-scale pomfret, etc. It is distributed along the northern coast of the Indian Ocean to Korea, Japan, and the coastal waters of China. It is a tropical and subtropical pelagic fish. In China it is produced in the South China Sea, East China Sea, and Yellow Sea, with greater production in the East China Sea and South China Sea.
Black sea bream
Black sea bream is also known as black-spined sea bream, wu ge, hei ge, thick-lip, etc. It prefers to live in clear-water environments with rocky reefs and sandy-muddy bottoms. It is a broad-temperature and broad-salinity fish, with a survival salinity of 4.09 to 35.0‰ and a growth-adapted salinity of 10.0 to 30.0‰. It is distributed in the western North Pacific and is produced along the coasts of China, with greater production in the Yellow Sea and Bohai Sea. The main fishing grounds are along the coast of Shandong, and it is often caught mixed with other fish. The fishing season is spring and autumn.
Small yellow croaker
The small yellow croaker is also known as little yellow croaker. Its body shape resembles the large yellow croaker, but its head is longer, its eyes are smaller, its scales are larger, and its caudal peduncle is short and wide. In winter it overwinters in deep sea, migrates toward the coast in spring, spawns from March to June, mainly feeds on mysids, Acetes shrimp, and small fish, and returns to deep sea in late autumn. Its swim bladder can produce sound. In China it is produced in the East China Sea, Yellow Sea, and Bohai Sea, and it is also distributed along the west coast of the Korean Peninsula. It is an important commercial fish in China.
Yellow drum
Yellow drum is also known as yellow drum, yellow copper fish, luo fish, copper luo fish, flower yu fish, etc. It is a warm-temperate nearshore mesopelagic and demersal fish of the genus Nibea in the family Sciaenidae. Its appearance is similar to the small yellow croaker. It generally has a body length of 20 to 30 cm and a weight of 300 to 700 g. It can produce sound, especially during the peak reproductive period. It mainly feeds on benthic animals. Its overwintering grounds are in the southern Yellow Sea and the offshore waters of the northern East China Sea.
Large yellow croaker
The large yellow croaker is also known as yellow croaker, cucumber fish, golden dragon, etc. It usually inhabits deeper sea areas, migrates to nearshore waters to spawn from April to June, disperses along the coast after spawning to feed, feeding on fish and shrimp, and migrates back to deep sea areas in autumn and winter. Its swim bladder can produce sound, and fishermen often use this to estimate the size of fish schools. It is distributed in the South China Sea, East China Sea, and southern Yellow Sea. It is an important commercial fish in China, supplied for fresh consumption or made into yellow croaker dried fish, etc.
White croaker
White croaker is a fish of the genus Argyrosomus in the family Sciaenidae. It is also known as white rice fish, wei zai fish, white plum, white croaker, sha wei kou, etc. It inhabits sandy-muddy bottom sea areas within 40 m of water depth. When the spawning season arrives, it has the habit of gathering and migrating. It feeds on small fish, crustaceans, etc. It is mainly distributed in the tropical, subtropical, and warm-temperate western North Pacific, including the South China Sea, East China Sea, and southern Yellow Sea of China.
Mi fish
Mi fish is also known as min fish, min zi, min yu, mian fish, mao chang fish, etc. It resembles the sea bass. Its body color is dark, gray-brown with purple-green, and the abdomen is grayish white. The upper edge of the dorsal fin spines is black, and there is a longitudinal black stripe in the center of the soft-rayed part. It prefers habitats with relatively high turbidity. It can produce sound with its swim bladder. It is ferocious, sinking during the day and rising at night. From April to May each year, it migrates from deep water to the nearshore for reproductive migration. It mainly feeds on small fish and small benthic invertebrates.
Nutritional value of sea fish