Eating the meat of a hundred-year-old "divine fish"
Once in Luc Yen district, Yen Bai province, we accidentally discovered many people raising in their ponds a species of fish similar to the "divine fish" in Thanh Hoa. Local people said: This species of fish is called "ca bong", and is bred from the Chay and Ha Giang rivers. The "divine fish" is 100 years old.
When we asked about the "divine fish" that is widely raised in Tan Lap commune, Luc Yen district, Mr. Duong Vu Hao, Chief of Tan Lap commune police, laughed out loud and said: This fish is identical to the "divine fish" in Cam Thuy district, Thanh Hoa province. But the fish here have been raised by people for meat for a long time. In recent years, many traders have come to buy the "divine fish" at high prices, so people have sold almost all of them.
Currently, there are still over a dozen households in the commune raising this fish. However, only 1-2 households can keep fish weighing 10-16kg with a lifespan of 80-120 years. The remaining households mainly raise small fish weighing 1-6kg.
Following Mr. Hao's introduction, we visited the family of Lieutenant Hua Trung Uy in Uc village, Tan Lap commune. Lieutenant Uy's family is one of two households in Tan Lap that still keeps 20 "divine fish" weighing over 10kg. His family's fish pond is one of the oldest in Tan Lap.
Mr. Uy recounted: In the past, when he was young, he often saw his great-grandfather and father go to the Chay River to catch "divine fish" during the flood season. Back then, his great-grandfather often brought a bucket of clear spring water with him. Whenever he caught a "divine fish", he would put it in the bucket of water to raise, while the other types of fish would be put together in a bag.
If calculated in terms of human life, the 20 fish in the pond have lived through 3 generations, equivalent to about 100 years. "For many years, flash floods swept through the sacred fish pond, and our family was convinced that all the fish had been swept away with the water. However, after the flood, we saw that the fish were still intact in the pond, not a single one was missing. Therefore, many people in the commune learned from my family to raise "divine fish", said Mr. Uy.
The owner of the largest pond of "divine fish" is Mr. Trieu Hua Mai's family in Uc village. Mr. Mai's family has only been raising "divine fish" for nearly ten years, but the number of fish in the pond is up to nearly a hundred. Mr. Mai revealed: He bought this species of fish from other households in Tan Lap commune. In addition, he also traveled to Ha Giang to buy fish fry to raise.
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| The silver carp in Yen Bai is similar to the "divine fish" in Thanh Hoa. |
According to our observations, the "divine fish" raised in Tan Lap commune has characteristics very similar to the "divine fish" in Cam Thuy, Thanh Hoa. The fish's lips and fins are red, and its body is long and slender. Mr. Uy said: "Divine fish" eat a lot and are omnivorous. Their food ranges from cassava leaves, grass, bananas to dead pigs and chickens. One day, his family was butchering a pig in the pond, and in the blink of an eye, the fish rushed up and grabbed the entrails and fought to eat them all.
However, this fish species grows extremely slowly. If raised well, it takes 30-40 years for the fish to reach a weight of 5-6kg. One characteristic is that when the fish are young, they grow as fast as grass carp or silver carp, but when they reach a weight of 3kg or more, they grow extremely slowly. That is why his family has raised fish for nearly a hundred years, but the fish only reach a weight of over 10kg.
According to Mr. Uy, the fish here can only live in places with cool, clear spring water, and it is best if the water in the pond is changed regularly. In addition, this species of fish gives birth very little, a "divine fish" must be raised for about 10 years before it can start giving birth, they can only give birth in places with cool, clear spring water and cannot be raised with other species of fish. The survival rate of young fish is very low after each birth, for example, a fish gives birth to about 100, but only 20-30 survive at most. Because the fish give birth so little, some fish farms in Ha Giang province have found ways to artificially inseminate the fish and raise them in nursery tanks to obtain a higher survival rate. In the past three years, many fish farmers in Tan Lap have gone to Ha Giang to buy this type of fish to raise and breed.
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| The "magic fish" pond of Mr. Trieu Hua Mai's family. |
"God fish" on the chopping block
For many years, people in Luc Yen district have been eating "divine fish" for nourishment without seeing any signs of death or poisoning like the rumors about eating "divine fish" in Thanh Hoa province. Lieutenant Hua Trung Uy revealed: The meat of this fish is tough, fragrant, and sweeter than other types of fish, which is why it is very popular.
Three years ago, when he borrowed workers to build a house, his family slaughtered a "divine fish" every day to treat the workers. After killing all the small fish, he caught several hundred-year-old "grandfather" fish. One day, a visitor came to visit and saw that he had killed so many fish that he offered to buy them for 200,000 VND/kg to sell to a restaurant. Mr. Uy saw that no one had ever asked to buy fish at such a high price before, so he sold a few fish to get some pocket money. Not long after that, traders from somewhere came in droves offering 500,000 VND/kg, surprising him because the price of the "divine fish" was as expensive as a buffalo.
Currently, "divine fish" is becoming a specialty dish sought after by many restaurants in the Northern region. A restaurant owner named My on Nguyen Thai Hoc Street, Yen Bai City said: The silver carp dish is very popular because the taste of silver carp meat is different from other fish species. In recent months, the amount of silver carp in Yen Bai has become increasingly scarce, many people have to go all the way to Ha Giang to buy fish at prices ranging from 500,000 - 700,000 VND/kg.
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The fish weighs over 10kg and is raised in the pond of Lieutenant Hua's family. |
According to Bee - VP
