Rare fish species "cathead, eel body"
The head is flat like a catfish, but the body is long and slender like an eel, with beautiful shiny patterns, fatty, chewy meat and a delicious, unique flavor... That is the initial identification of the appearance of the "Phu Quoc stream catfish" (CTSPQ) - a freshwater fish endemic to the largest island in the Western sea of the Fatherland.
Phu Quoc catfish.
Unique and strange Phu Quoc stream catfish
Catfish are abundant in freshwater alluvial plains. But having catfish on an island surrounded by sea like Phu Quoc is unique and strange. Phu Quoc stream catfish, also known as stream eel, is a rare fish species. This fish species has just been discovered and is endemic to Phu Quoc island district, Kien Giang province.
It is more interesting to know that this unique fish species only builds its “base” in the strong water flows of streams originating from the 99 legendary mountains on the Pearl Island, so the locals also call it Phu Quoc stream eel. Meanwhile, Vietnamese aquatic experts consider this a new discovery and believe that this freshwater fish species in the middle of the ocean will attract as much attention as the ridgeback dog on the Pearl Island (Phu Quoc - Kien Giang).
Phu Quoc stream catfish is a stream fish species endemic to Pearl Island.
MSc. Dang Khanh Hong - Deputy Director of the Center for Agricultural and Fisheries Extension of Kien Giang province, the person who discovered and laid the foundation for research on CTSPQ - attracted our attention right from the first sentence introducing this fish species: "This is a unique fish species both in terms of external morphology and internal characteristics".
What is different about Phu Quoc stream catfish?
According to Dr. Hong, in terms of external morphology, CTSPQ has similarities with the Clarias Nieuhofii catfish distributed in Western Cambodia, the Malay Peninsula, southeastern Thailand, India, Laos and Indonesia, meaning its body length is 8 - 9.5 times its body height.
However, there are subtle differences between them, such as the Phu Quoc dog has a dorsal ridge compared to normal dogs. While the dorsal fins, caudal fins and anal fins of C. Nieuhofii are almost fused together, these parts in CCSPQ are separate.
In particular, the skin patterns of CTSPQ are also more diverse in detail and the colors are also more intense. If in C. Nieuhofii the patterns are just yellow and white dots on a dark brown background, then in CTSPQ there are up to 3 colors of patterns: yellow, red, white and black and the colors of each type of pattern correspond to different quality, flavor and attractiveness.
Phu Quoc stream catfish is different in shape and color from regular catfish.
Red goldfish, weight (1 year old) reaches over 2.5 kg/fish, meat has a characteristic aroma. Similarly, white fish has a larger weight, soft, fatty meat. As for black fish, the meat is firm so the weight is only about 01 kg/fish...
According to the elders in Phu Quoc, this fish is very intelligent and aggressive. They live in fast-flowing streams, so they are very difficult to hunt. When they detect an intruder in their “territory”, they will attack immediately, even humans.
Phu Quoc catfish chooses fast-flowing streams as their "base". The streams on the Pearl Island are the habitat and shelter of the unique and poisonous stream catfish.
Not only is it unique and ready to attract tourists at first sight, but Phu Quoc stream catfish also makes many travelers flutter because of the unique quality of the fish, which has firm meat but also has a soft, fatty, and delicious taste. Therefore, if exploited properly, this will be a profitable product for Phu Quoc tourism.
