Traders looking to buy fish scales
Instead of throwing them away, people in dried fish villages collect the scales of snakehead fish and snakehead fish and sell them to traders for 1,200 - 2,000 VND per kilogram.
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Fish scales at dried processing facilities are collected, waiting for traders to come and buy. Photo:Hung Loi. |
Ms. Nguyen Thi Huong - owner of a dried fish processing facility in Khanh An commune, An Phu district, An Giang said that her family currently processes about 10 tons of dried snakehead fish every day. The amount of scales discarded is equivalent to 600 kg.
"More than two years ago, someone came to buy all the fish scales for 1,200 VND per kilogram, so I sold them instead of throwing them away," said Ms. Huong, adding that every 4-5 days, she would drive a truck to weigh and transport the fish scales, and they would sell them all, but when asked what they would do with them, they wouldn't say.
Many other households in the dry village of Khanh An commune also sell to traders from other places who come to buy at a price of 1,500 - 2,000 VND per kg.
Mr. Cao Xuan Dieu, Chairman of Khanh An Commune People's Committee, confirmed that there were traders purchasing snakehead fish and snakehead fish scales from drying villages in the area. "After working with some drying facilities, they said they sold fish scales to traders to use as fertilizer," said Mr. Dieu.
Mr. Pham Thanh Tam, Deputy Head of the Agriculture Department of An Phu District, said that traders buying this type of waste helps increase people's income and reduce environmental pollution. "The locality will find out where they buy it, transport it, and use it for what purpose," he said.
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After removing the scales, the body of the striped snakehead fish is processed into a specialty dried fish. Photo:Hung Loi. |
According to nutritionists, fish scales contain a lot of lecithin, which has the effect of enhancing brain memory and delaying the aging of brain cells. In addition, fish scales also contain many rich trace elements, especially high levels of calcium and phosphorus, which can prevent rickets in children and osteoporosis in the elderly...
