Why is the golden pomfret worth billions?

(Baonghean.vn) - The yellow croaker is a rare fish, with very few left. In addition to its high nutritional quality, the yellow croaker's bladder is used to make absorbable sutures in microsurgery and surgery, priced from 45,000 - 55,000 USD/kg, depending on the length of the bladder.

» Priest Nguyen Dinh Thuc incited parishioners

The yellow croaker (scientific name is Otolithoides biauritus), also known as the yellowfin croaker, double yellow croaker, headfish, and sugar fish - is the largest fish in the croaker family, belonging to the perch order (family Sciaenidae), distributed in India, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, China, and Vietnam.

The fish caught by Mr. Dau Van Su, in block 8, Nghi Tan ward (Cua Lo town) has many characteristics similar to the golden croaker. Photo: Minh Vu

The yellow croaker has a pointed snout, a wide mouth, and a turmeric yellow color. The lower jaw extends below the eye socket, has strong teeth, and a long dorsal fin. The fish's body is silvery white or pinkish white, and the head and back are blue-gray or light gray depending on the ecological environment in which the fish lives. When dead, the whole body of the fish turns light yellow to dark yellow.

Golden croaker fish live in the sea, but during the breeding season (January - April and September - October of the lunar calendar) it will swim to brackish estuaries to lay eggs. The young fish will swim into fresh water deep inland to live, after 1 - 2 years they will return to the sea by themselves, at that time they will be about 10kg), the size can reach 160cm, weigh over 120kg, the maximum length that can be achieved is 160cm.

According to Dr. Duc Minh (Institute of Biotechnology and Food Research), the golden croaker fish in Vietnam is very rare, almost extinct. However, they are not yet listed in the Red Book because they can still be caught, so the golden croaker fish has become a rare fish, as valuable as gold in China and Vietnam.

Nutritionally, fresh yellow croaker meat also has a delicious taste, dried fish maw is a food with high nutritional value (equal to ginseng because it nourishes the liver and kidneys). Pregnant women or women after giving birth who eat yellow croaker meat will help the body supplement more nutrients.

Unique dishes made from yellow croaker fish are in the top 10 favorite dishes of Hong Kong people, and are among the most expensive in the world. Chinese people believe that eating yellow croaker fish will bring good luck and prosperity in business.

The Japanese and Vietnamese also call this a blessing from heaven. The price of the yellow croaker fish bladder is therefore up to 45,000 - 55,000 USD/kg depending on the length of the bladder. A fish weighing 40 - 50kg has a bladder of about 1kg fresh. The scales of the yellow croaker fish are very hard so they are used to make picks for guitar players, sold to Japan or Europe.

Regarding economic value, according to marine environmental researchers, in Vietnam, the golden croaker is most widely distributed around the estuary of the Red River Delta, then to the Mekong River and even in the Ca River (Nghe An). They often swim into the estuary to find food, so lucky fishermen can catch this rare fish species.

The economic value of this fish is particularly high, before 2005 in Vietnam the price was from 5 - 7 million VND/kg (300 - 400 USD/kg). In 2007 it was about 15 - 20 million VND/kg, but today traders can hunt for fish and sell it for up to billions of VND depending on the weight.

The fish weighs 8k and has a shiny golden color. Photo: Thanh Van

Dr. Duc Minh said that the yellow croaker is highly valued because it has high nutritional and medicinal value, especially in the medical field. In particular, fish bladders are purchased by Chinese and Japanese traders to make absorbable sutures in microsurgery and surgery. Fish bladders are very rich in protein, every 500g of bladder contains 442g of protein, helping people to eat them to greatly replenish their vitality, promote blood circulation, and supplement nutrients for weak and anemic bodies...

Its bladder is used to produce absorbable sutures after surgery for patients, without causing damage to tissues, minimizing the risk of infection. Absorbable sutures made from the bladder of the yellow croaker fish are used very effectively in medicine in developed countries.

In particular, the Chinese use fish bladders in some secret remedies, making its value increase rapidly.

Vietnam does not have the technology to produce surgical sutures from fish bladders, only China, Japan and some other countries can produce this type of suture. Therefore, Vietnamese traders often export this fish to those countries.

Nguyen Hung

(Synthetic)