As we all know, a huge variety of different animals live in sea waters. A fairly large proportion of them are fish. They are an integral part of this amazing ecosystem. The variety of species of vertebrate inhabitants of the seas and oceans is amazing. There are absolutely crumbs having a length of up to one centimeter, and there are giants reaching eighteen meters.
Underwater world
And how delicious sea fish! The list of names familiar to us from childhood is impressive: pollock, herring, capelin, saury, cod, hake, halibut, notothenia … There are also more exotic specimens. For example, a seahorse that can vertically move in the water column, it is also interesting that males give birth in the family of these fish. Or a whale shark - the largest marine fish, which, due to its size, fell into the Guinness Book of Records (its weight reaches thirty-four tons, and its length can exceed twenty meters). Despite this, the whale shark has a very peaceful disposition and feeds only on plankton. Desperate divers sometimes manage to touch her and even ride on her back. Another extremely interesting marine life is the mud jumper. For fish, it has a very unusual body structure: its tail allows you to bounce high, and the fins serve instead of hands and make it possible to move on land. Mudskippers in appearance resemble lizards, but the presence of fins and gills clearly indicates that these strange animals belong to fish.
It is hard to imagine how many more amazing inhabitants are hiding under the water. In both polar and tropical zones, marine fish are found. The names of hundreds of newly discovered individuals every year we hear from scientists. Yes, it is not for nothing that they say that the depths of the oceans have been studied even worse than the vast expanses of space! In the article we will talk about what types of marine fish exist, and talk about the usefulness and nutritional qualities of various vertebrates. Of course, we can affect only the most common species, because in all there are more than thirty thousand of them.
Commercial sea fish. Photos and titles
More than a third of the world catch is commercial fish - those that are distinguished by a high population density and high abundance. There are pelagic individuals living at the surface of the sea and in the upper layers (mackerel, herring, tuna), bottom and bottom fish living on the bottom, near the bottom or in bottom horizons (cod, flounder, pollock, halibut). It should be noted that commercial sea fish are also bred under artificial conditions. We will not list the full list of such species: these are representatives of the families of flounder, mackerel, horse mackerel and many others. Next, we will talk about those individuals who make up the bulk of the commodity on store shelves.
Cod fish
All members of this family are characterized by low fat content of meat (usually up to one percent) and high fat reserves in the liver (up to seventy percent). The main species are cod, black cod, haddock, saffron cod, hake, burbot, hake, pollock.
1. Cod
Perhaps one of the best edible fish, it is distinguished by its dense white meat, which serves as an excellent source of proteins, and the absence of small muscle bones. It has unsurpassed nutritional qualities and acts as a natural raw material for obtaining fish oil. Also very useful are the liver and cod roe.
2. Haddock
It has the most delicious and tender meat of all cod. On the shelves may come under the name "cod", but haddock is easy to distinguish by a black stripe. According to the average annual catch, this marine commercial fish occupies the third place in the world, second only to pollock and cod. It is famous for its excellent balance of minerals in the composition. Good source of potassium and sodium. Haddock is often used for diet meals.
3. Black cod
Very popular sea fish. Its names can be found different - butterfish, charcoal fish. It differs from other cod scales in a metallic tint. It has excellent taste, rich in fats: omega-3 fatty acids in it are fifty percent more than in salmon. Black cod contains a lot of niacin, selenium, vitamin B12. It is useful for people with weakened immunity, high cholesterol, those who often experience stress and anxiety.
4. Navaga
It is subdivided into the Pacific (Far Eastern) and northern. The first species is distinguished by larger sizes (individuals reach a weight of up to one kilogram), but it is less valued by consumers. Pacific saffron meat is coarser and not as tasty, aromatic and juicy as the north meat. This white saltwater fish is low in calories.
5. Burbot
There are two commercial species of burbot: red and white. It is better to purchase fish of the first type: despite the fact that it has smaller sizes (weight up to one kilogram, while white burbot can reach a mass of four kilograms), its taste is much better. In general, the consistency of the meat of this fish is rougher than that of cod. Fat is practically absent (up to 0.1 percent).
6. Merluse and hake
Very close to each other marine fish (pictures below). In total, about ten species are known. The skin-scaly integument is colored from yellowish silver and gray to brown and almost black. The quality of meat is noticeably superior to cod meat: quite tender, white, with good taste, rather fat (up to four percent fat).
7. Pollock
This benthic marine fish is common in the North Pacific. It reaches ninety centimeters in length, and four kilograms in weight. It is found on the Asian (in the Bering, Japanese, Okhotsk seas) and the American coast (in the bays of Monterey and Alaska). Atlantic pollock lives in the Barents Sea. The meat of this fish is very easy to cook: you can boil, dry, fry, bake in foil. It contains a wide range of useful substances: vitamins A, C, PP, E, B-groups, chlorine, potassium, iron, calcium, iodine and other minerals. Fat content - up to two percent.
Flounder fish
In this family, flounder and halibut are distinguished. Their consumer properties are not the same. Among the Far Eastern flounders, the best are the yellowfish, which has bright yellow fins, yellow stripes, dark and Japanese. Among flatfish, the family of marine languages is also known. These fish are distinguished by their elongated body and very tasty meat. In general, at least five hundred flatfish species live in the depths of the sea.
1. Flounder
It is also called sea chicken. The meat of this fish is white, tasty, without small bones (with the exception of star flounder, in which bone formations are scattered throughout the body). Fat content is from one to five percent. The North Sea species, as well as the common flounder, common in the Atlantic Ocean, have deserved popularity. This sea fish has a flattened body and an interesting arrangement of eyes. Flounder meat is a storehouse of selenium, vitamins A and D, it is loved by gourmets for its delicate taste, but at the same time, not everyone likes its specific strong smell.
2. Halibut
The most famous species are blue-billed, black and white-halibut. This is a fatty sea fish (fat content - from five to twenty-two percent) with white tasty and tender meat with a sweetish flavor. Halibut, especially white halibut, is an excellent source of fatty acids (in one hundred grams of fillet one gram of omega-3 acids), there are very few bones in it. Saturated with magnesium, potassium, selenium, phosphorus, vitamins B6 and B12. This fish will protect you from atherosclerosis and arrhythmias, improve blood flow by relaxing arteries and veins and lowering their resistance.
Mackerel fish
In trade, individuals of this family are sold under different names. There are Far Eastern, Kuril, Atlantic (oceanic), Azov-Black Sea mackerels, bonito, tuna. As a rule, the meat of these fish is rather fat, without small bones, tender.
1. Mackerel
One of the most favorite fish in Russia. Not everyone knows that the most useful is autumn mackerel, it is at this time of year that its fat content reaches thirty percent of its own weight, while the fat content of spring catch individuals is only three percent. This sea fish contains a lot of omega-3 acids, vitamins B12 and D.
2. Tuna
Distributed in the waters of the Atlantic, kept in adjacent layers and near the surface of the water. This is a flock of large predatory fish. She is very thermophilic, therefore in the Black Sea appears only in July-August. It reaches four meters in length, and can weigh more than half a ton. This is a tempting trophy for any angler. Distinguish between striped, long feathers, yellow feathers, spotted, big-eyed tuna. The meat is characterized by low fat content - up to two percent.
3. Bonito
The shape of the body resembles tuna, only proportionally reduced. This predatory schooling fish lives in the Black Sea, reaches seven kilograms in weight, and eighty-five centimeters in length. Pelamids, like tuna, are thermophilic, so they leave for the winter in the Sea of Marmara, while the shoals return to the Black Sea waters quite thinned, so it is rarely possible to catch such an individual. There are many types of bonito: royal mackerel (wahu), plain bonito, savara, spotted bonito and others. The meat of these fish has a light color, dense texture and pleasant aroma, contains from two to five percent fat (with the exception of the one-colored bonito, with a fat content of up to twenty percent).
Stavrida fish
In total there are about two hundred species. In addition to horse mackerel itself, this family includes Caranx, Womer, Lichia, Seriola and others. In horse mackerel meat, which has a grayish color, the fat content is two to four percent. The most delicious is ten-toed fish; it is somewhat larger in weight by weight than usual. Horse mackerels are distinguished by a peculiar taste and smell (with sourness). Caranx fat - half a percent, womer - one to two percent, dashing - three to five percent.
Scorpion fish
All species of this family go on sale under the name "sea bass". In the Atlantic, common perch and beak (beak) are of commercial importance; in the Pacific Ocean, red perch. Atlantic species contain six percent fat; Pacific fish have almost half the fat content. Sea bass is a valuable raw material for culinary specialists; it produces very tasty fish broths.
Pair fish
Pagrus, Cuban crucian carp, sea bream, chong fish, zuban, skap are all representatives of the pair family. On the shelves they can come under the single name "ocean crucian carp". Possess lean (up to two percent), juicy, tender meat. The exception in terms of fat content is only skap; its meat contains seven to ten percent of fat. To taste, this representative of the pair resembles a carp. Dorado is also called crucian carp and golden spar. Her appearance is a little ferocious, but the meat is tasty, aromatic, with a minimum of bones. Due to the presence of unsaturated fatty acids, including myristic, palmitic, lauric, this marine fish is very useful. Using dorado, you will protect the heart from the effects of free radicals and prevent the formation of blood clots.
Notothenia fish
In Antarctica, in recent years, they have mastered fishing for tasty fish - notothenia and other representatives of the family in question: ocean goby, toothfish, and squam. Of these species, the fattest individuals are toothfish (containing twenty to twenty-five percent of fat), followed by notothenia marble (eight to sixteen percent), squam (four to six percent) and ocean goby (half percent). The meat of these fish is white, dense, aromatic, without small stones.
Croaker fish
The family has up to one hundred and fifty species. Among the trade names of individuals arriving at the store shelves, we are most aware of sea trout, captain (otolith) fish, croaker, and umber. In the catch there are specimens weighing from one to ten to twelve kilograms, fat content is up to three percent. In non-medium-sized fish, meat is not stiff and not too coarse, in large - coarse-fiber. All representatives of the Gorbylev family, in particular, umbra and otolith, are valuable species, because they are practically devoid of marine smack and smell, they are reminiscent of traditional fish that live in inland waters in their nutritional properties. Trout is rich in pyroxidine, vitamins A and D, omega-3 acids. This nutritious and tasty fish is very loved by consumers and acts as an ingredient in many dishes.
Herring fish
Perhaps there is no person who at least once in his life did not eat herring. Every Russian child has known her since childhood. This fish has a very valuable commercial value, lives mainly in the northern parts of the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. Herring has a lot of protein, vitamin A, polyunsaturated fats. However, it also has a lot of bones, which, nevertheless, did not prevent it from gaining wild popularity among the population. Often herring is used in a salty form. In Holland, large smoked fish is called a "hall", and small salted fish is called "beckling."
Smelt fish
The most famous representative of this family is capelin. This small sea fish has an almost circular distribution: in the northern parts of the Atlantic (in the Barents Sea) and the Pacific Ocean, in the Arctic. Consumers sometimes overlook the affordable small fish. And in vain. It must be included in the diet! Where else do you find so much potassium, iodine, sodium? But the owners of cats do not go past the capelin in the store - pets love this fish. It has few connective tissues and at the same time a lot of valuable fatty acids and protein (about twenty-three percent), which lower blood cholesterol levels and carefully remove plaques from the walls of blood vessels. Capelin can be prepared very quickly, the most delicious it is obtained in smoked and fried form.
