Turbo fish belongs to the flounder order and is a species of ray-finned fish. Sometimes it is called "big diamond" or "sea pheasant". It lives in the waters of the Black, Mediterranean, B altic and North Seas, it can also be found in the Atlantic Ocean. Turbot is a very valuable food fish.
Appearance
Turbo fish has an interesting appearance. The body is high, the eyes are located only on the left side. The bottom is white and the top has the color of the environment, which is a good camouflage. Also, the upper part does not have scales at all, but there are bony protrusions. The body is almost round in shape, can reach a length of 50 to 70 cm, sometimes up to 1 m. This fish is commercial.
Turbo is a highly active predatory fish that feeds on small fish and shellfish. Often it can be found buried in the bottom layer.
Types of turbot
Depending on where the fish swims, it is divided into:
- marine;
- oceanic.
The most valuable is the Mediterranean andan oceanic variety because these individuals are larger than others. Therefore, the price of such fish will be high. The turbot fish caught in the B altic Sea is a bit like the Atlantic variety. The Black Sea is noticeably inferior to all the others - its meat has a grayish tint and a taste of mud with iodine.
A close relative of the turbot is the Smooth Diamond. But unlike its relative, the body is oval in shape and its color is gray or brown with small spots of white color, which become larger in size, approaching the edges. Its fins are pale and with dark brown spots. The body is asymmetrical and strongly flattened laterally. The range of this species is the same as that of the turbot. The smooth diamond is a carnivorous fish.
When is the best time to catch a turbot
It should be remembered that this fish is not farmed, it can only be found in its natural habitat. It is recommended to catch it in late autumn and in winter. Because the colder the temperature of the water, the more intense the taste of the fish will be. During this period, the water environment is cleaner, and in spring and summer, the turbot begins its breeding season.
Reproduction
Turbo is chosen for the fertilization of the waters of the North and B altic Seas in the spring and summer. Females leave 10-15 million eggs at a depth of 10 to 40 m. After about a week, fry appear from the eggs.
How to determine the quality of a turbot
Since this species is a deep predator, the color of its upperpart, you can determine in which aquatic environment it was. If the color is dark with a greenish or gray tint, then it lived in the silt, therefore, there will be a taste of mud. If light, the fish has swum in a sandy marine environment and will taste clean and refined.
Also, freshness can be determined by one specific property: unlike other varieties, a quality turbot will be covered with a transparent slime with a slightly grayish tint. The eyes of fresh fish will be bulging and glow from the inside, the gills will be reddish in color and there will be a smell of iodine.
Trade value of turbot
Turbo is considered one of the most valuable fish due to its excellent taste and high content of substances beneficial to human he alth. It tolerates cold very well, so if you freeze it according to all the rules, it will retain all its beneficial properties.
You can cook it in almost any way, but preference is given to baking, frying, boiling and stewing. Almost all over the world, identical methods of making turbot are used. Grilled vegetables are a good side dish for fish. Particular attention should be paid to sauces - they should be light, it is best if they are based on dry white wine.
Commercial fish: their use and protection
Fishing is an important industry for humans, because fish occupies an important place indiet. But this does not mean that constant fishing in the same places will not affect the number of individuals in any way. In order to prevent the disappearance of some species of fish, it is necessary to properly approach their catch.
It has been observed that if adults are caught before a certain age, the number of fish increases. This is due to the fact that the young ones will have more opportunities for growth, which leads to an increase in the number of fish. Therefore, a minimum age is set at which fish are allowed to be caught, and it must be higher than the one at which they spawn.
The commercial catch is carried out by nets, so a certain size of cells is set so that young individuals do not accidentally get into the net. If it turns out that more were caught than planned, then fishing is prohibited at this place for some period.
It is very important for the preservation of the population to protect the spawning grounds of fish, build special migratory dams, and, of course, we need to fight water pollution. An important solution for the protection of fish is the construction of fish hatcheries, where young animals are reared in large quantities, which contributes to the growth of the fish population.
Commercial fish - their use and protection - are also important issues from the point of view of ecology. Although the turbot is not an endangered species, the above rules are nevertheless used when catching it, so that the population remains at an acceptable level. Every year, about 3,000 tons of this expensive and tasty fish enter the net. And catch inthis scale does not greatly affect the number of turbot fish.
