Pacific saury
The Pacific saury (Cololabis saira) is species of fish in the family Scomberesocidae. Saury is a seafood in several East Asian cuisines and is also known by the name mackerel pike.
Not to be confused with the saury (Cololabis adocetus).Biology[edit]
Saury is a fish with a small mouth, an elongated body, a series of small finlets between the dorsal and anal fins, and a small forked tail. The fish's color is dark green to blue on the dorsal surface, silvery below, and there are small, bright blue blotches distributed randomly on the sides. [1]
It is typically about 25-30 cm long when caught, but it can grow up to 40 cm long and about 180 grams when caught in the autumn. The life expectancy of Saury is approximately four years old. Saury is a pelagic fish typically found and harvested close to the surface, but it can also be found down to depths of up to 230 m. When saury is escaping from predators, it floats on the surface and is similar to other fishes within the genus.
These pelagic schooling fish are found in the North Pacific, from China, Korea and Japan eastward to the Gulf of Alaska and southward to subtropical Mexico,[2] preferring temperatures around 15 – 18 °C. Pacific saury is usually found near the surface (though they may have a depth range of 0 – 230 m).
The Pacific saury is a highly migratory species. Adults are generally found offshore, near the surface of the ocean, in schools. Juveniles associate with drifting seaweed. Pacific saury are oviparous. Eggs are attached to floating objects, such as seaweed, via filaments on the shell surface.
The saury feeds on zooplankton, such as copepods, krill, amphipods, and the eggs and larvae of common fish, such as anchovies, due to their lack of stomach, and their short straight intestines . The internal organs of the saury may contain small, red, earthworm-like parasites named Rhadinorhynchus selkirki; these are harmless.
A few of the natural predators of Pacific saury include marine mammals, squid and tuna.
Saury oil contains considerable levels of n-3 unsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) and long-chain monounsaturated fatty acids (LCMUFA) with aliphatic tails longer than 18 carbons.[3]
Fishing[edit]
Around 1950, Japan caught about 98% of the catch and South Korea about 2%, but Japan's catch share has decreased proportionally in recent decades. Other nations that fish saury now include China and Taiwan. The Soviet Union fished saury around 1960 until the dissolution of the country. Taiwan began fishing for saury around 1988 and has been expanding its catch. In 2002, the Chinese also started fishing for saury, and they have been catching over 100,000 tons a year.
Approximately ninety Taiwanese vessels participate in the long distance North Pacific fishery. Taiwan's total Pacific saury landings were 30k metric tons in 2021 and 40k metric tons in 2022. Boats in the Taiwanese saury fishery have been transitioning from incandescent and high-intensity discharge (HID) light bulbs to light emitting diodes (LED) which allows them for an environmental impact reduction.[4]
