Fish maw

Fish maw with abalone and broccoli
Alternative names	Fish sound Translations Chinese: 魚肚, yúdǔ Yue Chinese: 花胶, fa kau Mandarin Chinese: 花膠, yújiāo, fa gau Spanish: buches Portuguese: sames
Type	Fish, offal
Associated cuisine	Canadian cuisine Chinese cuisine Portuguese cuisine
Main ingredients	Swim bladder
Chinese name
Chinese	花胶
Traditional Chinese	花膠
Simplified Chinese	魚肚
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin yúdǔ
Media: Fish maw

Fish maw (also fish sound) is the swim bladder^[a] of a fish, eaten as offal. Typically dried or fried but also cooked from fresh, fish maw is largely collagen. It is a traditional food in cuisines dominated by fishing, and a particular delicacy in Chinese cuisine - one of the four sea delicacies - as well as being valued in traditional Chinese medicine. The modern demand for fish maw from Pacific Asia supports wildlife trade worldwide for quality fish maw, which has in turn led to wildlife smuggling and poaching.

Fish sounds, particularly cod sounds, were cooked in British and American cuisine as early as the 18th century.^{[citation needed]} They are documented in the 1747 English cookbook The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy, served in gravy, broiled, and as a fricassee.^[2] Cod sounds were later described as a 'delicacy' in the 1911 American food industry encyclopedia, The Grocer's Encyclopedia.^[3]

Cod sounds are a traditional food of Newfoundland, owing to the ubiquity of the cod fishing industry. They were typically salted until use, then boiled and stewed. The popularity of cod sounds dropped in the late 20th century along with cod tongue and cheeks, but has begun to see a resurgence with culinary tourism and interest in nose to tail eating.^[4]

Fish maw (Chinese: 魚肚, yúdǔ; Yue Chinese: 花胶, fa kau^[5]; Mandarin Chinese: 花膠, yújiāo, fa gau^[6]) or "sea ginseng"^[7] is a delicacy in Chinese cuisine, particularly Zhejiang cuisine. Consumption of fish maw in China may go back to the Han Dynasty, c. 206 BCE-220 CE.^[8] The History of the Southern Dynasties documents fish maw soaked in honey being served in royal court during the Northern and Southern dynasties period, c. 420-589 CE.^[9] Consumption of rockfish fish maw was documented in the 6th century Qimin Yaoshu.^[10]

Fish maw is one of the four sea delicacies of Chinese cuisine, along with abalone, sea cucumber, and shark's fin. Fish maw from larger fish species is more prestigious; the restaurant trade buys smaller maw. Fish maw from male fish is preferred for its relative thickness and resilience to dissolving.^[5][7] Until the late 20th century, the Chinese bahaba or giant yellow croaker Bahaba taipingensis of the China Seas was the premier source of fish maw. However, overfishing has driven the Chinese bahaba population to near-extinction, and raised demand for similar fish, particular the related Sciaenidae.^[11][12]

As of 2016, Southern China and Hong Kong had the largest demand for fish maw.^[12]

The Environmental Investigation Agency in 2016 estimated that 34 species of fish were being traded on the wider Chinese fish maw market. Sciaenidae or croakers are typically the most valued, due to the highly developed croaking mechanism involving their swim bladder.^[12][11][13]

Fish maw in Chinese cuisine may come from many species today:

Other targeted fishes include eels, stonefishes, lates perch, groupers, threadfins and sturgeon.^[5][13][15]

Fish maw, particularly of rare fish, is highly valued in traditional Chinese medicine. TCM practitioners recommend fish maw for the post-partum period and recovering from surgery. It is also valued as a cosmetic: its high level of collagen is believed to improve ^{[clarification needed]}.^[10][21]

Codfish maw (Portuguese: sames) was salted and brought back to Portugal, and eaten as a fishermen dish. Portuguese sailors from Figueira da Foz would rely on codfish maw as a byproduct of cod fishing in Newfoundland.^[22] Feijoada is traditionally made with fish maw instead of pork in Figuerira de Foz (Feijoada de sames).^[23]

Krapaw pla [th]

Kaeng tai pla

A native Thai fish maw dish is kaeng tai pla (Thai: แกงไตปลา), a Southern Thai fishermen dish featuring tai pla, fermented fish maw.^[24]

Krapaw pla [th] is a Thai-Chinese fish maw stew in a red braise.^[25][26]

Fried fish maw

Dried fish maw

The size and body weight ratio of swim bladders varies significantly depending on the region and species: on the Arafura Sea, an average fish bladder weighs 40 grams (1.4 oz), in a ~1:112.5 ratio against the total fish's weight;^[18] on the coast of Brazil, maw to flesh ratio ranges from 1:20 to 1:70;^[14] and in Vietnam, pangasius maw is a 1:7 weight ratio.^[20]

The fish maw is attached to the fish's spine.^[22] The maw is typically removed and dried onboard fishing vessels when conditions allow.^[11]

The standard for fish maw is a consistent white-yellow color and minimal odor. Dried or fried fish maw is prepared by soaking, and takes on a sold-but-soft consistency when cooked.^[5][9]

Established commercial fishing industries worldwide sell swim bladders as by-product to fish maw importers. In 2018, the Norwegian fishing industry supplied over 25% of the world fish maw market share, largely with codfish, followed by Russia at 14.9%. Other prominent exporters in the Chinese fish maw import market include Iceland, which exports cod and true ling, and New Zealand, which exports Genypterus blacodes or New Zealand ling.^[17][27]

The Chinese demand for wild-caught fish maw, particularly from exotic foreign fish, has increased significantly since the reform and opening up of China. The average price per kilogram for fish maw is 72 times higher than the price of flesh, and can reach over 8000 times higher in extreme circumstances like the totoaba trade; in these cases, the rest of the fish becomes byproduct, and is often discarded.^[13]

The greatest determiner of value is the origin species. Sciaenidae (croakers or drums) maw demands the highest price, for its perceived superior quality over other species. Differences in swim bladder size within a species are directly proportional to the size variation within the species, so the largest specimens caught are the most valuable.^[14]

The fish maw trade in Brazil has grown significantly since fishermen pivoted from the shark's fin trade; the Brazilian government banned shark finning in 2012, and has introduced other restrictions on shark fishing since. Between 2015 and 2018, Brazil was the largest exporter of fish maw to Hong Kong at 3,300 tonnes (3,600 short tons), valued at HK$3 billion; 95% of exported maws came from Para, Brazil. Brazilian export of fish byproducts, including fish maw, increased by 398% from 2012 to 2020; 97% of fish byproducts were exported to China in 2021.^[13] As of 2022, Brazil has no official controls over the fish maw trade.^[11] Mirroring worldwide trends, Sciaenidae maw fetches the highest price at market in Brazil; Ariidae maw, although being significantly larger, is frequently sold in unsorted bulk (Portuguese: ariru).^[14]

As of 2022, India is one of five countries that produced 50% of the world fish bladder supply and 70% of its value. The Indian swim bladder trade dates back to the 1800s for isinglass production, and has been regulated by the Indian government under the Harmonized System since 2002. Increasing demand from East Asia has driven fishing of croakers in particular, fueling an auction market in the major fishing and export ports Chennai, Kolkata, Mumbai and Veraval. There is little domestic Indian demand for fish maw.^[15]

Bangladesh has a developing fish maw trade in the Karnaphuli delta targeting the high-value maws of Johnius coitor [es] (datina koral) and Pomadasys argenteus, and Indian salmon. Less valuable but still traded fish maw species include Pangasius hypophthalmus, Labeo rohita, Catla catla, Wallago attu, and Leptomelanosoma indicum. The industry is nascent but growing, and has little government support or oversight.^[17][16]

Ugandan man carrying Nile perch, Ggaba landing site

Introduced in the 1950s, the population of Nile perch in Lake Victoria has been targeted for its maw since the mid-2010s in Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania. There is an endemic issue of contracted fisherman side-selling the maw of Nile perch to middlemen instead of giving the catch to the contractor: middlemen rendezvous and buy maw on the lake, and the fish carcass is discarded into the lake to destroy evidence. This dumping has led to eutrophication on the lake.^[28]

Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania have beach patrols and fishing regulations to regulate the fish maw trade. Despite this, there is increased usage of illegal monofilament nets and targeting of undersized fish, in addition to dead fish dumping, threatening the lake habitat.^[28][29]

2024 Vietnamese export of pangasius maw has increased to about US$58,000,000, with 38% going to China and the rest to Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and the USA. The Vietnam News Agency claims that the falling totoaba population has incentivized Chinese import of alternative maw.^[20]

In 2018 commercial fishing on the Arafura Sea off of Western New Guinea, as much as 51.4% of fish catch by weight was discarded at sea in favor of the swim bladder.^[18]

In and around the Kikori River delta of Papua New Guinea, the scaly croaker Nibea squamosa [es] has been targeted in gillnetting for its extremely high-priced maw, selling for as much as US$15,615 per kilogram. Elasmobranchs and dolphins are regularly caught as bycatch: targeted fish make up less than a quarter of the total catch. The trade has gone on since at least 2012, and as of 2024 has minimal governmental oversight.^[19]

Hong Kong company Avant Meats has developed a cultured meat replacement for fish maw. As of 2021, the company claims to produce cultured fish maw at a cost of US$70 per pound.^[30]

In major re-export hubs like Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong, fish maw is frequently mislabelled as more expensive varitieties of fish, due to high profit incentive and the high level of visual similarity between disparately priced species.^[1][6]

A major target of poaching is the totoaba in the Gulf of California, due to its perceived similarity to the traditional high-grade swim bladder of Bahaba taipingensis. The totoaba, a critically endangered species, is protected by CITES. Poachers use gillnets to capture the totoaba, and often remove the valuable bladder and toss the dead fish into the sea to minimize evidence. The gillnets also inadvertently catch vaquita, a critically endangered porpoise. The population of vaquita dropped 92% from 1997 to 2015, in large part from totoba poaching.^[12]

Poaching operations are backed by a transnational organized crime ring known by the moniker 'the Dragon Cartel': a cooperation between Chinese organized crime and Mexican cartels, particularly the Sinaloa cartel, operating in Mexicali, Baja California. Mexican cartels poach totoaba maw (Spanish: buches) and smuggle them through local restaurateurs to international ports like Vancouver, trading them with Chinese criminals for the chemical precursors to fentanyl. As of 2021, a single totoba maw sells for US$3-5,000 equivalent in Mexico, US$10-15,000 in the US, and US$60,000 in China. For its high price and involvement with drug trafficking, totoaba maw has been given the media moniker "cocaine of the sea".^{[31][32][33][19]}

The 2019 documentary Sea of Shadows documented and condemned totoaba poaching and its negative effect on the vaquita population.^[31] In 2019, internal documents of the Secretariat of Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT) of Mexico claimed that the government has minimally investigated cartel activity.^{[citation needed]} SEMARNAT's prosecution branch PROFEPA [es] opened 42 investigations into totoaba poaching between 2012 and 2021, resulting in two arrests.^[31]

Hong Kong is a major stop-over for foreign fish maw to be smuggled into mainland China, in order to circumvent food-safety import laws.^[11][12]

In Kenya, fish maw is smuggled through to Uganda and Tanzania to avoid export duties to China, as China charges a GDP-dependant duty on imports.^[28]

• Isinglass
• Edible bird's nest
• Tripe
• Intestine as food