Mulege Canuck
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Parrot Fish are good eating
I am a rookie spear fisherman. I only spear what I know is good to eat. I saw a local spear a Parrot Fish so I nailed one next time in the water.
They taste great, almost like Ling Cod we have up north. My wife thought they were too pretty to eat.
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larryC
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Parrot fish are in the wrasse family, very similar to a Sheephead and yes some consider them good eating.
Off grid, 12-190 watt evergreen solar panels on solar trackers, 2-3648 stacked Outback inverters, 610ah LiFePo4 48v battery bank, FM 60 and MX60
Outback charge controllers, X-240 Outback transformer for 240v from inverters, 6500 watt Kubota diesel generator.
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AKgringo
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Puffers are easy to get, and I understand they are good eating....if you know how to avoid the deadly, toxic parts!
If you are not living on the edge, you are taking up too much space!
"Could do better if he tried!" Report card comments from most of my grade school teachers. Sadly, still true!
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Alan
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Its delicious! I had one years ago in Tahiti with a vanilla sauce. I know it sounded gross to me too at the time but I was feeling adventurous. OMG
it was to die for.
However there are new thoughts on the subject.
https://www.caribbeanclimate.bz/parrotfish-ban/
Your call. Just helping you make informed decisions.
In Memory of E-57
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pacificobob
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Eating them beats going hungry. The best i can say is that they are easy to catch.
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Whiskey Witch
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https://news.mongabay.com/2018/11/parrotfish-critical-to-ree...
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AKgringo
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Mulege Canuck, did you see any coral where you got that fish? I know the reefs around Cabo Pulmo are special, but there is damned
little around the rest of the Baja coastline.
If you are not living on the edge, you are taking up too much space!
"Could do better if he tried!" Report card comments from most of my grade school teachers. Sadly, still true!
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weebray
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I have always been told not to eat parrotfish (perrico) by my dive friends. I looked it up.
Here are 3 reasons why we should immediately stop the consumption of parrotfish.
The first one was already mentioned. Parrotfish “discharge” up to 100 kg of white sand a year for every year of their lives. Larger parrotfish are
like sand factories, producing upwards of a tonne of sand per year. The University of Exeter found that parrotfish produced more than 85% of the new
sand-grade sediment on the reefs in the Maldives. When we consider the impact over thousands of years, imagine the amount of beautiful white sand
parrotfish can produce if they were allowed to live and not consumed. This is very important in avoiding beach erosion. Worms, sponges, and oysters
also produce Pacific Ocean sand, but no animal is as proficient as the parrotfish. This also becomes irrelevant when we consider that Jamaica is not
in the Pacific!
Parrotfish are also essential to the survival of coral as they act as ‘natural cleaners’ of parasites that grow on it. Without the help of the
parrotfish, the coral would simply die. According to a 2012 study, the loss of parrotfish disturbs the delicate balance of coral ecosystems and allows
algae, on which they feed, to smother the reefs. The study also found that Caribbean corals have declined by more than 50 percent since the 1970s and
may disappear in the next 20 years as a direct result of the loss of parrotfish and sea urchins — the area’s two main grazers — and not
primarily as a result of climate change, as is widely believed. The study further shows that some of the healthiest Caribbean coral reefs are those in
areas where governments “have restricted or banned fishing practices that harm parrotfish, such as fish traps and spearfishing”. These include the
Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary in the northern Gulf of Mexico, Bermuda and Bonaire.
Last but not least, let us consider the economy. A 2015 study noted that the direct contribution of travel and tourism to GDP in Jamaica was
JMD128.3bn (8.1% of total GDP) in 2014, and was forecast to rise by 4.7% in 2015, and to rise by 4.6% pa, from 2015-2025 to JMD211.2bn (11.6% of total
GDP) in 2025. Another study describes the importance of coral reefs to the people and economy of Jamaica. It shows what most of us already know: Coral
reefs help to build and protect Jamaica’s beautiful white sand beaches, which attract tourists from around the world. Reefs provide critical habitat
for Jamaica’s artisanal and industrial fisheries and also protect Jamaica’s coastline — including coastal communities and tourist hotels —
from the destructive force of tropical storms. In other words, eating parrotfish has a direct impact on the economy. Tourists travel to Jamaica for
much more than reggae music and delirious, irie ‘rastas’; the diaspora takes care of that! They travel for the sand and the sea. Tourism depends
on the beaches, and the beaches depend on the coral, all made possible by this voracious species. By consuming parrotfish we rob the beaches of their
sand, and in turn, harm the economy.
Every beautiful beach in the world needs a few condo towers - NOT.
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sd
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Years ago in Los Barriles there was an Italian restaurant with pizza oven out front. Owner had speared 2 Parrot fish that morning, and cooked one for
us in the pizza oven.
Tasted incredible and a perfect evening eating outside.
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Mulege Canuck
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Quote: Originally posted by AKgringo  | Mulege Canuck, did you see any coral where you got that fish? I know the reefs around Cabo Pulmo are special, but there is damned
little around the rest of the Baja coastline.
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I got that Parrot Fish near San Cosme. Not a lot of coral just a rocky outcrop. After reading what Webray posted maybe I should stick with Triggers.
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DaliDali
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| Quote: Originally posted by Mulege Canuck | | Quote: Originally posted by AKgringo | Mulege Canuck, did you see any coral where you got that fish? I know the reefs around Cabo Pulmo are special, but there is damned
little around the rest of the Baja coastline.
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I got that Parrot Fish near San Cosme. Not a lot of coral just a rocky outcrop. After reading what Webray posted maybe I should stick with Triggers.
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Good call on not targeting pericos.
Nighttime hooka divers are targeting pericos and there has been flaps over killing the local reef fish by hooka divers
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bazinga
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Mexico protected 10 species of parrotfish in October, a move that conservationists say will help the country’s coral reefs recover, in addition to
safeguarding the species’ numbers.
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weebray
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| Quote: Originally posted by bazinga | | Mexico protected 10 species of parrotfish in October, a move that conservationists say will help the country’s coral reefs recover, in addition to
safeguarding the species’ numbers. |
I think this is a move in the right direction. The fishing will continue as usual but the seed of doubt has been planted.
Every beautiful beach in the world needs a few condo towers - NOT.
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Lee
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| Quote: Originally posted by weebray | I have always been told not to eat parrotfish (perrico) by my dive friends. I looked it up.
Here are 3 reasons why we should immediately stop the consumption of parrotfish.
The first one was already mentioned. Parrotfish “discharge” up to 100 kg of white sand a year for every year of their lives. Larger parrotfish are
like sand factories, producing upwards of a tonne of sand per year. The University of Exeter found that parrotfish produced more than 85% of the new
sand-grade sediment on the reefs in the Maldives. When we consider the impact over thousands of years, imagine the amount of beautiful white sand
parrotfish can produce if they were allowed to live and not consumed. This is very important in avoiding beach erosion. Worms, sponges, and oysters
also produce Pacific Ocean sand, but no animal is as proficient as the parrotfish. This also becomes irrelevant when we consider that Jamaica is not
in the Pacific!
Parrotfish are also essential to the survival of coral as they act as ‘natural cleaners’ of parasites that grow on it. Without the help of the
parrotfish, the coral would simply die. According to a 2012 study, the loss of parrotfish disturbs the delicate balance of coral ecosystems and allows
algae, on which they feed, to smother the reefs. The study also found that Caribbean corals have declined by more than 50 percent since the 1970s and
may disappear in the next 20 years as a direct result of the loss of parrotfish and sea urchins — the area’s two main grazers — and not
primarily as a result of climate change, as is widely believed. The study further shows that some of the healthiest Caribbean coral reefs are those in
areas where governments “have restricted or banned fishing practices that harm parrotfish, such as fish traps and spearfishing”. These include the
Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary in the northern Gulf of Mexico, Bermuda and Bonaire.
Last but not least, let us consider the economy. A 2015 study noted that the direct contribution of travel and tourism to GDP in Jamaica was
JMD128.3bn (8.1% of total GDP) in 2014, and was forecast to rise by 4.7% in 2015, and to rise by 4.6% pa, from 2015-2025 to JMD211.2bn (11.6% of total
GDP) in 2025. Another study describes the importance of coral reefs to the people and economy of Jamaica. It shows what most of us already know: Coral
reefs help to build and protect Jamaica’s beautiful white sand beaches, which attract tourists from around the world. Reefs provide critical habitat
for Jamaica’s artisanal and industrial fisheries and also protect Jamaica’s coastline — including coastal communities and tourist hotels —
from the destructive force of tropical storms. In other words, eating parrotfish has a direct impact on the economy. Tourists travel to Jamaica for
much more than reggae music and delirious, irie ‘rastas’; the diaspora takes care of that! They travel for the sand and the sea. Tourism depends
on the beaches, and the beaches depend on the coral, all made possible by this voracious species. By consuming parrotfish we rob the beaches of their
sand, and in turn, harm the economy. |
I'm positive this is an interesting post. I'm skipping it though.
Respectfully, PLEASE start a paragraph every 4-6 lines? Call me vision challenged. My eyes start crossing and things start to blur trying to
follow the written lines, and I give up.
I know this is written about. I can't be the only one. Hello?
If this is copy/pasted, do the work.
US Marines: providing enemies of America an opportunity to die for their country since 1775.
What I say before any important decision.
F*ck it.
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Pacifico
Super Nomad
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Registered: 5-26-2008
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I just saw the biggest Parrotfish I've ever seen the other day when I was diving. Glad I didn't shoot it, it was too pretty to look at! I did shoot
one many years ago and it had nice, white meat. After reading the good info here, I'll never shoot another one...
"Plan your life as if you are going to live forever. Live your life as if you are going to die tomorrow." - Carlos Fiesta
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weebray
Super Nomad
Posts: 1094
Registered: 7-19-2010
Location: La Paz
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Thanks for your comment lee. May I suggest you "speed" read the gist of a long article to see if you are interested enough to further investigate.
Your comment reminds me of comments on Amazon reviews to questions like "...and does this item serve well as a.........? People actually take the
time to answer things like....."I don't know I've never used one'.... Well that was very helpful. Pacifico, Thank you for reading and understanding
the problem. Think globally, act locally. Peace
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BajaMama
Super Nomad
Posts: 1108
Registered: 10-4-2015
Location: Pleasanton/Punta Chivato
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Mood: Got Baja fever!!
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I agree with Weebray - leave the pretty tropical fish alone; eat the staples.
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