New Zealand
A nation nourished by the tears of God
It has the purest ocean in the world
It stretches for 15,000 km of coastline
More than 90% of the inhabitants are no more than 50 km from the sea
Every New Zealander
All have a "happiness card" that can be cashed out instantly.
A 30 minute drive to the sea
"Exchange" seafood with the sea
Taste the taste of happiness
A sketch of the world's seafood
Discover the best of New Zealand's seafood
#新西兰野生渔类的 "Tip of the Iceberg" #
ONE
The most soothing seafood
Bluff oysters
"Most oyster-producing areas, including France, have been raised in captivity, and Bluff is one of the few places in the world where wild oysters are produced on a large scale."
If you've ever made a wish to take your loved ones to the "ends of the earth" and eat the best food, then you go to Bluff.
Located at the southernmost tip of New Zealand, Bluff is one of the two small towns in the world closest to the Antarctic continent, where we can eat the world's most delicious oyster, the Bluff oyster.
Grilled oysters on the supper stalls cost 6-8 yuan a piece, and oysters in seafood restaurants sell for dozens of large pieces. The price difference is not unrelated to the quality of oysters, and there are three major criteria for judging the quality of oysters: purity, fatness and flavor uniqueness.
For the satisfaction of the three criteria, the Bluff oyster has been called "the most delicious oyster in the world" indeed.
New Zealand's South Island is bordered by Antarctica, far from pollution, and the ecological environment inside the island is excellent. The long coastline, cascading waterfalls and magnificent fjords together make up this pristine and pristine sea. The Tasman Sea and Milford Sound in the South Island are influenced by the Antarctic Ice Shelf, which is cold, clear and flows fast, providing a nutritious and pure habitat for the Bluff oyster.
Only a very small number of unpolluted, exceptionally pure oysters can be eaten raw, and Bluff oysters are one of them.
The Bluff oyster is medium-sized, flattened, and has a fair, fat flesh. Gently open the oyster shell, the fresh taste of seawater comes to the nose, take a sip, and the tender oyster meat melts in the mouth. A refreshing taste begins to spread in the mouth, and the flavor is unique and layered, and when the rich seawater breath gradually fades, it is replaced by a fresh and sweet aroma.
Of all the oysters in the world, the Bluff oyster is a unique presence and is therefore wildly sought after by diners around the world.
Every May, the small town of Bluff hosts an annual Oyster Food Festival. With the theme of celebrating the oyster harvest, the food festival welcomes diners from all over the world with the slogan "Simple and proud". The oyster peeling and oyster-eating competitions leave visitors salivating.
"Simple, and proud of it", the ocean has given mankind a great gift, if you can not maintain a "simple" heart, this "gift" will face the fate of extinction, Can Bluff oysters escape this disaster?
◎ In the 1860s, European whalers were hunting whales and seals on Stewart Island across the Strait of Fovo when they stumbled upon oysters and began to fish and sell them on a large scale.
◎ In 1877, due to overfishing, the oyster resources near Stewart Island were almost depleted, and commercial fishing stopped.
◎ In 1879, an even larger number of Bluff oysters was found in the deep seabed in the middle of the Strait of Fovoy. With the lessons of the past, their fishing methods have become restrained and the laws of nature have been followed to this day.
◎ In 1994, the New Zealand government formulated strict fishing policies and water quality testing standards, regularly testing seafood quality, biotoxins and bacterial pollution in the sea area.
Thankfully, today, the Bluff oyster is still available in sufficient quantities around the world.
For more than a century, New Zealanders only fished for oysters from March to August, when oysters were not only fat, but also ended their spawning period. Once the cap of 1.1 million dozen is reached, the fishing season is over. In years with less production, the catch will be reduced and the fishing time will be shortened.
You know, including France, oyster-producing areas have adopted artificial breeding methods, Bluff is one of the few places in the world that can produce wild oysters on a large scale, and compared to those farmed oysters in warmer areas, Bluff oysters from birth to be put on the table, it takes a long 4-8 years, this time, more than 3 times the former.
"The world's most delicious oyster" – Bluff Oysters, truly!
TWO
The most heartwarming seafood in the black
Black Gold Bao
In the 1980s and 1990s, in order to show off themselves, rich people blurted out the words: "I eat ginseng abalone every day."
Abalone is a very rare marine life that has continued from ancient times to the present day and is called a living fossil by biologists. There are more than 200 species, mainly distributed along the Pacific coast and around some of its islands and reefs, followed by the Indian Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean. The main production areas are China, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Mexico, the United States and Europe, the Middle East.
Thousands of years ago, abalone has been on people's tables. Although there are small abalones for six or seven yuan awhere in the market today, and abalone rice for more than 20 yuan is also on the hot list of takeaway fast food, some valuable abalone is still the label of high-quality life!
A New Zealand black gold abalone, the lowest price is also about 300 yuan.
Black Gold Bao is not an "assassin", the high price is first because it has a large and fat body, second, because it has a unique flavor and rich nutrition, and third, because it is very precious and rare and the fishing process is particularly difficult.
As a unique specialty of New Zealand, black gold bao (Paua), also known as Black Gold by locals, symbolizes good luck, prosperity and peace, and the literal translation of Chinese name seems to have a rare and noble symbol. Cold and warm currents above 40 degrees south latitude near the South Pole meet in the Kaikoura Gorge and the Chikulangi Trench, which is as deep as 1,000 meters, and nutrients from the depths of the trench are lifted up and nourished.
New Zealand law stipulates that black gold abalone can only be harvested with a diameter of more than 12.5 cm. So the black gold abalone we can eat weighs at least 1 pound.
◎ The so-called "head" refers to how many abalones of uniform size are there in a Sima Jin (about 0.6 kg), such as 2 heads, 10 heads, 20 heads, etc. The smaller the number of heads means that the abalone is larger and the price is more expensive, so there is also a saying that "it is difficult to buy 2 heads of abalone with money". Usually these are based on dry abalone.
Larger than an adult's palm, 3cm thick fat flesh is not enough to make black gold abalone stand out in the abalone world?
Then its unique flavor and rich nutrition must be unmatched by other abalone.
Black abalone grows slowly in cold waters, feeds on natural algae all year round, and takes about 8-10 years to grow to the smallest size that can be fished. That is, the precipitation of marine essence and the precipitation of flavor substances in these 8-10 years have given black gold abalone a rich and complex multi-flavor.
◎ The pattern of the circle on the abalone shell represents the annual ring, which can also record the marine environment of the year. For example, in a given year, eat more kelp, the shell circle is green, and eat more dragon's whiskers, which is brown.
Black gold boin is adsorbed on the volcanic rocks of the new Zealand seabed all year round, and its body is rich in unique boline and abalone polysaccharides, which are believed to have the effect of inhibiting tumor growth.
In addition, black gold abalone is also rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids, vitamins A, E, B12 and selenium, zinc, iodine, magnesium and other minerals, which can effectively enhance the immunity of eaters, reduce cholesterol, protect cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, and have significant improvement in vision. It has excellent conditioning and nourishing effect on those who are weak and have too much tobacco and alcohol.
In addition to the requirements for the size of abalone, there are also clear and strict legal regulations on the fishing method.
In New Zealand waters, artificial diving fishing is the only legal way to harvest black gold abalone, and it is forbidden to carry any artificial oxygen equipment when diving, and the abalone with the right diameter can be picked out under the water to be caught ashore.
At the same time, seals, sharks and other large marine organisms with strong aggression are very common in offshore areas, and the whole fishing process is difficult and dangerous. Therefore, the black gold abalone that can walk on the table is very precious and rare.
◎ In 2016, a major earthquake with a magnitude of 7.8 on the Richter scale struck central New Zealand, and a large seabed was lifted onto land, and the seabed was covered with dense black gold abalone. The New Zealand government organized local fishermen and environmental agencies to rescue the black gold abalone and throw them back into the sea.
In new Zealand's indigenous Maori culture and beliefs, black gold bao plays a very important role. It is believed by the Maori to have the magical power to ward off evil and protect the race, so the black gold bao is a very common element in Maori mythology. And in maori sculptures, the figure of black gold bao can also be seen everywhere.
The black gold abalone shell is hand-polished to take on a wonderful color and is an important religious ornament of the local Maori aborigines.
THREE
The most proud seafood
Imperial Salmon
In the world's major high-end seafood restaurants, salmon is one of the must-try dishes for diners.
But if you have not eaten king salmon, you will definitely leave a regretful blank on the "salmon recipe".
Salmon, also known as salmon, are cold-water, highly migratory freshwater fish. There are two main species: Atlantic salmon and Pacific salmon. It is distributed in Norway, Chile, Canada, New Zealand, the United States and other places.
King salmon is the top species of Pacific salmon, producing less than 1% of the world's total salmon production. It is mainly distributed in New Zealand and Canada, of which New Zealand accounts for more than 65%.
Compared with ordinary salmon, the monarch salmon has a silvery white like moonlight, the body of the fish is fatter and rounder, and the tail of the fish is shorter. The fish has a distinct orange color, the fat pattern is clear, and the meat is delicate and firm.
Emperor salmon is known as the "star of the ice sea", "iceberg meltwater emperor salmon", it is the most proud fish, the requirements of the growth environment is almost harsh, can only be "raised into fish" in the extremely pure waters of New Zealand, and even new Zealand can be said to save the king salmon.
As we all know, the famous fruit, the New Zealand kiwi fruit, is actually the offspring of the "Chinese kiwi fruit" transplanted to New Zealand.
The New Zealand Monarch Salmon has a similar experience.
In the late 1970s, New Zealand introduced a very rare wild "king salmon" variety from Alaska in the United States, and after successful breeding, it also gave them a new name - New Zealand king salmon.
◎ In the early 19th century, Alaskan king salmon was salted in large vats and exported to London, Chile and Hawaii.
Numerous hydroelectric dams and other facilities built in the 20th century caused a sharp decline in Alaska king salmon production.
Today, king salmon accounts for less than 2 percent of total salmon production in the United States.
New Zealand's Monarch Salmon production area is divided into three main areas: Marlborough Sound in the north of the South Island, Canterbury on the east coast of the central South Island and the Southland Region. These places are all cold climates, clear water quality, and no industrial pollution. Monarch salmon hatch in clear rivers formed by the confluence of snow glaciers and grow into seedlings after months of careful care before being transferred to bays or lakes.
◎ North: It was conceived in The Waikrupp Springs (New Zealand's largest freshwater spring and one of the cleanest on Earth) and then moved to the fast-moving, cold-water waters of the Marlborough Channel.
◎ Central: Gestation in meltwater from the Southern Alps iceberg, then transferred to Glacial Lake Cook (the world's highest salmon farm)
◎ South: It is bred in the oxygen-rich clean water of the South Island Glacier, and then transferred to the sparsely populated island - Stewart Island
Haruki Murakami once said that not all fish will live in the same sea.
In terms of growing environment, the monarch salmon is a fish that makes all salmon envious, and of course, it is also a fish that all diners dream of tasting.
Of all salmon, monarch salmon has the highest natural fish oil content. Fish oil makes its flesh delicate and tender, bright in color, full in taste, smooth in the mouth, containing a natural light creamy aroma, delicious and unique. Moreover, it is rich in nutrients and has a high content of omega-3s.
Surrounded by the sea and rich in aquatic products, New Zealand is the world's most famous seafood mecca, with about 20,000 people engaged in fishing and aquaculture-related work in New Zealand, and the total annual production of seafood reaches more than 600,000 tons. Longevity fish, black gold abalone, golden seabream, prawns, king salmon, mussels, oysters, etc., wild pollution-free is the best synonym for New Zealand seafood. Later, we will share more knowledge of New Zealand seafood for you.
In the next edition of The World Seafood Atlas, we will explore Norway, the world's second largest exporter of seafood, and see what seafood we can expect from Norway near the Arctic.