Whether it is a marine mullet or fish pond-breeding mullet, the fish
must experience the same handling process after delivery to the
factory:
1.
Unload the fish from the truck (It’s
necessary to maintain the fish’s freshness and humidity.) and
sprinkle water to prevent the fish from wind dry.
2.
And then four of working staffs are appointed to compose a
team, one in charge of cutting, two getting rid of the fish
entrails , and another one organizing the fish hull.
3.
First cut the abdomen off from the fish’s pelvic fin and
then grasp the knife and place the index finger on the back
of knife to separate outwards.
4.
Carefully take the fish egg, fish maw or mullet gizzard out
and respectively put them in the basket.
dumped the load of mullet
the locality of mullet processing
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It
takes three or four minutes to handle the pair of mullet. As for
2000 pairs of mullet, the staffs of five or six teams spend nearly
one hour or more to go through handling operation.
a
good many mullet
Egg gathering
Mullet's
body
Process of Mullet Roe Production
1.Female
mullet selection：Press
and soften the abdomen with the finger to distinguish the mullet is female or
male. Or press the gonopore to let the liquid flow out. Milky liquid indicates
the mullet is male while golden yellow liquid,
female.
2.Egg
gathering：
Hold the pectoral fin with the left hand and deep cut with a small knife in the
right hand. (A round ball is welded on he top of
small knife to avoid breaking the roe.) Stir the maw with both index
finger and middle finger, horizontally cut with the right-handed knife and pull
up to the anus.
3.Wire
binding and blood removal：
Tighten the drain pore of mullet eggs with the wire and then carefully scrape
the bloodshot on the eggs off with the scale or spoon
and wash clean.
4.Salting:
Smear the salt on the pair of mullet eggs. (Four-tael salt for averaged
one-catty mullet eggs)
5.Desalinating：
After salted for two to three hours, the mullet eggs are washed with clean water
and dried.
6.Shaping
and pressing：
Arrange and shape the dried mullet eggs on the wooden board, and slightly dry
the mullet roe in the open air and then cover a layer of cloth and another
wooden board on which the brick or iron block is placed.
7.Drying:
After shaped for nearly four hours, the mullet roe is taken out to wipe away oil
stain and salt water and exposed to the sunlight. Repeat pressing and exposure
for several times until the mullet roe gets
dry and hard.
8.Packing：
For the household’s use, it is recommended to continue drying. In the factory,
the mullet roe is packed in the vacuum shrinkage film for sale.
References:
1.
SU, Wei-cheng (1989) "Resource Biology Studies of Mullet in Taiwan"
2.
Information provided by of WU, Yang-ching, author of "Chiehting Fishery Development History"
3.
Visit and picture taken by all team members of Gold Diggers
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