The habits, distribution and medicinal value of mullet (the most cultivated in Hong Kong in the worl

Mullet (Mugil cephalus) belongs to the order Mugilformes, the family Mugilidae, and the genus Mugil. Commonly known as: black mullet, white eye, botou, mullet, aconite, pointed fish; in Japan it is called "鰡". English name: Striped mullet.

The body is cylindrical, with a straight back, round abdomen, flat front, and gradually flattened laterally. The head is short and flat, the muzzle is wide and short, the mouth is small, sub-inferior, and has a "human" shape. The lips are thick, the upper jaw is slightly longer than the lower jaw, the maxilla is completely covered by the preorbital bones, and the rear end is not exposed. There is a protrusion at the front of the lower jaw that fits into the depression of the upper jaw, and there are villous fine teeth on the edges of the upper and lower jaws. The eyes are large and covered with a thick fat film, called the fat eyelid, covering 1/3 of the pupil. The scales are large, and the entire body is covered with scales except the snout; the pectoral fin is located high, parallel to the eye, with a large elongated scale at the base; the axillary part of the pelvic fin also has a large triangular-flap-shaped scale; the lateral line is not obvious. There are two dorsal fins. The first dorsal fin is short, composed of 4 hard spines, and is located in the middle of the body; the second dorsal fin is at the rear of the body, opposite to the anal fin. Caudal fin forked. The head and back of the body are pale black, the sides of the body are gray-white, there are 7 vertical black stripes on the upper half of the body, the abdomen is white, there are silvery-white spots between each stripe, and each fin is gray-white.

The mullet is a marine fish that lives near the coast. It especially likes to inhabit water bodies and river entrances that are mixed with salt and fresh water, and some even go up to pure fresh water river sections. It is lively, good at jumping, and has strong adaptability to the environment. It can live in fresh water, brackish water and sea water with a salinity of up to 40‰. It is a middle-lower fish. Sexual maturity of male fish is generally 4 years old, and female fish is 5 years old. The reproductive period is from March to April, and they lay eggs in shallow seas near the mouth of rivers. Young fish have the habit of swarming into estuaries and bays with the current. Young fish feed on zooplankton, and when they grow up, they eat diatoms or scrape organisms fixed on the mud surface.

Mullet is widely distributed along the coast and in freshwater rivers leading to the sea, and is rich in resources. It grows rapidly, is relatively large, and can reach 80 centimeters in length. It has a high yield and is the main target of breeding in ports around the world. In the past, natural fish fry were caught and cultured in coastal areas at certain times. my country's mullet raising industry has been recorded in the Song Dynasty. After 1958, artificial breeding experiments were successful, solving the problem of fry supply in the aquaculture industry. Mullet meat is tender and rich in fat, making it a top-quality edible fish. Fishermen in Jiangsu and Zhejiang used to take advantage of the habit of young fish swarming into estuaries and bays to catch large quantities of young fish and pickle them, which is called "mullet fish".

When used as medicine for muscles, it has the effects of strengthening the spleen, replenishing qi, digesting food and guiding stagnation. It is mainly used to treat spleen deficiency, diarrhea, indigestion, infantile malnutrition and anemia.

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