Coveted Deep-Sea Fish Bred for First Time in Taiwan
Taiwan has successfully artificially bred the blackthroat seaperch, a fish that fetches high prices over Lunar New Year.
Transcript
00:00 "Taiwanese."
00:01 "Are they expensive?"
00:02 "Expensive, expensive."
00:03 "They're cheap."
00:04 Would you pay $100 US dollars per kilogram for a fish?
00:09 People in Taiwan have no problem shelling out big for the blackthroat sea perch, a deep
00:14 sea fish that's popular at Lunar New Year.
00:18 Prized for its delicate texture and its high fat content, the fish is not easy to come
00:23 by.
00:24 "It's wild."
00:25 "Wild."
00:26 "You have to have a fish to catch it."
00:27 Living between 100 and 600 meters below the surface, it's a tricky fish to catch.
00:34 It dies easily in nets and is usually caught individually on a line.
00:39 Its rarity and popularity have threatened each year's harvest, but now there might be
00:44 a solution.
00:46 Taiwan's agriculture ministry has successfully bred the fish artificially for the first time.
00:51 By catching blackthroat sea perch in the wild, then fertilizing their eggs in a lab, scientists
00:57 managed to hatch 500 out of 50,000 eggs.
01:01 The complicated process is a major step forward for Taiwan's aquaculture industry.
01:06 "The egg is just right.
01:08 If it's not enough, it won't grow."
01:12 "You have to be very good at measuring time, place, and everything."
01:15 But if the technology can be refined, it could help replenish the population of the coveted
01:20 fish.
01:21 "We breed the fish, then we let them go back to the sea for breeding."
01:26 Blackthroat sea perch are known as "deep-sea rubies" in Taiwan because of their red color.
01:32 The nickname reflects their popularity and value.
01:35 With this latest development, these precious gems of the ocean may soon reach a few more
01:40 tables.
01:41 Chris Ma and Leslie Liao for Taiwan Plus.
01:43 [BLANK_AUDIO]