【Looking at Xinjiang along the rivers and lakes】Xinjiang salmon "jumped" on the people's table
◎ Wei Yichen, reporter of this newspaper
At the salmon base in Karasu Township, Nilek County, Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture, Xinjiang, a fresh fish can be processed, packaged and transported within 24 hours and delivered to consumers' tables.
Recently, Xinjiang's "seafood" has caught fire, which has made many people question.
Why Xinjiang can raise salmon?
On September 9, the reporter learned in the interview that Nilek County has a unique ecological environment and high-quality agricultural and animal husbandry environment, and has two basic elements of salmon farming, namely high-quality water sources and suitable temperatures.
"Located in the upper reaches of the Ili River, Nilek County has formed three large and medium-sized reservoirs, with water temperatures of 8°C to 13°C all year round, clear water quality and slow flow, which is very suitable for the growth and breeding of cold-water fish and large-scale aquaculture." The relevant person in charge of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region introduced that the Ili River Basin has a history of rainbow trout breeding for more than 40 years, and the local breeding experience and natural ecological environment provide conditions for the development of high-quality salmon farming.
"Salmon is the trade name for salmonids, and the salmon raised in Ili specifically refers to 'triploid rainbow trout'." The person in charge introduced that the salmon currently farmed is mainly divided into Atlantic salmon, rainbow trout, silver trout, king salmon four species, Nilek County cultured salmon species is triploid rainbow trout, has a long history of breeding internationally. This species is an sterile breed induced by physical pressure technology to ensure that the introduced/escaped individuals cannot reproduce, which has both economic value and environmental significance. Rainbow trout are cold-water migratory fish that can survive in both seawater and freshwater.
The fish raised by the glacier living water of Nilek County is delicious and sweet, which not only allows Xinjiang people far from the sea to eat fresh salmon, but also jumps out of the Tianshan Mountains to the whole country.
At present, salmon products produced in Nilek County have been put on major supermarkets and e-commerce sales platforms, and are exported to Russia, Malaysia and other countries.
"The company can breed 800 million salmon fry every year, with an annual production capacity of 12000,<> tons of high-quality salmon, and has built a mature whole industrial chain integrating scientific and technological research and development, seed breeding, intelligent breeding, intensive processing and sales." Wang Yuan, assistant to the chairman of Xinjiang Tianyun Organic Agriculture Co., Ltd. and deputy general manager of Xinjiang Trout Gui Fresh Food Technology Co., Ltd., said.
Deng Kang, director of the Fishery Supervision Division of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, introduced that Xinjiang's fishing waters cover an area of more than 4600 million mu, with excellent water quality and good resource endowment for high-quality development of fishery.
Can freshwater farmed salmon be eaten raw?
It is understood that compared with imported products, salmon farmed in Xinjiang is not only more competitively priced, but also maintains higher freshness and nutritional value.
Wang Yuan introduced that the company's fishery equipment engineering technology center independently developed a semi-closed circulating water fish farming system, which solved three major problems commonly encountered in the process of cold-water fish farming: first, the appetite of fish decreases when the water temperature is high in summer; Second, when the dissolved oxygen content of the water body is low, the normal growth and development of fish is affected; Third, the surface water surface freezes in winter, and it is impossible to cast bait and fish.
Wang Yuan told reporters that after using the semi-closed circulating water fish farming system, the fish growth cycle has been shortened from 36 months to 26 months, the survival rate has increased by 3%, the bait conversion rate has increased by 10%, the comprehensive profit margin has increased by 10%, and the risks brought by extreme weather conditions to fishery production have been effectively resolved.
There has been ongoing discussion about whether freshwater farmed salmon can be eaten raw. Relevant experts from the Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region explained that this is actually a deep misunderstanding of freshwater fish and saltwater fish.
"There are a lot of parasites in freshwater that can directly affect humans, but they don't necessarily infect humans by infecting fish. On the other hand, there are also many parasites and pathogenic bacteria in marine fish that can infect the human body. The expert said, "Whether a fish has parasites and whether it can eat raw is not to see whether it grows in seawater or fresh water, but to see whether its growth process is safe and controllable." ”
According to the relevant person in charge of Xinjiang Tianyun Organic Agriculture Co., Ltd., the company has set up an automated aseptic salmon processing line, a variety of processing and packaging methods, from production to processing have HACCP certification and BAP certification to ensure food safety.
"The huge development potential of Xinjiang's fishery industry is gradually being released." Deng Kang said that at present, aquaculture has become a rich industry in Xinjiang's main fishery producing areas, contributing to rural revitalization and promoting the sustained and stable increase of farmers' income. In 2022, the total fishery output value of the region reached 42.2019 billion yuan, an increase of 9 million yuan over 21. The per capita net income of fishermen in the district is 19960,3410 yuan, which is <>,<> yuan higher than the per capita disposable income of rural residents. (Science and Technology Daily)