water, low oxygen levels, and temperatures
from just above freezing to 100ºF/38°C —
have also made them ideal candidates for
aquaculture, which China pioneered three
millennia ago. Carp themselves can reach 60
lb/30 kg or more, but are generally harvested
between one and three years when they weigh
a few pounds. They’re relatively bony fish,
with a coarse texture and a low to moderate
fat content.
The mostly freshwater catfish family is
also well adapted to an omnivorous life in
stagnant waters, and therefore to the fish
farm. Its most familiar member is the North
American channel catfish (Ictalurus), which is
harvested when about 1 ft/30 cm long and 1
lb/450 gm, but can reach 4 ft/1.2 m in the
wild. Catfish have the advantage over the
carps of a simpler skeleton that makes it easy
to produce boneless fillets; they keep well, as
much as three weeks when vacuum-packed on
ice. Both carp and catfish can suffer from a
barry
(Barry)
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