Sham Wan Fish Fillet promotes local pearl farming to discover new value of pearl oysters
Hop on a speedboat and ride the wind and waves, and you will arrive at Sai Kung Sham Wan Farmed Fish Steaks (referred to as: Sham Wan Fish Steaks) from Sai Kung North Wong Shek Pier in less than 10 minutes. Mer-Veille is cooperating with Sham Wan Fish Steak. In addition to talking about the product, they also mentioned that they would like to visit the fish steak, so the owner Ming Ge (Mr. Liang Jinming) invited us to the fish steak to launch a "warm welcome to the three beauties (self-proclaimed) to go to sea." "One-day trip", accompanied by quiet scenery, away from the noisy urban area, spent a lazy afternoon.
Brother Ming saw us blowing on the speedboat until our hair was messed up, and asked us if we needed to slow down.
Such a tranquil and pleasant scenery is definitely worth spending two or three hours to transfer and then take a speedboat out to sea to enjoy it.
Diversified development of Sham Wan fish steaks re-explores pearl farming in Hong Kong
Sham Wan Fish Steak is located in a water area half surrounded by mountains in the north of Sai Kung. The environment and water quality are excellent, and the pagoda gate can be seen in the distance. For most of us who are immersed in work or staying at home on weekdays, this is definitely a rare sight. As soon as we got off the boat, we were greeted by Hua Ge (Mr. Liang Jinhua), the other person in charge of the fish steak, Woody and the fisherman Zhi Ge. They excitedly took us to see the environment near the fish steak and introduced the seafood species one by one.
The fish raft has dozens of cages several meters deep, raising dozens of kinds of seafood.
Hua Ge and Zhi Ge are usually responsible for the breeding work, and they breed dozens of kinds of seafood, including marine fish, cuttlefish, lobsters, shellfish, etc. Fish Steak develops diversified aquaculture with an environmentally friendly concept and implements sustainable development. It has been certified as a high-quality fish farm by the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department. In addition to launching seafood products, they also take into account education and conservation work, organizing guided tours and inviting different organizations to participate to promote Hong Kong's fisheries and ecological conservation.
Sham Bay Fish Steak not only cultivates high-quality seafood, but is also the first fish farm in Hong Kong to re-explore local pearl cultivation. The pearl farming industry once flourished in Hong Kong, but declined in the 1970s due to economic development and lack of technology. Ming Ge cooperated with local universities and spent about 5 to 6 years studying pearl cultivation technology. He successfully researched it 5 years ago and started cultivating "Akoya pearls". He said, "The environment for pearl cultivation in Hong Kong is The conditions are actually very good. We don’t want to cultivate only marine fish. Cultivating pearls can not only increase the income source of fishermen, but also improve the water quality." Pearl oysters are filter-feeding organisms and mainly eat organic matter or microorganisms in seawater. "Cultivating pearls can Purifying the sea water and helping other fish grow healthier is beneficial and harmless to our fish farming. It also attracts many people to visit and experience opening pearl clams. I can introduce Hong Kong’s fisheries to them. "
Woody and Alicia tried to lift the pearl clam cage from the water. Don't underestimate the weight of this cage!
Pearl cultivation requires regular manual cleaning for more than two years before the pearls can be removed.
It’s rare to come to Sham Wan fish steak, so of course you have to try the pearl! Brother Hua took several pearl clams and demonstrated how to clean them, open their shells, and take out the pearls. It turns out that pearls are not visible as soon as you open the shell, but are hidden in the clam meat. If you press the clam meat gently, you will feel a round object inside. If you press it hard, shining pearls will spit out. Some are milky white, some are grayish blue or beige, and each one is unique. Brother Hua and Brother Ming can tell if there is a big pearl in the clam meat just by looking at it. How do they know? Brother Ming pointed at the pearl and said with a smile, "I know what he said!"
Which pearl color do you prefer?
Brother Hua shared with us that the work of pearl farming is not to prepare feed every day like fish farming, but to help the pearl mussels "shower". "It takes two to two and a half years to grow pearls from pearl seedlings into oysters. Their shells will be " flesh" with many small organisms, and there will be shells on the shells, and there will also be some crab larvae, which can become parasites. Habitat, so we have to clean the shells every two to three weeks so that the pearl mussels can grow healthily." When the pearl seedlings grow up to a certain size and meet the body shape, the fishermen will implant the "pearl core", but "Inserting the core" may not necessarily lead to successful growth of pearls.
At first, they had to clean the pearl mussels one by one by hand, using knives to remove parasites and other shellfish attached to the shells. Later, as the number of fish cultured increased, they tried simple cleaning with high-pressure water guns to save time on manual cleaning. We thought that pearl mussels were "so solid and clean" that they would grow up obediently in water. All we had to do was regularly monitor the water quality and screen samples. But we didn't expect that the procedures for taking care of pearl mussels, cleaning them one by one, and processing them were much more complicated than we imagined. Be more particular and take your time.
Brother Hua demonstrated how to clean the microorganisms attached to the pearl oysters. Because it needs to be cleaned one by one, it takes a lot of effort and time.
(Left) Pearl clam before cleaning
(Middle) Pearl clam shell after parasite removal
(right) turned into bright white after processing and polishing
Make good use of multi-products made from pearls and clams to hide skin care value in addition to jewelry and food
After opening the pearl shell and taking out the pearls, the pearls will be made into jewelry. Sham Bay Fish Steak also developed its own clam XO sauce earlier this year. The mussels are full of umami after being dried. What about pearl oysters (i.e. shells, also known as mother-of-pearl)?
The polished pearl oyster is no less beautiful than pearls and sparkles in the sun.
Generally speaking, pearl oysters are discarded after the beads are retrieved. Although its appearance and color are not as bright as pearls, its skin care and beauty ingredients are actually the same as pearls! Studies have confirmed that the ingredients of pearl oyster are consistent with those of pearls, so they have the same skin care effects. Brother Ming shared with us that in the past, female fishermen did not have many skin care products to choose from. They often went to the sea and basked in the sun, so they would use pearl oysters for skin care. High-value pearls can be sold to make money, but they will not discard the pearl oysters. Instead, they will grind them into fine powder and apply it on the skin of the face and body, using natural pearl powder for sun protection and moisturizing purposes.
We apply pearl powder on the skin. The powder is silky and fine. Gently push it on and it will have instant moisturizing and brightening effects.
Pearl oyster skin care was originally inherited from traditional wisdom. Through modern scientific research and improved processing technology, pearl powder can be made into more types of products. Sham Wan Fish Steak researched homemade soap, and Mer-Veille collaborated with them to turn pearl oysters into mother-of-pearl essence and add it to our skin care product HYDRA REVITAL Marine Repair and Glowing Cream . We will continue to cooperate in the future, hoping to promote Hong Kong's fisheries We believe that there is definitely more value to be discovered in local pearls.
Hydra Revital Marine Repair and Radiance Cream contains mother-of-pearl essence, which helps inhibit melanin deposition, evenly brighten skin tone, and protect skin.
Learn more about the development of fish steaks, listen to fishermen share their life at sea, and learn about the challenges and methods of cultivating pearls. This trip to the sea ends at the sunset. We share the same vision as Sai Kung Sham Wan Farmed Fish Steaks and hope to maximize the efforts of fishermen and the value of pearls. Every piece of pearl clam goes beyond just the pearls inside. The clam meat can be made into a sauce made in Hong Kong, and the pearl oyster can be turned into a beauty and skin care ingredient. Every part is worth using. Don’t waste the efforts of the fishermen, cherish the gifts given by the ocean. Our treasure.
The intoxicating scenery at dusk, I look forward to going to Fish Steak next time!
