Mullets Fish – Nutritional Value, Health Benefits, Recipes

Description

Flathead grey mullet with the scientific name Mugil cephalus could be found in tropical, subtropical & temperate rivers, coastal waters, and estuaries. It has a flat head, two dorsal fins, and a torpedo-shaped body. This fish has a darker, greenish-brown back and silver underside. Sometimes, it has dark stripes along its sides. It becomes sexually mature around 2 years old i.e. 32 to 50 cm long. It migrates offshore to spawn in large groups then larvae settle in shallow estuary habitats. As the fish grows in size or maturity, they move to deeper waters. Primarily, it feeds on plankton, detritus and uses a gizzard-like stomach to support digestion. It is an important aquaculture species notably in Asian and Mediterranean countries.

Also called Flathead grey mullet, Flathead mullet, Black mullet, Striped mullet, Bully mullet, Black true mullet, Bright mullet, Grey mullet, Common mullet, Sea mullet, Mullet, Callifaver mullet, Capitán, Common grey mullet, Flathead grey mullet, Formosan gray mullet, Formosan grey mullet, and Galapagos mullet. Usually, it schools over sand and mud bottoms feeding on zooplankton.

Mullet fish has an elongated and robust body with a flattened and broadhead. Its eyes are covered by the well-developed transparent fatty eyelid. Mouths are small with thin lips and open at the front having a knob at front of lower lips. The outer row of teeth in jaws is simple. Pelvic is inserted behind the pectoral base. Scales are moderate? to large and rough on the body of adults. Scales are in lateral series.

Fish has an olive-green back with silvery sides and a white belly?. It has different lateral horizontal stripes. Commonly, it is 50 cm long and could be up to a maximum of 100 cm long. The recorded maximum weight is 8 kg.

Lifecycle

Eggs are pale yellow, transparent, spherical, and non-adhesive measuring 0.72 mm diameter on average. The eggs hatch after 48 hours of fertilization then releases 2.4 mm length larvae. Larvae have no mouth and paired fins. It measures 2.8 mm long at 5 days of age. Jaws become well-defined and fin buds start to develop. When the larvae become 16 to 20 mm in length, it migrates to estuaries and inshore waters. The adipose eyelid is obvious at 35 to 45 mm and it covers most of the eye by 50 mm. The mullet is regarded as a juvenile at this time. Juveniles have the ability of osmoregulation being able to tolerate salinities of 0-35 ppt. It spends the rest of the first year in salt marshes, coastal waters, and estuaries. It moves to deeper water in autumn and adults migrate offshore to spawn. After the first year of life, it inhabits various habitats such as salt marshes, oceans, freshwater rivers, estuaries, and creeks.

Life expectancy

Striped mullet has a lifespan of eight years for females and seven years for males. The record shows that the oldest striped mullet lived for 13 years.

Reproduction

These are catadromous i.e. it spawns in saltwater and spends most of their life in freshwater. Adult mullet migrates far offshore to spawn in large aggregations during autumn and winter months. In the Gulf of Mexico, it is observed spawning 65 to 85 km offshore in water over 1000 meters deep.

The fecundity is estimated to be 0.5 to 2 million eggs per female which depend on the size of an individual. In the 4^th year, a female reaches sexual maturity i.e. between 40 to 42 cm. Males mature in the third year when reaching 33 to 38 cm in size. The spawning size of females is a minimum 31 to 34 cm.

Spawning occurs from mid-October through late January in deep offshore waters with peak spawning that occurs in November and December. Then larvae and juveniles migrate to inshore estuaries where it inhabits shallow and warm water.

Food Habits

Being diurnal feeders, it consumes dead plant matter, zooplankton, and detritus. It has thick-walled gizzard-like segments in its stomach along with a long gastrointestinal tract which enables them to feed on detritus. Ecologically, it is an important link in energy flow within estuarine communities. It feeds by sucking up the top layer of sediments and removing microalgae and detritus. It picks some sediment that functions to grind food in a gizzard-like portion of the stomach. Primarily, larvae of striped mullet feed on microcrustaceans.

Predation

Its major predators are larger fish, marine mammals, and birds. Cynoscion nebulosus (spotted seatrout) feeds on mullet measuring up to 13.8 to 35 cm long. Often sharks feed on large mullets off the coast of Florida. Striped mullets are also preyed on by aquatic birds, pelicans, and dolphins. Humans are also considered to be significant predators of striped mullets.

Health Benefits

The Health benefits of mullets fish are

1. May Prevent Chronic? Diseases – There is an impressively large amount of selenium found in smelt fish, nearly 45% of your daily requirement in each serving. This relatively rare mineral works as a powerful antioxidant. It may reduce oxidative stress in the body and reduce the risk of developing chronic diseases. ^[rx]
2. Prevent acne? – It prevents acne and regulates testosterone levels in the body. Additionally, it is also involved in collagen synthesis. It normalizes the skin oils and promotes skin health. Zinc promotes the count of white blood cells and lowers the risk of infection?. Zinc reduces the appearance of scars. (rx)
3. Treat cramps – The deficiency of potassium causes cramps in muscles that is known as hypokalemia. The high intake of potassium prevents muscle cramps. and the fish is the best source of  potassium.(rx)
4. Provides energy – Sugar is a great source of energy. Vitamin B1 oxidizes the usable form of energy. It plays a vital role in the pyruvate dehydrogenase system that assists in sugar oxidation. Vitamin B1 is essential for the functions of the enzyme system that supports various functions. (rx)
5. Enhance immunity? – Vitamin B1 promotes immunity power by promoting antibodies and reinforce the defense system to counteract infections.
6. Nervous health – Riboflavin cures nervous ailments such as Alzheimer’s disease?, numbness?, anxiety, multiple sclerosis?, and epilepsy?. It helps to treat painful symptoms of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome?.
7. Help Growth – Nowadays, a lot of parents are stimulating their children’s growth by giving them additional supplements. However, it will be better if we stimulate it naturally. Such as giving the kids balanced nutrition, one of the ways to do this is by giving them the sea fish. The contents of vitamin D in it can also help children to grow taller. The health benefits of baby banana can also be an alternative for you to help with, especially, children’s growth.
8. Strengthening Body’s – Another benefit of sea fish is to protect and maintain the body’s immune system. The content of calcipotriol in vitamin D that is produced by the pomfret fish can also function as an immune system modulator. This nutrition is well-fitted for those of you who are easy to catch a cold, flu, cough?, or even headache?.
9. Decrease the Risk of Breast Cancer – Breast cancer is one of the diseases that are very difficult to cure. Therefore, we need to take some steps in order to avoid this cancer. This can be done in many ways such as consuming the sea fish. This fish is capable to prevent cancer cells from multiplying in your body.
10. Help You Stays Young – Rejuvenating skin to make it stays beautiful and elastic is certainly what every woman always hoping for. One of the tips to do this, is, by consuming foods that contain vitamin D, such as sea fish. By consuming the fish every day, then the vitamin D can help to rejuvenate your skin and makes it look healthier and fresher. Even the vitamin D2 and D3 types are capable to decrease the risk of skin diseases such as psoriasis?.
11. Osteomalacia Medicine – Osteomalacia is a disease that attacks the tissues of the human body. The cause of this is the abnormality? function of tissue when it is processing the development of minerals on the bones. This can make the bones weak and very easy to break, which usually happens in adults. The solution to this disease is by consuming sea fish and food that have vitamin D in them as well as exposing yourself to the sunlight.
12. Prevent Rachitic – If osteomalacia usually attacks the adults, rachitic is a bone disease that usually attacks the children. The main cause of this disease is lacking vitamin D and minerals in the bones, thus disturbing the development of the bones. The disease will make the bones weak and not strong enough. One of the solutions to this is to let the children consume foods with vitamin D in them such as spot fish and exposure to the sunlight as well.
13. Decrease Dementia? Risk – For those of you who can afford to consume fish every day, this may be a way to decrease the risk of developing dementia such as Alzheimer’s. This disease attacks the memory or storage media since it degrades the brain cells that can make the patient suffer severe? memory loss. One of the ways to prevent this is by consuming fish for its omega 3 content (DHA and EPA). It can help stimulate your brain tissues and cells. If you happen to notice some symptoms of dementia within your body or people around you, don’t forget to go consume sea fish immediately.
14. Decrease Depression – Consuming sea fish every day will allow you to decrease the risks of depression. This can be said since one of the causes of depression is a low level of omega 3 fatty acid. Therefore, consuming his fish every day can help you to make sure that you have the omega 3 you needed. There you go to know the health benefits of sea fish.
    • normalizes carbohydrate metabolism;
    • reduces the concentration of “bad” cholesterol;
    • improves brain cognitive function;
    • stimulates the activity of the immune system;
    • prevents the formation of inflammatory reactions;
    • improves water-salt metabolism;
    • participates in the regulation of vascular tone;
    • strengthens the myocardium?;
    • normalizes blood clotting processes;
    • stimulates collagen and elastin synthesis;
    • increases bone density;
    • improves blood rheology;
    • stimulates the synthesis of enzymes, hormones and neurotransmitters;
    • promotes tissue regeneration;
    • slows down the aging process of the skin;
    • enhances libido (libido).

BUYING, STORAGE AND HANDLING

Remember to purchase seafood last and keep it cold during the trip home.

Fresh whole fish should have:

• A shiny surface with tightly adhering scales.
• Gills that are deep red or pink, free of slime, mucus and off-odor.
• Clean shiny belly cavity with no cuts or protruding bones.
• A mild? aroma, similar to the ocean.
• Fresh steaks, fillets and loins should have:
• A translucent look.
• Flesh that is firm and not separating.
• A mild odor, similar to the ocean.
• No discoloration.
• Packaging that keeps them from being bent in an unnatural position.

PREPARATION

• Keep raw and cooked seafood separate to prevent bacterial? cross-contamination.
• After handling raw seafood thoroughly wash knives, cutting surfaces, sponges and your hands with hot soapy water.
• Always marinate seafood in the refrigerator.
• Discard marinade; it contains raw juices which may harbor bacteria.
• When marinade is needed for basting reserve a portion before adding raw seafood.

COOKING MULLET FISH

•  The general rule is 10 minutes per inch of thickness, at the thickest part of the fillet or steak, at 400-450 degrees F.
• If fish is cooked in parchment, foil, or a sauce, add 5 minutes to the total cooking time.
• Fillets less than 1/2 inch thick do not need to be turned during cooking.
• Fish cooks quickly. Do not overcook.
• Fish is done when the flesh becomes opaque and flakes easily when tested with a fork.
• Poaching, steaming, baking, broiling, sautéing, microwaving are excellent low-fat cooking methods if you do not add high fat ingredients.
• Marinate in your favorite salad dressing prior to cooking.
• Broil, bake, steam or microwave, then cube and add to pasta or salad greens for a delicious salad.
• Broil or grill with lime-butter and seasoned salt.
• Oil the grill to prevent fish from sticking.
• Bake whole fish with crab or shrimp stuffing.
• Add leftover fish in broken pieces to salads, soups or sauces.

Precautions

• The consumption of sea fish if one is trying to reduce inflammatory diseases such as heart disease.
• Farmed ones contain arsenic that leads to arsenic poisoning.
• Farmed seafood results in to increase in inflammation leading to weight gain, arthritis?, and heart diseases.
• The imbalance ratio of Omega-6 and Omega-3 causes heart disease and hypertension?.
• Seafood and fish in farms have polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), organophosphorus (OPs), organochlorine (OC), trifluralin pesticides, and hexachlorobenzene (HCB) causing diseases or even death.
• The seafood has a high content of mercury, which may lead to mercury toxicity.
• Consume it in moderate amounts.
• Consult the doctor by pregnant women and children before consuming it. Children and pregnant women should avoid it because the high content of mercury might cause a negative impact on the development of the nervous system of a fetus.

References