Taiwan the "fishless" island

Some of the larger dim sum restaurants in the U.S. have jellyfish among the available items. It’s not very good, IMHO. Tastes like chewing on a rubber band that was dipped in whatever sauce they cooked it in. And I say that as someone who will try anything they have on offer, and who enjoys most of the stuff.

Yeah you know it must be bad when you have never heard of Chinese eating it but they love sea cucumbers and sea urchins.

I hate sea cucumber. I love sea urchins, though. Used to eat them straight out of the sea on the west coast of Scotland. And on the west coast of Ireland. And in France. And in Italy. And in Spain. And elsewhere in Europe. And on the west coast of the states. Are you REALLY so unaware of what people like to eat? :astonished:

Just because you ate sea urchins hardly makes them a popular dish. I remember the last time you were going on about raw horse testicles with ginger… Jeez Louise.

Urchins were on the menu and on the ice display. They were POPULAR! You had to get 'em quick or they’d be sold out. That was in Connemara, I believe. And in Donegal. Lovely memories.

Urchins, the only urchins you’ll find in Ireland are the kind with no laces in their shoes and snot dripping from their noses!
Next you’ll be telling me you had raw oysters washed down with Guinness in Galway…crazy stuff.

[quote=“headhonchoII”]Urchins, the only urchins you’ll find in Ireland are the kind with no laces in their shoes and snot dripping from their noses!
Next you’ll be telling me you had raw oysters washed down with Guinness in Galway…crazy stuff.[/quote]
That was Dublin. Premium prices, too. Never again! :wink:
Not kidding about the west-coast boonies, either. Urchins are HOT HOT sellers over there. And really really nice, too. Even them little tiny beach crabs. Used to be they’d sell them all to the Frenchies, but now they’re pretty common menu items on the west coast of Ireland. And Scotland. And DAMN! But they taste GOOD!

Well to be honest it’s interesting because I have relatives in Connemara and know the well place quite well but the only seafood most of the locals would traditionally eat would be fish and periwinkles. The shellfish was usually exported or sold to tourists. Seems like I should take a trip back to the old country to see what I am missing. I knew next to nothing about food until I came to Taiwan…so it would be good to get back with a different perspective.

I’ll tell you right now that if they’re eating periwinkles they’re gathering them by themselves. The commercial fellows are selling in Europe and the fancy-schmancy eatieries on the mainland. Weird, eh? But true.

I’d be outraged if I liked seafood, but I don’t. My main food-supply concern is the destruction of farmland so it can be developed. People are worried about peak oil. Peak fish, as I understand it, came and went about 1997.

Out of sight, out of mind. Of course Taiwan decided to have the Pingdung Black Tuna Festival only a few years ago, it had a few challenges, namely that the fish it is supposed to celebrate is probably not far off extinction!

05-15-2012 Baishawan Beach - Directly in front of the Coast Guard Station and another of the frequent NO FISHING signs.

guys with poles on the side of the coast are not really a big problem, its the trollers and nets. dont like fishlessness, dont buy fish products. Talk about going after the wrong crowd.

Yuck.

“fishing resources have dried up, many types of fish that would not have been sold in the old days have found their way into local markets,”

Taiwan is still running out of fish. If you’re eating fish in Taiwan, probability is that it’s not from Taiwan area.

https://www.google.com.tw/amp/s/munchies.vice.com/amp/en_us/article/jpknw4/taiwans-last-traditional-fishing-village-is-running-out-of-fish

Where do the most fish eaten in Taiwan come from? Not Taiwan waters.

“Taiwan’s distant water tuna fishery can be considered as the most leading player in the world”

https://www.fa.gov.tw/en/FisheriesoROC/content.aspx?id=2&chk=05d9ffd2-651d-4686-a2d1-a44413152366&param=pn%3D1