u***r
发帖数: 4825 | 1 http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/30/nyregion/snakehead-fish-are-a
http://www.nytimes.com/
A Delicacy on Chinatown Plates, but a Killer in Water
The walls in the basement of a building in Brooklyn’s Chinatown were
whitewashed, and boxes of cleaning supplies were stacked on the red tile
floor. But beneath the disinfectant smell, the unmistakable odor of fish
lingered as the flimsiest calling card of a former tenant.
Enlarge This Image
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
The snakehead fish is prized for its healing properties in China, but has
been illegal to import to the United States since 2002.
That tenant, Yong Hao Wu, sold fish until October for his Howei Trading
Company out of this shop on Eighth Avenue in Sunset Park. Mr. Wu is now out
of business and under arrest because the authorities have accused him of
illegally importing thousands of live snakehead fish.
In China, the snakehead is a sweet, meaty staple harvested in farms, and
when boiled into soup, it is reputed to possess remarkable healing
properties. But once outside of its natural river habitats in China, Korea
and Russia, it is a rapidly reproducing predator with such a voracious
appetite it can wipe out entire schools of fish and destroy an ecosystem.
That the snakehead has been illegal to import into the United States since
2002 when it was found in a pond in Maryland has not diminished its demand
— and perhaps has only fueled it. The fish, which has also been illegal to
possess in New York State, has been sold in other markets like Boston and is
also available through the Internet, officials with the United States Fish
and Wildlife Service said.
On Thursday, the authorities caught one of the fishmongers.
Officials arrested Mr. Wu, 43, after an investigation that followed the
seizure of 353 live snakeheads on the eve of the 2010 Chinese New Year, at
Kennedy International Airport. Surveillance cameras led them to Howei
Trading company in Sunset Park, where officials found a tank filled with 82
more snakeheads.
Mr. Wu was arraigned on Thursday night, charged on felony commercialization
of wildlife and importing fish dangerous to indigenous fish populations. If
convicted, he faces up to four years in prison.
Mr. Wu was released on his own recognizance, a spokesman for the Queens
district attorney said, and his next court date is May 13.
Mr. Wu’s lawyer, Melody Glover, did not return messages.
The authorities said Mr. Wu had declared 3,889 imports as “Chinese black
sleeper fish,” but he later admitted that they were, in fact, snakeheads.
If the freshwater fish escapes its tanks, or is intentionally released, it
can slither to water on land for three days. It has been found in rivers and
lakes across the country.
But while the authorities and Chinese residents say there is an underground
market for live snakeheads, a quest on Friday to find the fish in Brooklyn
was fruitless and infused with a whiff of mystery.
“The flavor is absolutely the best,” insisted a 60-year-old man who gave
his name as Zhu. He was traveling on a private bus from the Chinatown in
Flushing, Queens, to Sunset Park. “I’ve never tried it in the U.S., but it
’s common and abundant in China. I’ve made it.”
The snakehead was the talk of Chinatown since all the Chinese-language
newspapers had articles about Mr. Wu’s arrest, and even featured photos of
the fish’s razor-sharp teeth.
Many shoppers and store owners nodded that they knew all about the snakehead
, but did not want to talk about it. Some said they had not seen it in
Chinatown for a long time, years even.
As skittish as people were in talking about the fish, they would speak even
less about Mr. Wu.
Records show that he had most likely lived in New York since 1987, and had
filed for bankruptcy in 1997. He had worked in food- and fish-related
businesses in the New York area. His address listed by the authorities was a
housing project in Coney Island.
His former commercial landlord, Mui Tang, 60, said she kicked him out last
October because he did not pay rent. The shop is now a pharmacy that has not
yet opened.
Some well-meaning residents suggested several restaurants that might be
known to sell the banned fish. The trail led to one restaurant on Eighth
Avenue that had tanks inside the front window. When asked about the fish,
which goes by various names within the Chinese dialects, the waitress nodded
that they had it.
A soup made from the fish, which was not listed on the menu, would have cost
$36, she said.
She took a net and snared a slippery creature, flopping in a pail, and said
a final decision had to be made within minutes or it would die. This was not
a snakehead, as Joshua Newhard of the Fish and Wildlife Service confirmed
when sent a picture.
It is traditionally prepared as “one fish, two ways”: stir-fry the body
and cook the head, tail and bone for soup.
One fish, two ways. A delicacy in China, a killer in the United States. | m***6
发帖数: 8479 | 2 会不会老美看了这个新闻以后纷纷去chinatown偷吃黑鱼汤？ | c**b
发帖数: 2999 | 3 北美的鱼根本就不能吃,含大量汞,铅和其他重金属.你以为白人都是傻子,看着河里面大
鱼都不去钓? 人家知道里面很脏,养的鱼也很脏.钓鱼的都是中国来的民工和老墨.
【在 u***r 的大作中提到】
: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/30/nyregion/snakehead-fish-are-a
: http://www.nytimes.com/
: A Delicacy on Chinatown Plates, but a Killer in Water
: The walls in the basement of a building in Brooklyn’s Chinatown were
: whitewashed, and boxes of cleaning supplies were stacked on the red tile
: floor. But beneath the disinfectant smell, the unmistakable odor of fish
: lingered as the flimsiest calling card of a former tenant.
: Enlarge This Image
: New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
: The snakehead fish is prized for its healing properties in China, but has
| U****6
发帖数: 2175 | 4 嗯, 中国水质全世界最好, 含有丰富的矿物质, 在中国钓鱼的都是精英分子.
【在 c**b 的大作中提到】
: 北美的鱼根本就不能吃,含大量汞,铅和其他重金属.你以为白人都是傻子,看着河里面大
: 鱼都不去钓? 人家知道里面很脏,养的鱼也很脏.钓鱼的都是中国来的民工和老墨.
| x****u
发帖数: 12955 | 5 美国人傻瓜。中国人爱吃的东西只有绝种的命，怎么可能对当地动物有威胁？这种鱼在
美国太多的话，只要开放中国人去捞，不出十年，肯定绝种。这东西在原产地都快被吃
光了，还怕在美国安家？就像是英国河蟹泛滥一样，那都是不放中国人去捞到结果。 | z****e
发帖数: 54598 | 6 真实？
【在 c**b 的大作中提到】
: 北美的鱼根本就不能吃,含大量汞,铅和其他重金属.你以为白人都是傻子,看着河里面大
: 鱼都不去钓? 人家知道里面很脏,养的鱼也很脏.钓鱼的都是中国来的民工和老墨.
| w*********g
发帖数: 30882 | 7
你别犯傻，这是真事。确实有很多中国移民和墨西哥移民不知道这些河流的底细，不知
道以前被工业污染的历史，看见里面有鱼有虾就去钓去捉，结果汞中毒的。
我的朋友家附近就有这样的河流，里面的虾看着很大，但是根本没法吃。
【在 U****6 的大作中提到】
: 嗯, 中国水质全世界最好, 含有丰富的矿物质, 在中国钓鱼的都是精英分子.
| v***t
发帖数: 27100 | 8 吃了的难倒比不吃的少活几年？
【在 w*********g 的大作中提到】
:
: 你别犯傻，这是真事。确实有很多中国移民和墨西哥移民不知道这些河流的底细，不知
: 道以前被工业污染的历史，看见里面有鱼有虾就去钓去捉，结果汞中毒的。
: 我的朋友家附近就有这样的河流，里面的虾看着很大，但是根本没法吃。
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