Male or Female Fish

MALE OR FEMALE FISH, WHICH IS SWEETER?

It is not in doubt that fish is a mouth-watering delicacy for most communities in Kenya. What is in doubt, however, and which is now the subject of a fierce debate among fishermen and fishmongers, which one is sweeter and as a consumer, how do you even tell them apart? I set out to find out more about the sweeter sex from 35-year-old Fransisca Awuor, who has been a fishmonger in DUNGA beach Kisumu, for over 18 years, “The female fish is much sweeter as it is very soft and has eggs and is very popular with my customers who constantly ask for fish with eggs anytime they are buying”, she said. “The structure of the fish determines whether it is male or female as the male fish has a big head and is longer compared to their female counterparts. The female ones have a better shape and are heavier," she added. It is obvious why my clients ask for fish that has eggs inside it. Having sold fish for many years, I know the female one tastes better than the male ones.” I also spoke to Charles Otieno who has been a fisherman at Dunga Beach for the past 20 years and sought his opinion on the subject, “what the fish eats determines its taste.” He stated, “It also depends on where the fish stays in the lake. Most of the fish in the middle of the lake have variety

of food hence they taste very different from fish that live near the shores and mostly feed on remains of human foods thrown at the shores and are washed into the lake,” he added. Mr. Otieno also added that high water levels also enhances the taste of fish, "the higher the water level the higher the food and the sweeter the fish and vice versa,” he explains. According to Otieno, in the past, fishermen were not so concerned about the sex of the fish until recently when cage fish farming was introduced. In this new technology, fish are fed according to their sex to allow growth before they are mixed up. He says they look at the navel to distinguish between the male and female fish. I also met Mr. Maurice Ochieng, 64, a fisherman, who shares Madam francisca’s view that female fish is sweeter because it has

eggs and fats. And are also softer. He also believes that the only people who can distinguish fish by sex are those who have lived near the lake or fishermen or fish

mongers. As I was getting more and more intrigued by the belief of seasoned fish mongers and fishermen, I felt I needed professional opinion on this subject which is sweeter, I therefore reached out to Mr. Christopher Aura, the Director of freshwater systems research at KEMFRI, who believes that its all a myth as the taste of fish depends on various factors, including what they feed on, but sex is not one of them. He added that biological and environmental factors contribute immensely in the taste of fish. Mr. Aura added that, taste of fish is determined by different factors that include; the environment as it determines what the fish feeds on eg Tilapia feeds on small plants in the water while the Nile perch mostly feeds on other small fish, basically flesh, the genetic nature (type of fish), a person’s taste and preferences which vary from one person to another. He also added that the male fish grows faster than their female counterparts who dedicate much of their food assimilation to production of eggs. He added that Experts, put Kenyans fish consumptions at 4.6kg annually and urged people all over the world to eat more more fish as it is white meat that is healthy with no side effects’, says Aura. ‘Tilapia is the most sought after fish in the tropical countries because of its taste and also its easily available. Tilapia can be found literally in any water body be it in dams, small water bodies and even lakes and are rich in Omega 3 which are essential for growth’. He concluded.

By Olivia Odhiambo Writer with the Standard Newspaper First appeared on 6th Dec,2021.