Lagoinha Beach, Ceará |
Sometimes the fish are slightly larger, cleaned and headless, and sometimes they are so small they are served absolutely whole. However, they are always eaten bones, tail and all - those crunchy bits add flavors and textures which are lost in larger fish which are served filleted.
Manjuba |
The manjuba lives in shallow waters near the shore, is very numerous within its range, and is each to catch. The price for a plate of fried manjuba at the beach is therefore likely to be quite low - I've had delicious manjuba for as little as R$3 (about USD$1.80) a plate.
Current thinking about the overfishing of the world's oceans tells us that in the future the world is going to have to look at eating more smaller fish and fewer larger ones - tuna, swordfish, halibut, all the world's large species are highly stressed, yet supplies of smaller fish like anchovies, sardines, or herrings can sustainably be fished. That may be the silver lining in the overfishing cloud - maybe more people will learn to appreciate small fish the way Brazilian appreciate fried manjuba. It's the taste of the Brazilian beach.
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