The Five Top-Grade Fish Maws: The Noble White Fish Maw

01. Status in the martial arts world

White fish maw, also known as Bai Nai or Bai Lian, is commonly called "Hong Gu" in Nan'ao, Shantou, and "Xi Gu" in Chaoyang. It is generally small in size, usually weighing only a few grams to tens of grams.

Although white fish maw may not look particularly appealing, in terms of quality, it ranks second only to golden ray maw, house maw, and spider maw, making it a traditional and highly prized variety of fish maw. White fish maw has a double layer of flesh and is renowned for its taste and health benefits, making it very popular in Hong Kong and other regions. It is a luxury item for beauty and health among Hong Kong people (especially some celebrities).
02. Efficacy and Contraindications

effect:
1. Boost immunity. Practice has shown that regular consumption of fish maw can improve one's immunity.
2. Hemostasis. White flower maw is also excellent at stopping bleeding and has a good effect on postpartum hemorrhage. Wild male white flower maw can replace golden ray maw.
3. Anti-wrinkle and anti-aging. White flower maw is effective in skin care, anti-wrinkle, and preventing skin aging. It is also much more effective than other types of maw in fading acne scars and blemishes. In addition, it has the effect of nourishing blood, and has always been a popular beauty product.

Suitable for:
Suitable for the general population; contraindicated for the following groups:
Those with excessive phlegm, thick and greasy tongue coating, high blood lipids, colds, poor appetite, and indigestion.
Foods that should not be eaten together:
Animal liver and white fish maw should not be eaten at the same time, because animal liver is rich in elements such as copper and iron. Copper and iron ions can easily oxidize the vitamins contained in other foods and render them ineffective.
03. Fish Species - Yellowtail (Genus *Pterocarpus*)

The genus *Culter alburnus* contains ten different species, and the main species that produce white croaker maw are as follows:

The light-colored yellow croaker (↑) is distributed in the eastern Indian Ocean and western Pacific Ocean, including the waters of China, India, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Vietnam, and the Philippines. It inhabits coastal and estuary areas, is carnivorous, and feeds on small fish and invertebrates. It can be used as an edible fish.

Black-edged Yellowtail (Elaphe nigra) is distributed in the Indo-West Pacific region, inhabiting depths up to 40 meters and reaching a length of 60 centimeters.

The fine-scaled yellow croaker (Pterocarya stenoptera) is distributed in the waters north of Australia and Papua New Guinea in the central and western Pacific Ocean, and can reach a length of 65 cm.
04. Main production areas
White fish maw on the market can be divided into farmed and wild varieties.
The main production area for farmed white croaker swim bladders is in China, specifically the swim bladders of the light-colored yellow croaker. This fish is adaptable to a wide range of temperatures and salinity, has a docile temperament, and is well-suited for intensive marine cage aquaculture. Marine aquaculture farms are located in many places across China, such as Raoping in Chaozhou, Humen in Dongguan, Dongshan Island in Fujian, and the Zhejiang area. Light-colored yellow croakers grow rapidly, reaching 3-4 kg in 36 months, and offer high economic benefits, making them a popular choice among fish farmers.
Wild white fish maw is mainly produced in Southeast Asia, including the waters of Indonesia, Thailand, Myanmar, Bangladesh, and India, and is also found in the waters off northern Australia and Papua New Guinea. The Arafura Sea in Indonesia is one of the important production areas for wild white fish maw. A 2011 research report stated that in the Arafura Sea's fishery resources, the light-colored yellow croaker is the second largest economic fish species after ribbonfish, accounting for about 40% of the total catch. In recent years, the production of yellow croaker in Southeast Asia has been declining annually, and the production of white fish maw has also decreased accordingly, with the size of the maw becoming smaller.
05. Distinguishing Features: According to some foreign research data, the swim bladder of the light-colored yellow croaker is truncated at the front end and tapered at the back end, with no protrusions forming lateral sacs on both sides. The swim bladder has 22 pairs of lateral branches, which do not have dorsal branches. This indicates that the head of the white croaker maw does not have protrusions or sacs, and the "swim bladder with lateral branches" shows that the body of the white croaker maw has two rows of "water outlet holes".


Although the fish species that produce white fish maw are all from the same genus, the characteristics of white fish maw vary from place to place, although they are generally similar. In addition, the methods used by fishermen in different places to extract, cut, and dry the swim bladders are different, resulting in a variety of shapes for white fish maw, including flattened, bulging, tubular, and sheet-like shapes.
The main characteristics of white fish maw are its fine texture and the pattern often has a "human" pattern. However, some white fish maw is too small and thin, so the "human" pattern may not be obvious and may be replaced by a "cloth pattern".


White croaker swim bladders all have a pair of nasolabial folds. Wild white croaker swim bladders typically have nasolabial folds that are the same color as the swim bladder itself, i.e., yellow. Farmed white croaker swim bladders often have darker nasolabial folds. Regarding the vents, most white croaker swim bladders have a row of vents on either side of the nasolabial folds. However, white croaker swim bladders from the waters of Myanmar and Thailand do not have vents, and some female swim bladders even lack nasolabial folds. Whether this is due to differences in fish species or the different influences of marine environments on the swim bladders of fish requires further research.
The female white fish maw has no difference in thickness, while the male fish maw has both thick and thin parts. It should be noted that if the white fish maw itself is very thin, the difference in thickness will not be as noticeable.
If it is farmed white fish maw, its gelatinous breast often has a "tongue" (in the industry), and this area often contains some oil.
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