A 700-pound giant grouper sold to a restaurant in Jordan will be eaten on Saturday – despite calls from a green group asking people not to eat the threatened species. The fish is believed to be the largest one caught by local fishermen in years. It had died when caught in a net in the South China Sea on Thursday.
The restaurant called “Ngau Wong Sing” on Woosung Street successfully bid for the fish at HK$60,000. The owner said it had bought a slightly smaller giant grouper two years ago, also after a double-typhoon hit the city. The typhoon probably disturbed the currents and made the fish swim to shallower seas before it was caught, he said.
The giant grouper, listed as a “vulnerable” species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, is not protected by Hong Kong laws. The WWF (Hong Kong) urged people not to eat threatened species of fish.
Responding to the green group's concerns, a shopkeeper, surnamed Lee, said: "The fish was already dead and it just ran into the net of the trawler. We won’t waste it and will use every bit of it,”
The grouper will be made into different dishes, including steamed fish, braised shark fins and soup, with price ranging from HK$238 to HK$888. Lee said there was enough to serve 400 customers.