We are independent & ad-supported. We may earn a commission for purchases made through our links.
Advertiser Disclosure
Our website is an independent, advertising-supported platform. We provide our content free of charge to our readers, and to keep it that way, we rely on revenue generated through advertisements and affiliate partnerships. This means that when you click on certain links on our site and make a purchase, we may earn a commission. Learn more.
How We Make Money
We sustain our operations through affiliate commissions and advertising. If you click on an affiliate link and make a purchase, we may receive a commission from the merchant at no additional cost to you. We also display advertisements on our website, which help generate revenue to support our work and keep our content free for readers. Our editorial team operates independently of our advertising and affiliate partnerships to ensure that our content remains unbiased and focused on providing you with the best information and recommendations based on thorough research and honest evaluations. To remain transparent, we’ve provided a list of our current affiliate partners here.
Aquatic

Our Promise to you

Founded in 2002, our company has been a trusted resource for readers seeking informative and engaging content. Our dedication to quality remains unwavering—and will never change. We follow a strict editorial policy, ensuring that our content is authored by highly qualified professionals and edited by subject matter experts. This guarantees that everything we publish is objective, accurate, and trustworthy.

Over the years, we've refined our approach to cover a wide range of topics, providing readers with reliable and practical advice to enhance their knowledge and skills. That's why millions of readers turn to us each year. Join us in celebrating the joy of learning, guided by standards you can trust.

What is an Ayu?

By Alex Terris
Updated: Jun 04, 2024
Views: 7,042
Share

An ayu is a species of fish that is the only member of the Plecoglossidae family. It is found in lakes and rivers as well as coastal regions throughout Japan, China and Taiwan. The ayu is sometimes known as the sweetfish due to its sweet tasting flesh. Its diet consists largely of algae and small animals including insects and worms. Due to its popularity as a food source the fish is farmed in large numbers for commercial reasons and is a highly sought after fish.

The ayu is an amphidromous fish, which means that it lives in both salt and fresh water regions and migrates between the two. In this case the fish moves between salt and fresh water during its lifetime but doesn’t do so to breed. This is why the fish can commonly be found in lakes as well as coastal regions. Typically, the fish will only live a single year and hence it is also known as the year fish. There are some ayu fish, however, which survive for longer than this.

The fish is native to the Palearctic zone, which is one of the eight zones of the Earth. This zone is the largest of these eight and includes certain regions of Europe and Asia including the Himalayas. Along with these regions the fish is also found in more southern areas such as the Korean Peninsula and Taiwan. During spawning season, which occurs during the spring, adult fish travel from coastal regions up into rivers. The larvae which are spawned during this time then travel straight back to the sea before the cycle begins again.

Ayu fish are omnivores, which means they eat both plants and other animals. Due to the small size of the fish it mostly feeds on small insects as well as water sponges. The plant food eaten by the fish mainly consists of algae. Algae includes a range of different species of underwater plants including seaweed and sea sponges.

In Eastern Asia the ayu fish is a popular dish due to its sweet tasting flesh. Although the fish are farmed in large quantities they are also caught by local fishermen and women who use techniques such as fly fishing and trapping. Some anglers in Japan also use cormorant fishing to catch ayu — a technique using a cormorant bird which catches the fish and then stores it in its beak before giving it to the fisherman.

Share
WiseGeek is dedicated to providing accurate and trustworthy information. We carefully select reputable sources and employ a rigorous fact-checking process to maintain the highest standards. To learn more about our commitment to accuracy, read our editorial process.

Editors' Picks

Discussion Comments
Share
https://www.wisegeek.net/what-is-an-ayu.htm
Copy this link
WiseGeek, in your inbox

Our latest articles, guides, and more, delivered daily.

WiseGeek, in your inbox

Our latest articles, guides, and more, delivered daily.