Lezhi White Snakehead

Lezhi White Snakehead

Lezhi White Snakehead is a protected geographical indication product.

　　The white snakehead embodies 28 years of dedication by Yang Qian’an, president of the Lezhi County Special Aquatic Products Production and Sales Association. On March 20, 1987, at 2:10 PM, I was fishing in the river downstream of Guyankou Reservoir in Shifo Town using a net. Eleven meters above Shanren Bridge, I caught a male white snakehead—white-bodied with black eyes, weighing 2.6 jin. I treasured the fish and immediately took it back to the Guyankou Reservoir Fish Farm, placing it in Pond No. 4 for broodstock. From then on, I searched everywhere for a female white snakehead to pair with it. On April 12, 1983, Lei Junwu, a technical officer at the county aquatic seed farm, informed me to come to the farm because he had obtained a female white snakehead from the urban area of Lezhi County. I rushed to the county aquatic seed farm and paid 27.20 yuan to take a female white snakehead, white-bodied with red eyes and weighing 4.7 jin, from Teacher Lei’s home. After bringing it back to the Guyankou Reservoir Fish Farm, I soaked it in saltwater and placed it in Pond No. 4. From then on, the pairing of the white snakeheads was complete. Some of the fry were sold along with fry of the “four major domestic fishes” to fish farmers in Suining, Anyue, and surrounding areas of Lezhi. However, Yang Qian’an did not engage in deeper commercial development.

　　 From 1981 to 2007, the cultivation of the white snakehead spanned 26 years, involving numerous failures and setbacks. Through selective breeding, the traits of the white snakehead became relatively stable. After repeated research and practice, Yang Qian’an mastered the core techniques of white snakehead breeding, especially graded rearing, laying a solid foundation for those raising the fish.

　　The white-spotted snakehead (Channa argus var. Kimnra), also known as white snakehead and commonly called white snakehead stick, belongs to the order Perciformes, family Channidae, genus Channa. Its meat is tender, with few bones and a delicious flavor. White snakehead can be used in medicinal cuisine to promote lactation, stimulate tissue regeneration, and improve blood circulation, making it a valuable tonic for women after childbirth and for both the young and elderly. Rich in nutrition, it can be prepared into various signature dishes, such as stir-fried fish slices, white chrysanthemum fish shreds, and white snakehead stick stewed with snake.

　　 The muscle composition of the white snakehead is as follows: water 77.90%, crude ash 1.10%, crude protein 20.69%, crude fat 0.76%. Compared to other premium freshwater fish, its crude protein content is higher than that of the bigmouth catfish (14.85%) and its crude fat is lower than that of the bigmouth catfish (3.22%), indicating that the white snakehead is a high-end, low-fat, high-protein premium economic fish.

　　 The amino acid content in the muscle nutrients of the white snakehead is as follows: aspartic acid 2.08, threonine 0.95, serine 0.86, glutamic acid 3.92, glycine 1.09, alanine 1.32, cystine 0.13, valine 1.00, methionine 0.43, isoleucine 0.92, leucine 1.81, tyrosine 1.66, phenylalanine 0.88, lysine 1.80, histidine 0.52, arginine 1.10, proline 0.54.

　　The administrative regions currently under the jurisdiction of 22 towns and townships in Lezhi County, Sichuan Province: Tianchi Town, Shifo Town, Huilan Town, Shituan Town, Tongjia Town, Baolin Town, Dafu Town, Liang’an Town, Zhonghechang Town, Laodong Town, Zhongtian Town, Foxing Town, Panlong Town, Dongshan Town, Tonglv Town, Gaosi Town, Longxi Township, Quansheng Township, Kongque Township, Shuanghechang Township, Longmen Township, and Fangsheng Township.