Last Saturday, I took the opportunity to go for a walk on the banks of a river. That's when I saw them. They were quite big (around 50cm) and moved around in shoals. 𝗠𝗼𝗻 𝗿𝗲𝗴𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗮 𝗲́𝘁𝗲́ 𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗶𝗿𝗲́ 𝗽𝗮𝗿 𝗹𝗲𝘂𝗿𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝗳𝗹𝗲𝘁𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲́𝘀. I thought they were trout, but an angler a little further on told me that they weren't, that they were Chevaine, the fish ambassador chosen by the FSP (Swiss Fishing Federation) for 2021.
The Chevaine is a fish that is little known to the general public. A member of the large Cyprinidae family, it looks like an all-purpose fish and is rarely found on restaurant menus. 𝗔̀ 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗲̀𝗿𝗲 𝘃𝘂𝗲, 𝗰'𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝘂𝗻 𝗽𝗼𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗼𝗻 𝗯𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗲𝘁 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗿𝗲𝘁. 𝗠𝗮𝗶𝘀...
... it is an ace at survival: it is resistant to disease, the temperature of the water matters little to it (between 5 and 25°), it has no specific territorial requirements, has a high-performance reproductive system and is cunning in the face of fish-eating birds! 𝗘𝗻 𝗽𝗹𝘂𝘀, 𝗶𝗹 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗲 𝘂𝗻𝗲 𝗯𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲 𝗿𝗲́𝘀𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗮̀ 𝗹𝗮 𝗽𝗼𝗹𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗱𝗲𝘀 𝗲𝗮𝘂𝘅.
As a result, it is now one of the most common fish in the Lake Geneva basin.
𝗘𝘁 𝘀𝗶 𝗼𝗻 𝗹𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗮𝗶𝘁 𝗱𝗮𝘃𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗲? This question is openly asked by the FSP by bringing this fish with a bad culinary reputation out of the shadows.
Its numerous bones, which it shares with all white fish (Carp, Tench, Gudgeon), have given it the lovely nickname, "étouffe beau-père". 𝗣𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗻𝘁, 𝗹𝗮 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗶𝗿 𝗮 𝗯𝗼𝗻 𝗴𝗼𝘂̂𝘁, 𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗽𝗲𝘂 𝗲𝘁 𝗳𝗮𝗶𝘁 𝗯𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗴𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗲𝗻 𝗰𝘂𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗮𝘃𝗲𝗰 𝘂𝗻 𝗽𝗲𝘂 𝗱𝗲 𝘀𝗮𝘃𝗼𝗶𝗿-𝗳𝗮𝗶𝗿𝗲. Fish is also eaten in many European countries (Austria, Poland, etc.).
In fact, the answer to this question is not just culinary. There are also issues at stake 𝗲𝗻𝘃𝗶𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝘂𝘅 (local fish) and 𝗲́𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝗶𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀 (overfishing).
Salmonids (trout, féras, grayling) are threatened by the many factors that degrade the environment, and their populations are declining. It would be good if fishing pressure diversified and targeted other more common and resistant species. 𝗖𝗲𝗹𝗮 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗶𝘁 𝗲́𝗴𝗮𝗹𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗱𝗲 𝘃𝗮𝗹𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗲𝗿 𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗽𝗼𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗾𝘂𝗶 𝗽𝗲𝘂𝗽𝗹𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗻𝗼𝘀 𝗹𝗮𝗰𝘀 𝗲𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀 𝗱'𝗲𝗮𝘂 𝗽𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗼̂𝘁 𝗾𝘂𝗲'𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗱𝗲𝘀 𝗽𝗼𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗼𝗻𝘀'𝗮𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗲𝘂𝗿𝘀.
But changing our fishing pressure won't solve the problems of degrading aquatic environments and if we don't act now, 𝗻𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗾𝘂𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗱𝗲 𝗻𝗲 𝘃𝗼𝗶𝗿 𝗽𝗹𝘂𝘀 𝗾𝘂𝗲 𝗹𝗲 𝗖𝗵𝗲𝘃𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗱𝗮𝗻𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀 𝗱'𝗲𝗮𝘂....
Information sources: FSP, DORIS
Photo Credit: Michel Roggo
