The parrotfish is considered by many gourmets in Hong Kong as a much-coveted delicacy. It is often served at banquets. This tasty fish is a rich source of vitamins, omega-3 fatty acids, iodine, zinc, magnesium, potassium, and iron. Plus being fish, it’s brain food, and God knows many of us need that, not just the people in Hong Kong!
Some bleeding hearts condemn eating this wrasse and want to protect the parrotfish as a way of saving coral reefs from being overgrown with seaweed and sponges. This is because the parrotfish eat the algae off coral reefs, allowing the corals to stay healthy and thriving.
Many people say that climate change has already doomed coral reefs. But bleeding hearts believe that our consumption of the parrotfish – and other algae and seaweed-eating grazers – has been far more destructive than climate change for reef destruction so far.
Tell that to the Hong Kongers!