Ray fish-Lare

Ray fish are members of the shark family that have pectoral fins so exaggerated they are called “wings”. This allows them to lie flat on the ocean floor and disappear into the sand. Most rays, except the Manta, are usually caught in the inner reefs in shallow waters and are mostly harpooned.There are quite a few types of rays in the sea around the Seychelles islands and the main ones are:

Spotted Eagle Ray or Lare Sousouri. They have flat disk-shaped bodies, deep blue or black with white spots on top with a white underbelly, and distinctive flat snouts similar to a duck’s bill. Their tails are longer than those of other rays and may have 2–6 venomous spines just behind the pelvic fins. They resemble the flying fox hence the name.

The Thornback Ray or Lare Boukle, Like all rays, the thornback ray has a flattened body with broad, wing-like pectoral fins. The body is kite-shaped with a long, thorny tail. The back is covered in numerous thorny spines that become thickened with button-like bases known as bucklers. Hence bouclée in French or  boukle in Kreol.

The Round Ribbontail Ray or Lare Brizan. Found around the coral reefs, the round ribbontail ray is not aggressive, and has been known to approach and investigate divers. However, if harassed it can inflict a severe wound with its venoumous tail spine. It has a thick pectoral fin disc wider than it is long, with a smoothly rounded outer margin that has a mottled pattern of black, grey and white spots and blotches on its upper surface, while the tail is uniformly black behind the sting. The underside is pale, while the edges of the body disc and under-surface of the tail are a greyish-brown .

The Manta Ray or dyabdemer has a round body, wings on the sides, and outward lobes from the front of a very large mouth. Manta in Spanish means cloak or blanket, and the name is the result of a type of trap that was once used to capture them.

The two main types of Mantas are the Reef Manta Ray which is found quite frequently around the islands and Giant Manta Ray which is the largest manta ray. This species prefers to be found offshore at depths of up to 120 meters but close to the ocean surface.

The Creoel name diabdemer means devil of the sea. This name was inherited from sailors who saw two large “horns” extending forward from their heads, looking like the horns of the devil!. These horns turned out to be ingenuous scoopers which, when unfurled, guide plankton into the manta’s mouth. Long ago, manta rays were generally viewed by the local fishermen as dangerous sea creatures that could attack and that their strength was such that they were able to sink ships. Certainly their large size favored this opinion. They aren’t dangerous to humans, but often get that stereotype due to their body looking similar to that of the dangerous sting ray. In fact, they lack a poisonous sting. Their dark coloring and unique shape also makes them a creature in the water that many people are fearful of. The fear of them though often keeps many people away from them. It is a ray that local traditional fishermen in small pirogues were always reluctant to harpoon.. This was because its strength and size could easily capsize a small pirogue.

However, despite that fact that the flesh, which is a bit dryer that that of the other rays, is good to eat, they are not seen that frequently in the markets.

How to Prepare Ray

Rays are usually purchased whole with wings on or the wings already cut off the body. Irrespective how it is purchased, the skin has to be removed from the wings because it is gritty with scales that are built more like teeth than like regular fish scales. They don’t scrape off.

The best way to remove the skin is to lay out your wing on the cutting board, thick side up. Pry up a corner of the skin at the thick corner and carefully scrape flesh away from the skin until the skin pulls clean without taking any flesh. The skin will now pull off, but takes some strength and it’s slippery, so grasp it with a cloth and pull right off the thin edge. Repeat the process for the thin side too. If the ray is young the cartilage are at times also cooked, but if the ray is old the cartilage may be too tough to eat. In this case you will need to fillet the wing to remove the flesh from the cartilage. Keep your knife at a very shallow angle to avoid cutting into the cartilage which is quite soft

You may decide to fillet the wings without cutting them off the body first and if you decide to take this course of action then follow these steps:

1. Place the ray flat on the cleaning table, poke with your finger to find the line where the tender wing joins the hard back
2. Using a sharp knife, slice downward along that line from front to back, just deep enough to reach the cartilage.
3. Next, turn the knife blade flat and work it along the top of the cartilage out toward the wingtip—just like separating the fillet from the bones of a typical fish.
4. Do the same for the opposite wing.
5. Now turn the ray on its back and fillet the undersides of both wings in the same manner. The bottom fillets will be thinner and smaller—but good.
6. You may now decide to fillet the wings.

If you are dealing with a large ray, the preferred method may be as follows:

1. Cut off the wings, place them in a pot, and simmer it for about 30 minutes. Unless you have a very big pot, you’ll need to cut the wings into smaller parts.
2. Once parboiled, the skin comes off rather easily. Neither is it difficult to scrape the meat away from the cartilage.

If you’ve got wings with just a hint of ammonia smell you can refresh them by soaking the pieces in vinegar for half an hour. Ammonia is alkaline and will be neutralized by the acid.

Ray flesh is quite mild, but slightly more gelatinous than that of regular fish. It cooks very quickly and if overcooked breaks up along the corrugations.

The Seychellois prefers to cook their ray in chutneys flavoured with turmeric, chilli and lemon juice and eaten with plain boiled rice or cooked in a curry with coconut milk and flavoured with cinnamon.

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