Butterfish

Butterfish are virid fish found in cold waters far from the south coast of Anásthiasplugin-autotooltip__small plugin-autotooltip_bigAnásthias

Anásthias [a-NAS-thee-ass / ænæsθiːæs], or [an-ass-THEE-as] is an equatorial island continent, heart of the Civilised World. The north straddles the equator and is hot and humid, while most of the equatorial centre is an upland plateau with fertile river valleys, and stretches of arid plains and desert in the shadow of the mountains. The south is temperate but more wild, separated from the civilisations of the north by the almost impassable Harthera, and in the Polassirn Ocean north of Anrel. Butterfish are carnivorous, feeding from a diversity of smaller sea creatures. Some varieties like the gurnjaw also consume cold water crustaceans and filter feeders.

Most varieties of butterfish have a striped blue-grey skin with a yellow oily flesh, with a thick layer of subcutaneous fat.

Although most of the fish is unpalatable to humans, the rich yellow fat can either be eaten whole, used in cooking, or rendered to make liquid fish oil or hard fat. Amongst the Eijult people of Munatan, butterfish fat is cut from the fish along with the skin, lightly seared on the skin side, and eaten sliced in thin strips. In modern times, rendered fat is mixed with grain flour to make ship's biscuits, a fishy staple for Munatani sailors and fishermen.