Sinarapan (The World's Smallest Fish)

The Sinarapan is the world's smallest fish and can be found in Lake Buhi, Camarines Sur. At a mere six to eight millimeters when fully grown, the sinarapan is definitely the world's smallest edible fish. These diminutive creatures are endemic to this lake, and swim in massive schools of 100,000 to 500,000 fish. Their minute bodies are transparent so only their black eyes are visible. To give you a clearer idea of how small they are, just imagine that a tablespoon holds over a thousand of them! The best time to catch sinarapan is two hours before dawn or at three or four in the afternoon. These fish are said to be an aphrodisiac when eaten raw with salt and a few squeezes of lime juice. It is quite amusing as its name seems to come from the root word, sarap, which means "delicious" in Filipino - a word that is used to describe both food and sex. Sinarapan are usually added to an omelet for breakfast or cooked Bicolano (is what the locals are called in the province of Bicol) style with coconut milk, vegetables and chili. Unfortunately, they may soon become extinct due to over-fishing.