La consommation du poisson de sable (Scincus scincus) dans la région du Souf (Erg oriental, Algérie)Â : motivation et modalités de préparation

In order to understand the motives for the compendial skink consumption and to assess the methods of preparation used by consumers, a survey was conducted with 660 people. Those consumers were around 34 years old and they belong to different sectors. Likewise, those consumers belong to different tribes. Ninety-six percent of the participants have already eaten sand fish. It is widely consumed by people (316) as a source of protein and it is less expensive and sometimes free of charge. However, only 158 of participants consume sand fish for its gustatory quality and 129 for medical purposes. The consumption of sand fish is highly recorded during spring (49%) and summer (37%). Consumers access sand fish through two ways: hunting (72.31%) and purchasing (20.18%). However, gifts and swappings represent a smaller portion (7.51%). The purchase price is significantly correlated ** (P < 0.01) with the hunting season and the form of sale. Moreover, consumers prefer the cooking mode of sand fish “skewered or grilled” depending on their need of its nutritional value (39%) and 31% of them prefer eating traditional dishes, while the remaining 30% prefer eating dried sand fish in a famous dish in Algeria called “Tchicha”.