There are fabulous fish markets all over the Arabian or Persian gulf with some of the freshest fish I have seen. However, what makes them more fun than anywhere else, at least for me, is that there is a separate section where you can have your fish scaled, gutted,  filleted and cut the way you want.

Here’s a little clip of the fish cleaners which I shot in the fish market in Ajman, a small emirate not far from Dubai. The big fish the guy is cleaning will eventually be grilled whole over charcoal and served over a huge platter of rice, either white rice or biryani.

[vimeo]http://www.vimeo.com/10797110[/vimeo]

What’s more amusing is all that is discarded such as fish guts, heads (unless they are eaten), shellfish peel, etc. is used in cosmetics. You may not smell the fish (or meat for that matter) in your expensive crème de la mer or Estée Lauder cosmetics but it is very possible that some of this fish debris has gone into making them, including these lovely heads below!