Roe or hard roe is the fully ripe egg masses of fish and certain marine animals, such as shrimp and scallop. As a seafood it is used both as a cooked ingredient in many dishes and as a raw ingredient.

Caviar is a name for processed, salted roe consumed as a delicacy.

The term 'roe' is also used to denote sea urchin gonads; soft roe or white roe denotes fish milt.

Around the world

Asia

India

Iran

Besides the much sought-after caviar, roe from Kutum (also known as Caspian White Fish or Rutilus Frisii Kutum), Roach (called "Kuli" in Gileki), Bream (called "Kulmeh" in Gileki), and Caspian Salmon are highly prized. Roe from Carp is less common and Barbel roe is also occasionally used.

Japan

A variety of roe types are used in Japanese cuisine, including the following which are used raw in sushi:

• Ikura (イクラ) - Salmon roe. Large reddish-orange individual spheres. Since salmon eggs are also used as bait, first-time sushi eaters who have experienced fishing may be taken aback when served ikura. It is a loan word from the Russian, "ikra" (caviar).
• Sujiko (すじこ) - Also salmon roe. The difference is that sujiko is still inside its sack when it is prepared. It also has a different color; sujiko is red to dark-red while ikura is lighter in color, sometimes almost orange. Sujiko is also sweeter in taste.
• Masago - Smelt roe, similar to Tobiko, but smaller.
• Kazunoko (数の子/鯑) - Herring roe, yellow or pinkish, having a firm, rubbery texture and appearance, usually pickled. The roe is in a single cohesive mass and so looks like a piece of fish.
• Mentaiko (明太子) - Alaska pollock roe, spiced with powdered red pepper and surrounded by a thin, elastic membrane. Mentaiko is usually pink to dark red.
• Tarako (たらこ) - Salted Alaska pollock roe, sometimes grilled.
• Tobiko (飛び子) - Flyingfish roe, very crunchy, reddish orange in color.
• Uni (うに, 雲丹) - Sea urchin roe, soft and melting. Color ranges from orange to pale yellow. Humans consume the reproductive organs ("roe") either raw or briefly cooked. Sea urchin roe is a popular food in Korean cuisine, and it is called "uni" in Japanese sushi cuisine. It is also a traditional food in Chile, known as an "erizo". Apart from domestic consumption, Chile and a number of other countries export the sea urchin to Japan in order to meet its demand throughout the country. Traditionally considered an aphrodisiac, sea urchin roe has been found to contain the cannabinoid anandamide.
• Karasumi (カラスミ, 鱲子) - is a specialty of Nagasaki and along with salt-pickled sea urchin roe and Konowata one of the three chinmi of Japan . It is made by desalinating salt pickled mullet roe and drying it by the sunlight.

Korea

Europe

All around the Mediterranean, botargo is an esteemed specialty made of the cured roe pouch of flathead mullet, tuna, or swordfish; it is called bottarga (Italian), poutargue or boutargue (French), botarga (Spanish), batarekh (Arabic) or avgotaraho (Greek αυγοτάραχο).

Denmark

Greece

Tarama is salted and cured carp roe used to make taramosalata, a Greek and Turkish meze consisting of tarama mixed with lemon juice, bread crumbs, onions, and olive oil; it is eaten as a dip.

Avgotaraho (αυγοτάραχο) or botargo is the prepared roe of the flathead mullet.

Italy

Norway

In some areas it is also common to fry the roe from freshly-caught fish, to be eaten on bread or with potatoes and flatbread.

Sweden

Smoked and salted cod roe paste, commonly served as sandwich topping is very popular in Sweden. The most famous brand being Kalles Kaviar.

United Kingdom

North America

In North America, several kinds of roe are produced: salmon from the Pacific coast, shad and herring species like the American shad and alewife, and historically some species of sturgeon for caviar.

Shad roe is the only one which is widely consumed, usually pan-fried, often with bacon.

References

• Return On Equity, an economics acronym
• Royal Observatory, Edinburgh, Scotland
• Rubies of Eventide, an online game acronym
• Rules of engagement, a military acronym

See also Roe (disambiguation)

In military or police operations, the rules of engagement (ROE) determine when, where, and how force shall be used (for example, a submarine of country A cannot open fire on the shipping vessels of country B without an official declaration of war). Such rules are both general and specific, and there have been large variations between cultures throughout history. The rules may be made public, as in a martial law or curfew situation, but are typically only fully known to the force that intends to use them.

British Military ROE

"Directives issued by competent military authority which delineate the circumstances and limitations under which UK forces will initiate and/or continue combat engagement with other forces encountered."

The ROE deal with four issues:

• When military force may be used,
• Where military force may be used,
• Against whom force should be used in the circumstances described above, and
• How military force should be used to achieve the desired ends.

The ROE take two forms: Actions a soldier may take without consulting a higher authority, unless explicitly forbidden (sometimes called 'command by negation') and second, actions that may only be taken if explicitly ordered by a higher authority (sometimes called 'positive command'). Also, in the event that there is a clear and present danger.

In addition to a typically large set of standing orders, military personnel will be given additional rules of engagement before performing any mission or military operation. These can cover circumstances such as how to retaliate after an attack, how to treat captured targets, which territories the soldier is bound to fight into, and how the force should be used during the operation.

The ROE are extremely important:

1. They provide a consistent, understandable and repeatable standard on how forces act. Typically they are carefully thought out in detail well in advance of an engagement and may cover a number of scenarios, with different rules for each.
2. They assist in the synchronization of political-diplomatic and military components of a strategy by allowing political commanders to better understand, forecast and tailor the actions of a force.

The first rule of engagement for British Armed Forces is always the right to use force in self-defense.

U.S. Military ROE

• Level 1: Compliant (Cooperative). The subject responds and complies to verbal commands. Close combat techniques do not apply.
• Level 2: Resistant (Passive). The subject resists verbal commands but complies immediately to any contact controls. Close combat techniques do not apply.
• Level 3: Resistant (Active). The subject initially demonstrates physical resistance. Use compliance techniques to control the situation. Level three incorporates close combat techniques to physically force a subject to comply. Techniques include: Come-along holds, Soft-handed stunning blows, Pain compliance through the use of joint manipulation and the use of pressure points.
• Level 4: Assaultive (Bodily Harm). The subject may physically attack, but does not use a weapon. Use defensive tactics to neutralize the threat. Defensive tactics include: Blocks, Strikes, Kicks, Enhanced pain compliance procedures, Impact weapon blocks and blows.
• Level 5: Assaultive (Lethal Force). The subject usually has a weapon and will either kill or injure someone if he/she is not stopped immediately and brought under control. The subject must be controlled by the use of deadly force with or without a firearm or weapon.

ROE failures

• Excessively tight ROE can constrain a commander from performing his mission effectively, called a Type I error. It is typical for the political leadership to constrain the actions of military commanders. This is often a source of tension between the political leaders, who are trying to accomplish a political or diplomatic objective, and the military commanders, who are trying to make the most effective use of their forces. Sagan [2] provides an excellent discussion of this topic. The UN Peacekeeper's ROE (see UNAMIR) during the Rwandan Genocide is a tragic example of too restrictive ROE.
• Excessively loose ROE can facilitate the escalation of a conflict which, while being tactically effective, negates the political objectives that the use of force was meant to achieve. This is a Type II error or "escalatory" error.

Current Issues

See also

• The Moscow Rules, an example of the use of the ROE term in tradecraft.

References

1. USDOD. DOD Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms: NATO Only Terms United States of America: Joint Doctrine Division, J-7, Joint Staff, Department of Defense. December 17, 2003.
2. Sagan, Scott D., Rules of Engagement, pp 443 - 470 in: George, A., Avoiding War: Problems of Crisis Management, ISBN 0-8133-1232-9.
3. Private Military Companies, Taljaard, R. Yale Global Online 9 December 2003. Modern Day Mercenaries