PETALING JAYA: Milkfish, a popular dish in Taiwan, Indonesia and the Philippines, could become a familiar name on menus across Malaysia by 2025, if the fisheries department succeeds in its breeding efforts.
A total of 4.6 million milkfish eggs have been produced by the department’s research institute since August, said the director-general of fisheries, Adnan Hussain.
He presented milkfish fry to 10 marine fish farmers from Kelantan, Terengganu and Pahang today at the research institute in Tanjung Demong, Kelantan.
Adnan said the fisheries department is actively working towards expanding the milkfish farming industry as domestic demand for the fish has increased.
“The production of milkfish in this country has increased to 9,276 metric tonnes last year, compared to only 2,819 metric tonnes in 2021,” he said, Bernama reported.
Only one company, in Batu Lintang, Sungai Petani, Kedah, is carrying out commercial-scale milkfish farming but it relies on limited supplies of imported milkfish fry.
The fisheries research institute had conducted research on milkfish fry and breeding to enhance the quality of broodstock.
“From July 4, a total of 11 brood fish and 30,000 14-day-old fry were imported and bred. The broodstock laid 100,000 eggs on Aug 3 and up to today, 4.6 million eggs have been produced,” he said.
He said milkfish is easier to farm than other marine fish such as barramundi, grouper or snappers, and the department hopes that milkfish supply will be able to meet the high demand for marine fish by 2025.
Milkfish, known as bandeng in Indonesia and bangos in the Philippines, is a silvery marine fish that is the only living member of the family Chanidae.
A toothless herbivore with a deeply forked tail, it is found in warmer regions of the Pacific and Indian oceans and grows to 1-1.5m or more in length.
According to a cooking website, milkfish has a firm texture with a mild, sweet taste and can be used in soup or fried or grilled. Milkfish soup is slightly milky looking because of the emulsion of the milkfish belly’s gelatin and fat. - FMT
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