Milkfish

Milkfish, whose other names include Bandeng and Bangos, are the last remaining living species of the Chanidae family. Five other previous genera are now extinct. This group of fish dates all the way back to the Early Cretaceous period in Earth’s history. It has roamed the warm, tropical waters of what are now the Indian and Pacific Oceans for more than 140 million years.

The milkfish’s characteristics include a blue top with silvery sides and a white bottom that shimmers in the water. Its other distinctive characteristic is its wide and deeply forked tail. These creatures often reach lengths up to six feet and weigh between 17 and 35 pounds.

This fish is popular in Asia for its white and tender flesh and is a key source of nutrition. As a result, Taiwan, Indonesia, and the Philippines have been breeding and raising these fish for more than 500 years. As a result, the milkfish is not at risk of becoming endangered currently.

5 Milkfish Facts

• Tainan, Taiwan, hosts an annual milkfish festival, and the Tainan Milkfish Museum is dedicated to this fish.
• Indigenous Hawaiians like to use this fish, which they refer to as Awa, in traditional recipes.
• Aquaculture practices in Indonesia, Taiwan, and the Philippines raise more than 1.2 million tons of milkfish every year.
• Female milkfish can lay up to 5 million eggs at a time during the spawning season.
• California tried, but failed, to introduce the milkfish into local ponds and freshwater lakes in 1877.

Evolution and Origins

Around 500 years ago, milkfish aquaculture was initiated in the Philippines and subsequently expanded to Indonesia, Taiwan, and other parts of the Pacific.

Traditional milkfish farming practices involved restocking ponds with wild fry, which resulted in significant variations in both quality and quantity of production across seasons and regions.

Milkfish is known for its abundance of bones, but its white meat has a subtle flavor that makes it versatile in various cooking methods. Milkfish is typically prepared by frying, grilling, or making soup. This fish, which is shaped like a large herring, goes by the scientific name of Chanos chanos.

Furthermore, milkfish is a highly sought-after species for aquaculture in the Philippines due to its exceptional ability to convert food into body mass.

Classification and Scientific Name

Today’s milkfish is the last surviving member of the Chanidae family. It belongs to the Chanos genus and its scientific name is Chanos chanos.

Over the millennia since the milkfish’s ancestors first appeared 140 million years ago, there have been five other genera of species in the Chanidae family. These extinct genera include

• Gordichthys
• Nanaichthys
• Rubiesichthys
• Dastilbe
• Parachanos

All the Chanidae fish species, including the milkfish, are more bony and thornier than many other present-day fish species.

Appearance

The milkfish’s key characteristics include a lustrous blue and silver color that is distinct from most other fish. They also have a prominent fork in their tail and a muscular body. They can reach six feet and weigh 35 pounds or more when fully grown.

These fish have no teeth, which means they live on plants and other soft invertebrates near the shore where they make their habitats. Interestingly, they do not have pronounced sex organs, which means it can be difficult to identify male and female specimens in the wild.

Distribution, Population, and Habitat

These creatures prefer warm, tropical waters that are more than 85 degrees Fahrenheit. As a result, they are almost always found in the Indian and Pacific Oceans near islands or coral reefs.

They are frequently observed in the wild around Hawaii, the Pacific Islands, Indonesia, Taiwan, and Vietnam. They prefer shallow water and normally swim in schools between one and 100 meters from the water’s surface.

As adults, they also seek out fresh ponds, estuaries, or rivers with good sources of algae as their ideal habitat. However, they need to spawn in salty water, and the young milkfish, referred to as fry, swim out into saltwater where zooplankton is more plentiful.

Predators and Prey

Bangos are most vulnerable when they are in the egg, larvae, or fry (i.e., juvenile) development stage. Its most common predator is the Tarpon, a large carnivorous fish species also common in Indo-Pacific waters.

Ladyfish, also known as Tenpounders, are another species known to prey upon the young Bangos. However, Tenpounders normally only reach three feet long and have a maximum weight of 20 pounds. As a result, they are not a threat to more mature milkfish.

Reproduction and Lifespan

Milkfish need brackish, i.e., salty, water for reproduction and spawning. Females typically release up to five million eggs at night during the warm months, but this can occur throughout the year.

Larvae hatch near coral reefs or other protected areas and then drift out to sea. The ocean saltwater is rich with zooplankton and other microscopic organisms that the young fish need to grow and survive.

As they mature over the next two to four weeks, these creatures gradually swim back toward the warm waters near the shore or to lakes, estuaries, rivers, or other freshwater sources.

Fishing and Cooking

Milkfish is an extremely popular ingredient in Asian recipes due to its mild taste. It is high in omega-3 fatty acids that are important for human heart health. It also has tender, white flesh that can be pan-seared, sauteed, or made into fish balls. People in the Philippines consume hundreds of thousands of tons of milkfish every year.

Asian countries have been farming and raising this species for more than five centuries. Today, Asian countries and other island nations produce more than 1 million tons of this fish per year.

Population

The milkfish population is stable and of least concern as far as the potential for becoming endangered. Farms around Taiwan, Indonesia, and other Asian countries have been raising milkfish for more than five centuries.

Today, there are sophisticated processes in place to ensure that only mature milkfish that are consistent in size are harvested. There are also established protocols to treat parasite infestations and nematode outbreaks amongst the breeding stock.

As of 2024, the global production of milkfish, referred to as aquaculture, surpassed more than 1.2 million tons of fish. Demand for this fish is only expected to increase as the populations of the Philippines and other island nations grow.