Milk
fish which also known as bangus or bandeng belongs
to the family of Chanidae, in fact they have various other names from different
countries. In Hawaii they are called awa, while in Indonesia they are popularly
called bandeng or bolu, and in the Philippines referred as bangus milkfish. This fish
can be found mostly in Pacific and Indian Ocean as well as from South Africa to
Hawaii. Another area to found milkfish is from California to the Galapagos,
south to Australia, north to Japan. This fish like to swim in tropical waters
and they also likely enter rivers and estuaries.
About milk
fish characteristic
Maximum length for milkfish to grow up to
1.8 meters, but averagely it is just 1 meter in size with and the fish can
reach about 14.0 kg in weight. Their average lifespan is about 15 years. They
have almost compressed body with elongate form with streamlined plus
symmetrical appearance and generally olive green in color with dark bordered
fins and silver flanks. They have small mouth with no teeth. They have white
flesh with small bones.
Since milk fish
characteristically does not have any teeth, they are not predator but herbivore
animal. They like to feed on algae, small plankton, plants, and diatoms. The
fish is also like to swim in shallow areas to find some food and sometimes they
eat small fish or invertebrates as well when they try to eat plants and algae.
In the fishing farm, milkfish usually farmed inside fish pen and when they lack
of food, they often eating larvae and eggs that are in the pen.
The
history of milk fish
It is also important to know the history of milk fish, amazingly that this fish
first appears around 800 years ago in Philippines and then widely spread to
various countries including Indonesia, Taiwan, as well as into the Pacific
Ocean. Traditional farming of milkfish depend on restocking the ponds by
harvesting wild fry and thus makes the quantity and the qualities of the
milkfish vary from one area to another or from one country to another. As time
goes by, farmers successfully spawning milkfish to supply the fishing farms and
nowadays milkfish becomes one of the most popular seafood products and
distributed or exported to various countries. Both Indonesia and Philippines
are the major milkfish suppliers.
Nutritional
value of milk fish
Despite its mild flavor, milk fish offers
great source of minerals, nutrients, and vitamins. If you eat about 85 gram of
milkfish, it will contribute giving your body:
-
7.018 milligram of Vitamin B3
-
0.735 milligram of Vitamin B5
-
2.78 microgram of vitamin B12
-
13.8 microgram of Selenium
-
0.415 milligram of Vitamin B6
-
2.37 gram of Protein
-
177 milligram of Phosphorus
-
7.34 gram of Total Fat
With those healthy nutrition offered by
milkfish, this fish is one of the healthiest seafood products worldwide. This
fish also packed with omega 3 fatty acids and brings healthy benefits such as:
-
Rich in omega 3 oil
The omega 3 fatty acids in
the milkfish are good to support brain development of young children; it can
help to lower cardiovascular disease, reduce depression, improve eyes health,
and control cholesterol levels. It is also good for women to increase breast
milk as well as its quality.
-
Protein
Milkfish is good source of
high quality protein and thus consuming it can meet the protein requirement for
your body. Protein can help to prevent coronary heart disease and to improve
immune system. Regular but moderate consumption of milkfish will help overall
development of the body and prevent micronutrient deficiencies. This is why you
should diet with milkfish as one of your food list.
How
to consume milkfish?
There are many ways to eat milkfish; most
of people like to eat milkfish served as grilled dish, soup or pan fried. You
can also eat the fish raw as sashimi ingredient and the meats can be cooked
into fish balls and fish cakes as well. Milkfish is popular seafood product in
Indonesia, people called it bandeng and it can be produced as fresh, frozen, or
canned fish products. Baby milk fish
is often cooked or deep fried with oil and they are commonly served with the
head and tail still attached.
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