Silver pomfret can be a confusing fish. It goes by a variety of names, and there are several similar species that may be substituted. But it is savory, with firm flesh that doesn’t flake, and lacks the “fishy” taste of many saltwater species.
In Japan, it is called “managatsuo” or “like bonito,” because bonito is not found in the Seto Inland Sea where the pomfret is caught. Hiroshima and Okayama Prefectures, on this sea, are leading ports, as is Nagasaki, which borders the East China Sea. Some of the wild imports come from Chinese vessels fishing near the disputed Senkaku Islands.
It may be marinated in sake, mirin and soy and grilled, or seared and then baked. Smaller fish are gutted with the head on and served whole. Larger fish, 2-3 kilograms each, may be filleted or served as sashimi.
It is not often seen in supermarkets, as it is a winter delicacy, but those in the know are willing to pay for it. At the Wakayama wholesale market on 6 December, whole silver pomfret, 350-400 grams, sold for 1,900 yen per kg. (EUR 17.86, USD 23.03), up from 1,800 yen the previous day.
In the United States, the FDA calls the species “Pampus argenteus,” or butterfish, though it may be confused with the pompano common to Florida, due to its similar “perchiform” shape.
The silver pomfret ranges from the Persian Gulf through the Indian Sea to Southeast Asia, and up to southern Japan, but is not found in Australia. It is prized in Arabic countries and is farmed on a small scale in Kuwait. A lively smuggling trade was carried from the autonomous Balochistan province of Pakistan into Iran until mid-November, when sanctions on Iran hit the buyer’s finances, bringing the trade to a halt and severely depressing prices in the Pakistani market. While winter is usually a high-demand season, whole pomfret fell from 1,800 rupees (EUR 14.86, USD 18.55) to 600 rupees (EUR 4.79, USD 6.18) per kg.
For wild supplies, India is a major exporter. Silver pomfret is especially abundant in the West in Gujarat, while the similar Chinese pomfret (Pampus chinensis) is mainly found in the east. The black pomfret (Parastromateus niger), which is found throughout, has a slightly more fishy taste and smell and so is less expensive.
The Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia had some export success around five years ago farming the long-finned snub-nose pompano (Trachinotus blochii), which is sometimes sold as golden pompano. This fish superficially resembles the silver pompano, but the Japanese call it “marukoban,” and it is not as highly sought. However, a Japanese-Taiwanese farming venture in the Thousand Islands near Jakarta has been successfully exporting it in sashimi form.
A salesman for Sarangani Bay, a major Philippine aquaculture company said, “We have drastically scaled down our production and have stopped exporting. Our exports were mainly to the United States and Canada. Periodic surges of lower-priced supply coming from China practically killed us in our markets and this is the main reason why we had to stop exporting.”
He also reported that the short-finned Pampus chinensis that the Chinese were farming grows faster and converts feed better than the long-finned Trachinotus blochii his company raises.
