Lu posing with an impressive specimen from his empurau livestock
KUCHING: For the last 12 years, a Sarawak entrepreneur has been exploiting uncharted opportunities in the aquaculture industry through the production of the highly priced indigenous freshwater fish “empurau”, a member of the “Tor tambroides” species found throughout Southeast Asia.
Demand for the red mahseer, regarded as the “King of the Rivers” by local restaurateurs, is exemplified by the premium prices it commands as well as its limited and sporadic supply due to high and uncontrolled harvesting, destructive fishing methods and pollution in the very few rivers the species is found.
An indicative wholesale price for live empurau is RM600-750 per kilogramme, making it the most expensive freshwater fish in the world.
Realising the scope for commercialisation in a niche export market, LTT Aquaculture Sdn Bhd director Bill Lu Thian Tack said his company has developed proprietary technology and a RM5 million facility for production of live empurau in Asajaya, Samarahan.
“At present we have about 100,000 tails and the current output is around 100 live fish per month, which is marketed both locally and overseas to China, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, Singapore, Brunei and the peninsula,” he said when met by Bernama at the International Conference on Agriculture and Agro-based Industry of Sarawak (ICAAS) 2018 here today.
– Bernama