Dragon tiger grouper set for roaring return

This fish has been missing from CNY dinners since the pandemic

GEORGE TOWN: After a hiatus of a few years due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the exotic dragon tiger grouper (Loong Fu Pan in Cantonese) is set to make its grand comeback just in time for the Chinese New Year celebration.

Datuk Danny Lee, who runs a floating fish farm off Batu Maung, said that during the pandemic in 2020, there was a plunge in demand for the fish.

“Hatcheries stopped spawning the juveniles and concentrated on more common food fish.

“Post-pandemic in 2022, it took time for them to get the parent stock spawning again.

“Then, when dragon tiger grouper fingerlings were available again, saltwater fish farmers needed over a year to get their stock to reach the popular table size of 1kg to 1.2kg,” he said.

The much sought-after “Made in Malaysia” fish, which is distinguished by its blotches and streaks of brown-black and creamy yellow skin, does not exist in nature.

Decades ago, Malaysian fish breeders cross-bred the dragon grouper with the tiger grouper to create a hybrid.

The precise cross-breeding technique is a trade secret among hatcheries.

This hybrid is said to yield thick yet soft, tender meat with a rich taste.

Lee said each month, he supplies between two and three tonnes of the grouper to his customers, mostly restauranteurs.

“By January, I expect orders to hit five tonnes,” he said.

A check on the Internet showed that online sellers offer frozen dragon tiger groupers at between RM60 and RM90 per kilogramme.

Fish farmer Kenny Lee, 36, who rears mostly dragon tiger groupers at his floating farm in Teluk Bahang, is keeping his fingers crossed that an algal bloom will not occur in the waters around his farm during the northeast monsoon.

One such algal bloom wiped out nearly all his stock in 2022.

“Many other farms were struck by the phenomenon and could not supply dragon tiger groupers for Chinese New Year back then,” he said, adding that the price would likely remain the same as during the pre-pandemic days.

Penang boasts one of the largest farmed saltwater fish productions in the country at over 40,000 tonnes a year.

But in recent years, many floating fish farms suffered violent storms and extreme monsoonal weather.

In November 2017, many floating farms between Batu Kawan in southern Seberang Perai and Pulau Aman were torn apart by storms and their livestock like groupers, snappers and pomfrets escaped into the sea.

In April 2022, a heavy storm caused fish cages off Pulau Jerejak to drift to the second Penang bridge.