KAPIT: About a week ago, there was a shocking case of a seafood restaurant in Langkawi, Kedah charging a diner more than RM1,000 for a 11-year-old, 7.48kg siakap.

       However, not many people know that in Sarawak, there is a more expensive fish species.

       The empurau or Tor tambroides, which is known as the “King of the River”, has a high commercial value and can fetch between RM800 and RM1,000 per kg.

       It is expensive because it feeds on fruit found on the riverbank, such as engkabang, which is its staple, giving it a fatty taste as well as a distinctive fragrant aroma when cooked.

       The wild fish, also called “emas Borneo” (Borneo gold), lives in cool and fast-flowing rivers with a rocky riverbed, and will migrate if its habitat becomes polluted.

       Empurau trader Loh Hoe Hua told Bernama he usually gets his supply from fishermen who are lucky enough to catch the fish in rivers like Sungai Rajang, Sungai Baram and Sungai Baleh.

       With more than 10 years’ experience selling empurau and other Sarawak river fish – such as semah, baung, tapah and tengadak – he said the emas Borneo was always in high demand from restaurant operators and dignitaries who come from Kuching and Kuala Lumpur to buy the fish because it was difficult to find, given its slow reproductive rate.

       Loh said that usually empurau weighing more than three or four kilos were sold at a higher price because the flesh was dense and chewy.

       He also showed an 8.2kg frozen empurau that cost RM7,000 and was waiting for a buyer in Kuching.

       Steamed, there is no denying that empurau tastes very different from other fish – it is chewy, fatty, slightly sweet and quite fragrant.

       Currently, there are companies that have started breeding and conducting research on empurau with the assistance of the Sarawak Agriculture Department.

       The Sarawak government has allocated RM265mil for the Agriculture Facilitation Fund to help improve skills in the agriculture, fisheries and livestock sectors.