(Above - my photo of a tapah in Marudi )Tapah fish is still available in the wild in Sarawak and is found mainly in the Rajang and Baram rivers. They feed on plants and aquatic organisms. Local legends claim that they can even eat human babies.
They can grow up to 100 kg.
It looks like the keli fish but it does not have a big dorsal fin and its body is a bit wider. Sometimes black dots are found in the belly area giving it a very spotty look.
The femal tapah is bigger than the male counterpart and is therefore more valueable to fish farmers.
Tapah is farmed in West Malaysia nowadays.
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A fisherman from Kuala Tutoh (tributary of the Baram) caught a 58 kg tapah in 2017, which was a record then, with his fishing rod. He sold his fish at 35 ringgit per kg. Today tapah can cost up to 45 ringgit or even more.
Photo above : steamed tapah head . SelangauTapah is best eaten steamed and if fresh, not at all frozen, is better than cod. It has a smooth texture and very white when cooked.
My father was a good fisherman and he would be out by the river bank after office hours. He would take a pail with him if it was high tide. He would spend hours putting down his rods and waiting for the fish to bite. According to my 7th Aunt he would often stay until about 10 at night and the come back with some prawns or fish. If he had caught a fairly big fish, he would clean the fish and put it in the ice box in the mill.
Ice was made every day by our factory and fishermen in their fishing boats would drop by at the jetty early in the morning to get their ice.
When the tide was low in the evening, he would set his traps on the mud banks and got himself muddy but it was very relaxing for him.
Tapah was one of the fish he caught by line. The red eyed fish was more often trapped.
My grandfather was particularly happy when he was given the middle portion of the tapah as a gift from my father.
Most people prefer the head.
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