Catfish Fillet:
To change the Fate of - Bapukan" Catfish
By fillet processing, the catfish which is commonly called as "bapukan" and generally is not saleable in the market, now it is able to give a huge profit. This happens to H. Carmin Iswahyudi, one of the farmers and the biggest catfish trader in Losarang - Indramayu. Wet Java.
The catfish market is very specific, mostly only marketed to fulfill the demand of "PECEL LELE" (Chilly Fried Catfish) and "WARUNG TEGAC booths. They usually require the size of catfish between 6-12 /kg. Consequently, the oversize catfish is not saleable. Even so, the price is far below the BEP. "Fillet processing is the perfect solution to all catfish farmers," says Carmin who has been processing "bapukan" catfish into fillet for one year.
AccordinP, to him, the amount of "bapukan" catfish is more than
enough, able to reach 10% in each production cycle. We can imagine how much the total loss has to be burdened by the farmer if the "bapukan" catfish is not saleable. The catfish production at Losarang district is able to achieve 700 tons/month. Equally, at least there is about 70 tons of "bapukan'* catfish which can be processed into fillet form.
source : Trobos, 2008
