Milkfish
The milkfish (Chanos chanos) is the sole living species
in the family Chanidae. (About seven extinct species in five
additional genera have been reported.)
Milkfish have a generally symmetrical and streamlined
appearance, with a sizable forked caudal fin. They can grow
to 1.7 meters but are most often about 1 meter in length.
They have no teeth and generally feed on algae and
invertebrates.
They occur in the Indian Ocean and across the Pacific Ocean,
tending to school around coasts and islands with reefs. The
young fry live at sea for two to three weeks and then
migrate to mangrove swamps, estuaries, and sometimes lakes
and return to sea to mature sexually and reproduce.
The milkfish is an important seafood in Southeast Asia. The
fry are collected from rivers and raised in ponds where they
grow very quickly and are then sold either fresh, frozen,
canned, or smoked. Because milkfish is notorious for being
much bonier than other food fish, deboned milkfish, or "boneless
bangus," has become popular in stores and markets.