A short write-up on Spotted Scat fish 金鼓(jīn gǔ)

Spotted Scat

Scientific Name: Scatophagus argus

Mandarin 金鼓(jīn gǔ)

Local Malay : Ketang

Local Hokkien /Teochew: Kim Kor

Size: Standard length about 30 cm; total maximum length up to about 35 cm.

Feeds on worms, crustaceans, insects and plant matter.

The habitat of Scats is near coastal sea around fresh water river estuaries. Link

In our fishing hamlet of yore, scat is ranked 4th poisonous with venomous spines. If stung, can inflict severe pain and numbness. The most venomous being sting ray followed by stonefish, strip catfish (in Teochew swa muar) and the 5th, spotted spine foot or rabbitfish or pek tor( Chinese New Year lucky fish).

Scat is not commonly found in the wet market. It is under rated and not in demand. Most imported fishes are caught by trawlers. Due to stringent control and regulations, trawling is prohibited within 3km of the coast line. So, scats are seldom caught.

When young, scats are very colourful. While infant and about the size slightly smaller than a $0.05 cents coin, it has a black body having bright orange spots. It then changes to bright light green with black spot. The adults gradually lose their bright colours and become dull.

Some kids in our days of yore, kept this as fresh water aquarium fish. It is unique and you can’t get it straight from the aquarium. How is this possible? It is a process of desalination. This is not modern day technology like the failed disgraced Hyflux. It started with the tank containing hundred percent sea water. A small volume of fresh water is added daily to replace the sea water. After and around 30 days, the sea water is diluted to fresh water with the scat being environmentally adapted to the desalinisation.

Once the scat was desalinised and grew to the size of a $0.20 cents coin, it could be sold to ornamental fish farms for $0.15 cents each. Selling 20 pieces was a windfall. We could go for movie or a bowl of noodle at $0.20 cents back then. A stick of satay, chengdol, a cup of tea or coffee with milk was only $0.10. A decent meal cost $0.50 – half a dollar!

A pioneer generation fisherman once told me that he would exchange a pomfret for a good size scat. He was being hyperbolic. The price of pomfret is 4 times that of scat. He was merely expressing the taste of scat which is so delectable.

Scat can be found frequently swimming in the East Coast lagoon. There are poachers who will fish scat along canals off the ECP coast line. Bedok canal off Laguna Golf Course and its tributary Sungei Ketapang along the Xilin Avenue/MRTC depot are popular fishing spots. During the rising tide and in search of food, scat will swim as far as 1 km inland away from the coast. When the tide is at the highest, a net is blocked at the mouth of any sub-tributary. Approximately 6 hours later the tide ebbs to the lowest level. The trappers will then collect the trapped fishes, crabs and shrimps from the dried up tributary.

How will the taste of scat match to pomfret? Let you be the judge!

Written by Freddie Tan