Singapore's Favourite Snapper!

In this post, I'm going to share about another common fish that we encounter on our Singapore shores or even regional waters. This fish is none other than the Golden Snapper (Ang Cho/Kim Cho/Ungah). The snapper family has many species and variants but what I actually want to share are the 3 main "species" or rather "types" that Singaporean fishos encounter locally. The fish is so popular with the local fishing community that many paypond operators bring in this fish locally to release into their fishing ponds! This is because the fish (be it wild or farmed) gives an excellent account of itself during the fight and it is reasonable eating even when from the farm.

Here's a breakdown of the three broad types that you will encounter as you fish our Singapore shores. One may ask, is there a difference at all?!?!

Farmed Golden Snapper is probably the type that is more encountered by pond fishing kakis and these fish are bred in fishing farm or kelong nets until they are big enough to be sold to markets or fishing ponds. Farmed Golden Snappers are usually very dark in colour, have tattered fins and looks somewhat similar to a Black Bass with the 'kee'! Even though farmed, it provides excellent fight and is usually still good eating. The interesting thing about farmed snappers is that there are many fish farms in Singapore and some fish escape from these farms.... Don't be surprised if you catch a farmed snapper when you do offshore fishing at Changi!


Paypond farmed snappers!

The next type of Golden Snapper is the estuarine species which can be found in mangrove areas or muddy areas at inshore areas. These snappers are usually not more than 3kg as those above 3kg probably move on to the deeper sea. These estuarine snappers love eating live prawns and crabs! They are usually common when fishing around Changi/Punggol and Ubin waters! Can you see the difference between wild snappers from the farmed snappers?

Estuary Golden Snappers caught at Changi!

The last type which I would like to showcase are the deep sea golden snappers that can be usually found at our Southern Islands. These snappers can grow up to above 10kg and are usually much more vibrant and "golden" than their estuarine counterparts. They are very fat and love live squid! I'm sure most people knew that the snappers of the deep are special but here's another reason why... Deep sea snappers usually have a thick layer of orange fat (similar to Salmon flesh) that signals that the fish is healthy and feeding well. This layer of fat probably is present since the fish has to live in deeper waters (as compared to the estuarine species). Delicious!

Deep Sea Golden Snappers caught off Southern Islands!

See the orange fat???

Hope that's informative for you guys...