Ikan Sidat Indonesia di Incar Jepang

KOMPAS.com — Benar jika dikatakan bahwa kekayaan kelautan dan perikanan Indonesia termasuk yang terbesar di dunia. Buktinya terlihat dari salah satu spesies ikan kegemaran warga Jepang, yaitu ikan sidat atau unagi, yang banyak hidup di perairan Indonesia.

Benih ikan sidat yang bisa hidup di air tawar dan asin itu ternyata menjadi incaran pengusaha perikanan Jepang karena harganya yang terbilang wah dan bisa mengucurkan yen ke kantong. Ambil contoh, ikan sidat jenis marmorata. Untuk membeli satu kilogramnya saja, Anda harus menyediakan uang setidaknya Rp 300.000.

Namun, ada juga 5 jenis ikan sidat lainnya yang salah satunya dijual seharga Rp 150.000 per kg, yakni jenis bicolor. Benihnya banyak ditemukan di perairan Palabuhan Ratu, Jawa Barat. Sampai saat ini, manusia belum bisa melakukan pemijahan terhadap benih ikan sidat tersebut. Pasalnya, ikan ini mensyaratkan pemijahan dilakukan di perairan laut dalam setelah benur lahir dan menjadi benih. Biasanya anakan sidat akan berenang ke muara sungai.

Di muara sungai itulah ikan itu besar sampai kemudian datang masa pemijahan lagi. "Jepang yang memiliki teknologi tinggi pun sampai sekarang belum bisa melakukan pemijahan tersebut," papar Made Suita, Kepala Balai Pelayanan Usaha (BLU) Tambak Pandu, Karawang, Minggu (14/3/2010).

Alhasil, untuk pembudidayaan ikan sidat tersebut, benih harus didatangkan dari alam. Beberapa daerah yang sudah memiliki sebaran tersebut adalah perairan Poso, Manado, selatan Jawa terutama perairan Palabuhan Ratu, dan perairan di barat Sumatera.

Namun, tidak semua daerah itu benihnya bisa dimanfaatkan karena banyak nelayan yang belum mengerti cara untuk menangkapnya. Made menyebutkan, nelayan yang sudah memiliki kemampuan untuk menangkap benih sidat itu baru nelayan yang ada di Palabuhan Ratu. Wilayah ini memiliki palung dan muara sungai yang mengalir ke laut.

Nurdin selaku Kepala Bagian Budidaya di BLU Pandu Karawang bilang, kini sudah ada yang mengomersialkan keberadaan benih itu, terutama nelayan yang ada di Palabuhan Ratu. Mereka sudah mengetahui potensi pasar benih ikan sidat, yang satu kilogramnya atau sekitar 5.000 benih dijual seharga Rp 150.000 per kg. Pembelinya pun kebanyakan datang dari Taiwan, Korea, China, Vietnam, dan tentunya Jepang.

Namun sebagian masyarakat Indonesia belum mengerti keberadaan bibit ikan sidat tersebut. Di Poso dan Manadi, misalnya, benih ikan sidat tersebut bahkan dijadikan ikan yang digoreng dengan rempeyek. Menurut Nurdin, ketika warga tidak mengetahuinya, ikan sidat itu menjadi ikan biasa seperti teri.

Pembeli benih ikan sidat dari berbagai negara kini sudah banyak mengincarnya. Sementara itu, pembeli benih domestik hanya memanfaatkannya untuk kebutuhan budidaya yang ada di Karawang, Cirebon, dan Indramayu. Yang menyulitkan bagi pembudidaya di dalam negeri adalah mereka tidak memiliki akses langsung ke pasar ekspor. Adapun di pasar dalam negeri, mereka tidak bisa berharap banyak karena konsumen domestik tidak menyukai ikan sidat dan juga karena harganya yang mahal.

"Untuk membudidayakannya juga ada persyaratan jika ingin ekspor ke Jepang sehingga pembudidaya ikan sidat sulit untuk ekspor ke sana," kata Nurdin.

Salah satu cara untuk bisa menembus pasar Jepang adalah dengan menjalin kerja sama terhadap perusahaan Jepang yang sebelumnya sudah berbisnis ikan sidat.

Nurdin bilang, ikan sidat cukup mahal karena proses perawatannya yang membutuhkan waktu lebih panjang, yakni 3-4 bulan. Adapun pakan utamanya adalah pelet dengan protein tinggi yang dijual seharga Rp 9.000 per kg. Selain itu, ikan juga butuh pakan tambahan berupa keong mas yang sudah dipotong-potong.

Dalam perawatannya pun, suplai oksigen harus dijaga karena ikan sidat membutuhkan air dengan tingkat larutan oksigen tinggi. Adapun tingkat kehidupan rata-rata ikan sidat tersebut mencapai 75 persen dari bibit yang ditebar. "Jika ingin detailnya, maka silakan datang ke BLU Tambak Pandu Karawang. Kami akan berikan informasi detailnya," undang Nurdin.

Saat ini di BLU Pandu Karawang terdapat mitra kerja sama dari Jepang, yakni Asama Industry Co Ltd. Mitra ini bekerja sama dengan PT Suri Tani Pemuka yang melakukan kerja sama untuk memproduksi ikan sidat di BLU Pandu Karawang. Ikan sidat yang sudah diproduksi tersebut bisa diekspor langsung ke Jepang karena sudah ada yang menampung. Sayang, Made tidak mau menyebutkan angka ekspor dari perusahaan mitranya tersebut.

Saat ini yang dibutuhkan oleh pembudidaya ikan sidat adalah membuka kerja sama dengan pemasok ikan sidat yang ada di pasar dunia. Menurut Made, pasar yang sangat menarik dan belum banyak disentuh adalah pasar ikan sidat untuk kebutuhan non-Jepang. "Yang mengonsumsi itu tidak hanya Jepang. Taiwan, Korea, dan China juga sangat menyukai ikan ini," ungkap Made.

Butuh proteksi ekspor benih

Masalah yang dihadapi oleh pembudidaya ikan sidat ini adalah masalah daya saing yang ketat dengan negara produsen lainnya. Negara yang sudah mengembangkan budidaya ikan sidat ini adalah Vietnam dan Korea, demikian juga dengan Jepang sendiri. Anehnya, kata Made, budidaya di dua negara tersebut mendapatkan benih ikan sidat dari Indonesia.

Padahal, kata Made, Kementerian Kelautan dan Perikanan sudah memproteksi ekspor benih ikan sidat dengan alasan guna melindungi spesies dan untuk meningkatkan nilai tambah di dalam negeri. "Namun, pembudidaya ikan sidat di Jepang itu sendiri ternyata adalah orang Indonesia," ungkap Made.

Termasuk yang ada di Korea dan juga Vietnam, benih ikan sidat itu diindikasi berasal dari Indonesia. Made mengindikasi bahwa banyak benih ikan sidat dari Indonesia berseliweran keluar negeri dan dibudidayakan di luar negeri. "Kontainer saja yang besar bisa diselundupkan, apalagi benih yang kecil ini," ujar Made.

Jika penyelundupan benih itu bisa diatasi, maka produksi ikan sidat dari budidaya di dalam negeri bisa sangat diandalkan sebagai nilai tambah bagi pembudidaya di dalam negeri, termasuk menambah devisa negara. (Asnil Bambani Amri/Kontan)

source:  www.rumahsidatsemarang.blogspot.com

Eel's Nutritive Value

“うなぎ(unagi)” is the Japanese word for fresh water eels, and, it usually means the Japanese eel, “anguilla japonicus” in Latin. Unagi is one of common ingredients for Japanese dish. It is popular in Japan by charcoal grilled with kabayaki sauce, put on top of freshly cooked steamed rice. It is getting popular in the U.S. not only unagi on the rice, but also as nigiri and rolled sushi.

Unagi is high in protein, vitamin A, D, E, DHA (Docosahexa - enoic Acid), EPA (Eicosapenta - enoic Acid), and minerals such as iron, calcium, etc.

Unagi is known for great stamina giving food in Japan. And, it is consumed by over millions of people, especially, 土用の丑の日(doyou-no-ushi-no-hi), during one or two of the hottest days in the summer in Japan(usually end half of July). It is like a traditional event in Japan to eat “unagi” on those days, to gain some vital energy for surviving rest of roof-burning days.

Vitamin A is the one well known vitamin that unagi contains highly in its property. It helps preventing from aging, keeping our eyes healthy, preventing from cancer, and, it also helps keeping our immune system healthy.

DHA is another factor that makes unagi so special. It helps for the better brain functioning, memory power, eye-sight recovery, cancer prevention, lowering cholesterol, and high-blood pressure. It helps preventing from getting Alzheimer’s disease too.

As well as DHA, EPA is again, valuable factor of unagi. It helps lowering cholesterol like DHA, and, controlling irritability.

Since eel is one of the finest quality fish in the world, it is welcomed by all sorts of people with various cultures and back grounds.

source: www.eeldepot.com

Japanese traditional powerhouse, Unagi

picture of a health sushi Eel 

I hope many of you readers out there are coping with the heat waves this summer. To survive the notoriously hot and humid summers, Japanese people have created several strategies throughout history. Many of you probably know that eel (unagi) is a delicacy in Japan. It's a tradition to delve into this tasty tantalizer on the midsummer day of the Ox, which falls on July 23rd, and on August 4th this year. But I bet few of you know that this season, the end of summer, is also a great time to enjoy unagi meals to help keep you healthy and cool. In this month's issue, I'll tell you more about this Japanese traditional powerhouse, unagi.
 
Beef Saturday"- The Origin of Eel Day

As I mentioned, it's customary to eat unagi , especially grilled ones, on specific dates, which we call "doyou-no ushi-no hi". Some of my non-Japanese friends are confused by this. They ask me "Why do Japanese eat eel on Beef Saturdays -" They mistakenly think that "doyou" means "Saturday", and that "Ushi" means "beef". In fact, in this case "doyou" means "the end of the season". Each season has its own "doyou". It usually lasts 18-days, but the summer one is especially important in Japan. We send summer greeting cards, "syochu mimai" during the summer doyou. According to the old calendar, the period is at the end of summer, but actually it's in the middle of summer. This is why we call doyou the "Midsummer Day" in English.

During the 18-days, each doyou has one or two "ushi-no hi", which is the day of the ox. It's named after one of the twelve animals of the Chinese zodiac. We have two "ushi-no hi" in the doyou period, and we call those days "doyou-no ushi-no hi", which translates to "the midsummer day of the ox" in English.

Now hopefully you understand that the meaning of Eel Day is not "beef Saturday". But you may be asking yourself, why have Japanese chosen to have eel on those dates- There are several stories to explain this phenomenon.
 
The most famous one is based on the following tale. During the Edo Period, an eel restaurant owner was struggling to balance his books as sales were down and customers were few and far between. He visited Gennai Hiraga, a famous scholar, to seek his advice. Gennai had a great idea. He advised the owner to put an ad out on the "doyou-no ushi-no hi", because people at that time for some reason believed they should eat dishes that had the letter "u" in order to survive the summer heat. As a result, the restaurant got a boost in business, and people started to enjoy grilled eel on the day.

Another famous story is based on another event during the Edo Period. An eel restaurant owner received a rush of orders one summer. He kept on broiling eels for three days, including the Rat, Ox and the Tiger Day, and preserved them until the day he needed them. After a few days, he discovered that the eel broiled on Ox Day was fine, but the ones broiled on the other two days tasted bad. The owner started to believe that the midsummer Ox Day is somehow good for broiling eel.

The Notable Nutrients in Unagi

Nutritionally speaking, unagi contains vitamins A, B1, B2, D and E, which are effective agents for rejuvenating the body in summer. Among them, vitamin B1 is especially easy to loose in sweat, several minerals and high quality protein, as well as unsaturated fatty acids like DHA and EPA are more abundant in unagi than in other seafood. The benefits of these unsaturated fatty acids have been vigorously researched and well documented. The following is a summary of the major health benefits of DHA and EPA: - Decreases cholesterol - Lowers blood pressure - Prevents vascular diseases - Reduces the risk of developing arthritis - Promotes normal brain development and nervous system function - Promotes good eyesight See- Now hopefully you understand why having unagi at the end of the summer is good for you.
 
Delectable Unagi Cuisine
The most common Unagi dish is "unagi no kaba-yaki", grilled eel. Skewered unagi is grilled with sweet basting sauce. It's difficult to make it in your kitchen, so most people buy it in stores. Commonly, grilled eel is served over steamed rice. Unagi doesn't contain vitamin C, so don't forget your green salad on the side. Unfortunately, this year, the price of eel is the highest it's been in five years. You may be shocked at the price tag even at a regular grocery store, but the health benefits are well worth the cost. Don't be a scrooge and get the stamina you need to recover from the unrelenting heat from your new friend, unagi.

source: www.healthhokkaido.com