''Pampus argenteus'', the silver pomfret or white pomfret (or pompano to avoid confusion with true pomfrets of the genus

Bramidae Pomfrets are scombriform fish belonging to the family Bramidae. The family currently includes 20 species across seven genera. Several species are important food sources for humans, especially ''Brama brama'' in South Asia. The earlier form of t ...

), is a species of butterfish that lives in the

Indo-West Pacific The Indo-Pacific is a vast biogeographic region of Earth. In a narrow sense, sometimes known as the Indo-West Pacific or Indo-Pacific Asia, it comprises the tropical waters of the Indian Ocean, the western and central Pacific Ocean, and the s ...

, spanning the coastal waters of the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

Eastern Africa East Africa, also known as Eastern Africa or the East of Africa, is a region at the eastern edge of the Africa, African continent, distinguished by its unique geographical, historical, and cultural landscape. Defined in varying scopes, the regi ...

South Asia South Asia is the southern Subregion#Asia, subregion of Asia that is defined in both geographical and Ethnicity, ethnic-Culture, cultural terms. South Asia, with a population of 2.04 billion, contains a quarter (25%) of the world's populatio ...

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...

, and

East Asia East Asia is a geocultural region of Asia. It includes China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan, plus two special administrative regions of China, Hong Kong and Macau. The economies of Economy of China, China, Economy of Ja ...

. The species has been reported only twice, one hundred years apart, from the central

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...

. Silver pomfrets are usually silver/white in color, with few small scales. They can grow up to a range of 4–6 kg (8–13 lb). However, due to

overfishing Overfishing is the removal of a species of fish (i.e. fishing) from a body of water at a rate greater than that the species can replenish its population naturally (i.e. the overexploitation of the fishery's existing Fish stocks, fish stock), resu ...

, specimens weighing less than 1 kg (2 lb) are more commonly seen. The silver pomfret should not be mistaken for the Florida pompano (''Trachinotus carolinus''), which is a jackfish found off the coast of

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

in the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico () is an oceanic basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, mostly surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north, and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States; on the southw ...

, and neither should be confused with true pomfrets, which are of the family

As food

This fish is prized in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region for its taste. Its flesh is soft and buttery when cooked. It is called "Rupchanda" in Bengali, ''pamplet'' in

Marathi Marathi may refer to: *Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India **Marathi people (Uttar Pradesh), the Marathi people in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh *Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Mar ...

or in

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

, ''paaplet'' () in

Goa Goa (; ; ) is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is bound by the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north, and Karnataka to the ...

, ''avoli'' () in Kerala and ''vawall'' () in parts of

South India South India, also known as Southern India or Peninsular India, is the southern part of the Deccan Peninsula in India encompassing the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Telangana as well as the union territories of ...

. It is called in Arabic, which is derived from the word , meaning 'butter', due to its tender flesh. In

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

it is known as . In

Korea Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...

, the fish is known as () and is often grilled into ''

gui Gui or GUI may refer to: People Surname * Gui (surname), an ancient Chinese surname, ''xing'' * Bernard Gui (1261 or 1262–1331), inquisitor of the Dominican Order * Luigi Gui (1914–2010), Italian politician * Gui Minhai (born 1964), Ch ...

'' and eaten as a ''

banchan ''Banchan'' ( ; ; ) are small side dishes served along with cooked rice in Korean cuisine. ''Banchan'' are often set in the middle of the table to be shared. At the center of the table is the secondary main course, such as ''galbi'' or ''bulg ...

'' (side dish). It is also a popular dish in

Chinese cuisine Chinese cuisine comprises cuisines originating from Greater China, China, as well as from Overseas Chinese, Chinese people from other parts of the world. Because of the Chinese diaspora and the historical power of the country, Chinese cuisine ...

, where it is called () and is often served steamed or braised. Pomfret is especially popular in Kuwait, and it is one of the most expensive types of fish in the market, with the ''Kuwaiti Pomfret'' (), caught in the waters of Kuwait, being the most sought-after followed by the ''Iranian Pomfret'' (). The Kuwaiti government regularly bans the fishing of the Kuwaiti type to allow the fish to reproduce. Mtabbag Zbedi () is a popular Kuwaiti dish made with fried Pomfret, spices, and rice, with '' daqqūs'', Kuwaiti home-made hot sauce, usually added.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1374240 Stromateidae Commercial fish Marine fauna of South Asia Marine fish of Southeast Asia Fish described in 1788 Taxobox binomials not recognized by IUCN