Pangasius - The Basa Fish

Pangasius is an edible freshwater fish, belonging to the order of catfish. Its flesh is white and of mild flavor, virtually boneless and its price is extremely competitive. Thus, Pangasius has become one of the most popular freshwater fish species on many European markets, but also in the USA, where it is better known under the label Basa Fish. In the UK the same species might be labled sometimes Vietnamese river cobbler. The different naming in the USA – Basa fish or simply bucourti – is the result of the “catfish” war in the USA: As Vietnam seemed to pay their Pangasius farmers subsidies, American catfish farmers complained about unfair competition. As a result, Pangasius must not be labeld any more catfish any more in the USA, but importers simply switched to the labels Basa fish or bocourti. American farmers indeed had to worry, as Pangasius is widley preferred over the domestic catfish species in North-America.

Most Pangasius on the market stems from farming. As a farmed fish, Pangasius comes almost exclusively from the Mekong Delta in South-Eastern Asia. This in most cases Pangasius hypophthalmus, in North America also referred to as iridescent shark. However, despite the name shark, it is still a catfish. Several Pangasius species are edible and populate entire South-East-Asia, India, China and Indonesia. All Pangasius species live in freshwater, only two are to be found also in slightly salty water (Pangasius Pangasius and Pangasius Krempfi). The ideal temperature for the Basa fish to grow is between 15 and 39° C, what makes it quite a flexible fish.

While cooking with Pangasius seems perfectly ok (though production has sometimes been criticized), the fish is currently also a victim of its shape while young: As the young Pangasius resembles a shark it is attractive to aquarists, who often are not aware of its dimensions as an adult. Yet it is rare that a freshwater fish will match the dimensions of an aquarium, and might react with dwarfism. However, this is still tantamount to animal abuse and in Italy even an act punishable by law.