Move Over Salmon! This Indonesian Fish Has the World's Highest Omega-3 Content
The Indonesian archipelago’s waters hold extraordinary potential through the sidat fish, which is rich in macro-nutrients. Recent scientific testing claims this species has the highest concentration of essential Omega-3 fatty acids globally, even surpassing the reputation of salmon, long considered the king of marine nutrition.
Gadis Sri Haryani, a senior researcher at the National Research and Innovation Agency’s (BRIN) Limnology and Water Resources Research Centre, confirmed the research data showing the comparative nutritional superiority of sidat over other popular marine commodities. “All this time, we thought salmon had the highest levels, but it turns out sidat has the highest nutritional value,” Gadis said, as quoted from BRIN’s official website on Sunday (5/7/2026).
Beyond being rich in Omega-3, sidat also contains other important nutrients such as vitamin A, vitamin B complex, iron, protein, phosphorus, and calories needed by the body. This content makes sidat a potentially high-value nutritious food source. The Omega-3 in sidat consists of DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) and EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid). DHA plays a crucial role in brain development and function, while EPA helps reduce inflammation and maintain heart health.
Beyond its nutritional superiority, sidat also holds significant economic value for Indonesia’s fisheries sector. However, Gadis stressed the importance of science-based and sustainable management to ensure the utilisation of this resource does not lead to overexploitation that could threaten its future population.
The uniqueness of sidat is also evident in its catadromous life cycle, where it spends most of its life in freshwater before migrating to the sea to breed. “Catadromous means that when it spawns and hatches in the sea, it becomes a leptocephalus, or a unique eel larva that is flat, transparent, leaf-like, and has no swimming ability,” Gadis explained. She added that during the migration from the deep sea towards estuaries or river mouths, the larva transforms into a glass eel.