At present, Taiwan consumes about 160 million milkfish a year, but the total harvest is only some 100 million. The deficiency is made up by imports from the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia.
目前本省虱目魚苗的年需量約一億六千萬尾，除了漁民在沿海撈獲的一億尾左右之外，不足的數目需由菲律賓、馬來西亞、印尼等地輸入，因此耗費了大筆外匯。