Had a exceptional three hour session on the beach this morning, capturing some good video footage. The action was virtually none stop and among the catch was a fish I did not recognise.
My wife had captured the fish on video so when I returned home I stopped the movie and could compare my catch with those on the website of Primary Industries.
My wife was not happy because I returned the fish unharmed but I did my best to explain I had no idea whether if was an edible variety of not. Anyway, we had plenty of fillets in the bucket by then.
It turned out the fish was called a 'dog snapper', according to Primary Industries these should not be eaten as frequently, being primarily a reef fish, they are full of toxins that can make you violently ill.
We are so lucky to live in an area where a short three hour session can be so productive, simply brilliant.
Re: Unusual Fish.
Posted by Hangler on 6/12/2015, 9:22 am, in reply to "Unusual Fish."
Re: Unusual Fish.
Posted by racepics on 6/12/2015, 9:49 am, in reply to "Re: Unusual Fish."
Looks a bit like a Red Moki apart from the head shape.
I've read before in your posts that your wife is not keen on releasing fish and that she considers this a 'waste'? I find it hard to comprehend the logic behind this mindset. No doubt its a cultural thing, and perhaps this has been taught for generations (and this is nothing against her personally) but surely releasing a fish in order for it to grow/breed etc cannot be wasteful. At a stretch she might consider it a waste of your fishing effort perhaps, but I know you consider fishing as not just "harvesting". Killing an unwanted fish and leaving it behind is wasteful, and unfortunately I have seen plenty of that, but most of us thankfully, will release unwanted species. Good on you for risking her wrath and releasing it
Posted by Hangler on 6/12/2015, 10:47 am, in reply to "Re: Unusual Fish."
Hi Racepics. There was a recent study performed where is was established that over 25% of food purchased ends up in the dustbin. In Asian countries the figure would be zero.
A fish or animal that is caught (or purchased) will be used entirely, even down to a soup or broth being made from the bones. I am sure you will have seen Kahawai frames and heads discarded on the beach, to my wife this would be a cardinal sin. Had I known what that fish was and she cooked it, all that would have been left would be the bones and the head skeleton ... absolutely no waste.
This does not only apply to fish. I have a nice veggie garden, I remove the broccoli heads for our meals and freeze what we don't use. My wife will take the main stem, peel it with a knife, and cook the centre. This sounds ridiculous but I assure you what she ends up with tastes better than the main head.
Any meat with a bone is treated the same way, especially chickens. Nothing is thrown away, the final task is to boil the frame, add vegetables and make a nice soup.
Whereas the average westerner is happy to discard leftovers, Asians would say that is a criminal waste of good food, and laziness on the part of the cook. We look at Asian races and accuse them of taking everything, the point being they eat it, we waste it. Their mindset being, if you return an edible food source to the sea, no matter for what reason, you are wasting good food.
There is no end to the argument because neither race would ever understand the way the others were taught in their learning years. I will give a simple analogy of my wife's thinking. If I catch a couta, YEMS or spotties, my reaction is YEMS for bait, spotties get returned as do coutas. My wife sees a very tasty meal, she is an excellent cook. Which one of us is right, which one is wrong?
I have several fillets in the fridge, the spoils of a very successful trip to the beach yesterday. Nothing will be wasted and our weekly food budget will be that much stronger because of it.
I should add no offence taken at your mention of my wife, like me she is blessed with humour. I have learnt much from her and feel wiser for the experience. Five months in China taught me so much and you are never too old to learn.
Re: Unusual Fish.
Posted by racepics on 6/12/2015, 11:36 am, in reply to "Re: Unusual Fish."
Baracuda are a sought after food fish in South Africa where they call it Snoek. They look to be the same species as ours, but don't have the worm infestation that ours do.
I release most of the cuda I catch but the ones I have filleted end up being used for bait because of the worms present in the flesh. I've yet to fillet one that didn't have these parasites. http://www.paniasurfcasting.org http://www.surfcaster.co.nz
Re: Unusual Fish.
Posted by Hangler on 6/12/2015, 3:04 pm, in reply to "Re: Unusual Fish."
You are one up on me RP, I consider myself to be quite good with a filleting knife but I have yet to master the art of getting a boneless fillet off a couta. Sure I can take the sides off but as for removing the pin bones, now that is completely beyond me.
Re: Unusual Fish.
Posted by racepics on 6/12/2015, 8:34 pm, in reply to "Re: Unusual Fish."
Posted by martin on 7/12/2015, 12:35 pm, in reply to "Re: Unusual Fish."
Hanger, I no where you are coming from, Having an Asian wife myself she would rather eat a fish head and bones than the meat.Nothing goes to waste.I get told off when I put smaller fish back, smaller fish taste better than bigger ones.
Re: Unusual Fish.
Posted by Hangler on 7/12/2015, 1:16 pm, in reply to "Re: Unusual Fish."
Hi Martin, I fear this is a mind set very few westerners understand. I believe you need to visit an Asian country before you can grasp the difference in attitudes. Oddly, it is western culture that has changed, not the Asian.
I am old enough to remember the food shortages in the UK after WW2, then people were greatfull for whatever the got on a plate. Now times have changed, most would have no idea how to fillet a fish, kill and gut a rabbit or a chicken, we are just spoilt for choice.
Having a Chinese wife has taken me back to the days when there was no food to waste, you ate whatever you could get and were thankful for it.
The idea of having crayfish, crabs, prawns, or fresh fish for bait would have been inconceivable, yet now we waste that food source without giving it a second thought. I am as guilty of this waste as most, but my wife believes if it swims it can be eaten, and the prize part of any fish is the head and eyes. Perhaps this is why Maori are so keen to eat snapper heads, I have tried them, and groper heads, they are delicious.
Re: Unusual Fish.
Posted by Charlie on 7/12/2015, 9:25 pm, in reply to "Re: Unusual Fish."
I'm no expert but I would say it is a HIWIHIWI regardless what Primary Industries say.
Re: Unusual Fish.
Posted by Rod Walloper on 7/12/2015, 9:43 pm, in reply to "Re: Unusual Fish."
A Hiwihiwi has a sort of triangular body in cross section. The general outline is not unsimilar but not as deep as a red moki and it is covered in small white spots. The fish that Hanglar has posted is a red moki, red with darkish vertical bands. In 40 years of fishing around the Wairarapa and Wellington coasts I have caught one (on crayfish bait). They are very territorial and stick to their reefy area, very seldom caught on a line but are easy prey for skin divers and easily wiped out in a particular area.
Re: Unusual Fish.
Posted by Rod Walloper on 7/12/2015, 10:09 pm, in reply to "Re: Unusual Fish."
Oops. I have just watched Hangler's video and the fish he has pulled in was definitely not a red moki. I would say a hiwihiwi too. (the fish in the illustration that that he posted was a red moki though)
Re: Unusual Fish.
Posted by Charlie on 7/12/2015, 10:22 pm, in reply to "Re: Unusual Fish."
This is a Hiwihiwi that Hangler caught.
Re: Unusual Fish.
Posted by Hangler on 8/12/2015, 8:56 am, in reply to "Re: Unusual Fish."
That's the fish guys, thanks for your help. A lot of reef fish are similar in looks but that is the fish I landed. I might also add I have never heard of the fish and I don't know if it has culinary value. Mind you that is probably a good thing as my wife would have given me a hard time had she known it was edible.
on 5/12/2015, 4:32 pm
