Went down the beach today here in Westport to set some crab pots, for bait, to catch Rig aka Smooth Hound etc ect. Saw two Seagulls having a feed in the distance. So drove up to see what they were dining on. Well bugga me days, a tuna. And fresh as,still bleeding. Sea was to rough for setting my pots, but I came home with a young Southern Blue Fin Tuna. One side is completely intact, the other a bit seagulled. After looking a pics of Skipjack and Bluefin, I am 100% sure it is indeed a Southern Blue Fin Tuna. It does not have lateral strips like a Skipjack. And Skipjack only show up down here in the summer. Whereas the Bluefin show up in winter. The charter boats target the big ones hanging around the Hoki Boats, and that is a winter thing.
Now do I eat the good side, or save it for bait. Or even freeze it and send via Courier to GK, he kinda likes strange baits.
yep you never know what you will find on the beach.
It wasnt stuffed full of a white crytal like powder was it? The snapper don't know where the car park is! Sometimes it is better to travel than to arrive.
Looks to me to be a ALLOTHUNNUS FALLI or slender tuna. Globaly rare with New Zealand being the only place they seem to occour. A close relative of the Bluefin Tuna. I took one of these home from my last visit to the deep south, thawed it out and took it to a Pania Club weigh in. No one seemed to mind Lol. Used it for bait and caught nothing and that was when there were still a few fish about. The snapper don't know where the car park is! Sometimes it is better to travel than to arrive.
Oh Damm Gary. you are right again. Yep its a slender tuna. Has the highest Omega 3 content of any fish known. 3700 milligrams per 100 grams. Most fish go 375 milligrams. So its very healthy. Now filleted and in the freezer. Tryed a small bit cooked and its yum. Chicken of the Sea alright. It was as fresh as, maybe it got stranded, as the sea was very heavy today.
I cant find any records of them being caught over your way. Usually Canterbury coast.The snapper don't know where the car park is! Sometimes it is better to travel than to arrive.
on 17/6/2016, 5:41 pm
