Best and Freshest seafood for Xmas

[alleycat]

Got to say if there is one thing i really dislike its seeing numerous big flathead in a seafood shop window, i know people have a right to buy seafood and the pros have a right to catch them but its just sad to see the big flathead .

[Lucky_Phill]

Well, that escalated a little bit.

Here's the rub, there is NO perfect commercial fishing practice.

Wild harvesting has it's issues and yes, as eluded to a few posts ago, most trawling practices have by-catch. FYI< the Gulf trawlers by-catch is about 1% per shot or less. As opposed to just about everywhere else in Qld. Personal experience has proven MB trawlers would be lucky to get above 50% keepers per shot, and it was not uncommon to see a whole shot tossed back overboard.

Aquaculture also has had some issues, which have mostly been addressed. Australia is world leading in this field.

Even aqua-farming of Salmon in nets / ponds in Tassie has had it's fair share of drama. ( killing Mussel farms and feeding them chemically laced food with a red dye ).

BUT< as I said , no fishery is perfect and it is up to the individual to purchase their Xmas supplies from whoever they want.

As a side and this has been posted before, The Big Flathead story is not all it's cracked up to be. The science proves once flathead reach a certain age, their eggs cannot become fertile, very similar to humans and in fact, just about all other animals. Yep, we here in Qld got a slot limit and the message was " don't kill the big females "..... yeah .. nah !

We are the apex predator in the food chain of life. It would be great if everyone who wanted seafood for Xmas could catch their own, or dare I say , have their neighbour catch some for them, but it doesn't work that way.

This post was to highlight a long term AF member and his drive to supply his local community with the " best / freshest seafood around ", and I reckon he's done it. Having 3 local pro fishers provide him with product everyday, a chef as a deli ( seafood ) staffer, bringing live Lobsters direct from Tassie and obviously garnishing fresh prawns from the coast, just minutes away. I think if all members in the seafood chain from ocean to kitchen undertook their part with enthusiasm, care and belief, such as Brett & Leanne have done, the industry would be in a better shape.

><> LP

[alleycat]

Well, that escalated a little bit.

Here's the rub, there is NO perfect commercial fishing practice.

Wild harvesting has it's issues and yes, as eluded to a few posts ago, most trawling practices have by-catch. FYI< the Gulf trawlers by-catch is about 1% per shot or less. As opposed to just about everywhere else in Qld. Personal experience has proven MB trawlers would be lucky to get above 50% keepers per shot, and it was not uncommon to see a whole shot tossed back overboard.

Aquaculture also has had some issues, which have mostly been addressed. Australia is world leading in this field.

Even aqua-farming of Salmon in nets / ponds in Tassie has had it's fair share of drama. ( killing Mussel farms and feeding them chemically laced food with a red dye ).

BUT< as I said , no fishery is perfect and it is up to the individual to purchase their Xmas supplies from whoever they want.

As a side and this has been posted before, The Big Flathead story is not all it's cracked up to be. The science proves once flathead reach a certain age, their eggs cannot become fertile, very similar to humans and in fact, just about all other animals. Yep, we here in Qld got a slot limit and the message was " don't kill the big females "..... yeah .. nah !

We are the apex predator in the food chain of life. It would be great if everyone who wanted seafood for Xmas could catch their own, or dare I say , have their neighbour catch some for them, but it doesn't work that way.

This post was to highlight a long term AF member and his drive to supply his local community with the " best / freshest seafood around ", and I reckon he's done it. Having 3 local pro fishers provide him with product everyday, a chef as a deli ( seafood ) staffer, bringing live Lobsters direct from Tassie and obviously garnishing fresh prawns from the coast, just minutes away. I think if all members in the seafood chain from ocean to kitchen undertook their part with enthusiasm, care and belief, such as Brett & Leanne have done, the industry would be in a better shape.

><> LP

My personal choice is to only take flathead between say 50 and 58cm or so, if its true re the big females eggs being not able to be fertilized then those fish around 50cm might just be the best breeders, anyway the slot i take has good meat recovery and has a good taste, i target and catch a lot of flathead and i am now into tagging, QLD should be doing more research, i have heard of NSW having great success with Flathead at the hatchery.

[Noelm]

Unfortunately, research cost money (lots of it) and time (lots of that too) and in a funny way, is not glamorous or even newsworthy, catch a rec or pro fisherman doing the wrong thing, it's headline news almost, restock a dam or declare some kind of green zone, once again, all trumpets and dancing girls! I am in no way a greenie, but, I take what I need, buy what I want and often take my bag limit of crabs, right now 5:30am) my fresh Crystal Bay Prawns are just being delivered to a friend's fish market, my son is helping unload for a few KGs of them. Fish farming (aqua culture) is not the final answer, it sounds great in theory, but, feeding those hungry fish takes food...natural foods mostly, so all we are doing is simply moving the catch species. Anyway, Merry Christmas to all, let's hope next year bring less Covid drama and things get back to the old normal, not the current normal.......

[Andrew_P]

Phill be careful quoting the research regarding the “big flathead don’t reproduce theory” - the number of fish that were studied, the scale of the research location and the people who conducted it (and their use to lobby for change) have been questioned by the scientific community. Fish are not like humans regarding egg production and viability, it is not fair to compare the two. For most species, natural mortality is the biggest contributor to reducing egg production (ie the longer you live the more likely you are to die) so the bulk of flathead that contribute the most to the spawning stock are indeed the 40-60cm fish because they are the most common that can reproduce. Fish over the max size still contribute to spawning, and often have more numbers and better quality eggs, but contribute proportionally less than the 40-60cm fish - it’s a power in numbers thing.