Spent 2 weeks aboard a fishing Vessel (Factory Ship) all fish fingers are is the absolute scrap they can't sell as fish.
Haven't seen Skate for a couple of years in SA as it's listed as endangered.

Come to Mozambique and watch the Chinese line fishing! No wonder fish are getting scarce.

We have lots of nice Salmon (up to 40lbs) in the lower South Island rivers and power station feeder canals, but they have been declining slightly over recent years. Also large rainbow trout, with some occasional specimens of around 30lbs in the same areas. Unfortunately there are no Salmon in the North Island and the Brown and Rainbow Trout are smaller.
JB

We have plenty of big Barracuda down here in the South Pacific but they're not really edible, as they're usually infested with worms. Further north around Fiji, Samoa etc they're fine, ( warmer water may have something to do with it).
JB

Used to fish for these when it was Rhodesia.
As always Catfish obviously need a clean from time to time due to the mud

Yes I have nerys, and it leaves a bitter taste in my mouth, not the salmon, but the way they mistreat such a beautiful fish, but that's Alaska! it's quantity not quality.😠


Cheers Pete

btw, It looks like we here in England are stuck with Covid problems yet again.

Pete,
Have you watched any of the 'Alaska' programmes on TV where they catch salmon in nets, fish catching machines as well as by line. I like the way they talk blithely about needing hundreds to feed the dogs through the winter. It seems they feed them to the dogs as if they were ice lollies!

I do like the way this post has got well away from Covid, the elephant in the room.

Cheers, Nerys

You would have to go a long way to beat a line caught salmon, the king or queen of fishes😛

Cheers, Pete

"I like the idea of fishing for barracuda in the Norfolk Broads."
Just don't hang your toes over the edge of the bank/boat Nerys!!
Chomp! 😮😭
😎

"using blue soap as bait - don't know why but Vundu love the stuff...."
No accounting for tastes I guess Red 😮😝
😎

I like the idea of fishing for barracuda in the Norfolk Broads.

Nerys

I have had Barracuda, it's really nice fish. I had it from a fish & chip shop in Wroxham Norfolk. He used to sell all sorts of different types of fish.Sadly he has retired and you cannot get an variation of fish like he sold.

We have a form of freshwater Barracuda here JB - Called a Tigerfish - they are most voracious predators found in the Zambesi - have a few in the Northern rivers in SA. Used to be a Tiger fishing contest every year at Kariba - big ones grow broad & fat - small ones are lean and hungry............. Nowadays they tend to feed on Kapenta which is a freshwater sardine type introduced from Lake Malawi to the Kariba Dam
Problem with Tigers is they not only have fierce teeth - but try picking them up by the gills and you will get your finger cut off as they have razor sharp plates in there.............
The Zambesi also contains a huge catfish - called a Vundu - as far as I know the largest one caught was around 160kg - helped 2 kids haul in a 70 odd kg one - caught on a clothes line tied to a rail at Kariba Breezes Hotel - using blue soap as bait - don't know why but Vundu love the stuff..........

Hi Peter, I think you are thinking of this fish (Gurnard) which is a different beast to the Scorpion fish (they do have a few spikes as well). Gurnard do tend to grunt a bit in the boat if you don't give them a tap on the head. Very tasty fish and sought after here,- sold in fish and chip shops. Re Stonefish, my wife (who is Fijian) stood on one in Fiji when she was working at the Castaway Island Resort before I met her, and reckons it wasn't too pleasant, lucky she was the Island nurse and knew what to do and had access to the right medicine! Stingrays can be nasty to stand on too (or swim too close to,-ask that Aussie idiot Steve Irwin, - oh too late☹️)

A girl diving here a few years ago accidentally cornered a big one and it sliced her open through her wetsuit, as it tried to 'escape'- she was lucky to survive! (lacerated liver etc) Re the Scorpion Fish, it's supposed to be one of the most poisonous fish in the world. I caught a reasonably sized one a number of years ago and spiked myself very slightly (no gloves) and it throbbed like hell and took a few weeks to go away. Never knew they were considered any more dangerous then a Schnapper until recently.

Always thought Barracuda were nasty, (I know the big ones can be) but when fishing with the wifes' younger sisters husband,- (Indian fisherman) and a group of us at night on the West coast of Vanua Levu, we were pulling in 2-3ft schooling Barracuda by the dozen (very nice eating), and the funny thing was, if you grabbed them tight round the gills while unhooking them, they sort of gave a squeak and that was it, just lay in the bottom of the boat without any movement, never seen fish do that!
JB

I know it as Red Snapper. One of my favourite when available on the menu.

That's called a Grunting Gurnet here JB - not sure that Ive ever eaten one - caught a few though. As you say the spines are bad . We have an even worse one on the warm water coast up north - fella called a Stonefish - stand on him buried in the sand around coral reefs and you are either in agony for about 3 weeks or depart this world.............

Common fish here for Fish & Chips is Hake Nerys - otherwise known as Stockfish - to my mind its pretty tasteless - but in good supply - far better tasting is Kingklip which resembles a fattened eel tapered at the ends........ - and the Wolf Fish is often marketed here as Angel Fish - always has the evil looking head removed - actually quite tasty !

Talking fishy things again. We were in a Morrisons supermarket yesterday in the West Midlands, called in there for a meal actually after looking at a minibus we are probably going to buy. Anyway, decided to do some shopping and to my delight I found a packet of fresh skate on the fish counter. Unfortunately, they only had one packet so, Alice had to make do with salmon. Will be asking my local branch why they do not have it. If one branch can, surely they all can.

Cheers, Nerys

Roy, I haven't seen hake fish fingers in the supermarkets, but I consider that to be a waste of a good fish. As a child, I expect it was the only fish I ate because it was my mother's favourite and living in South Wales it was one of the principle fish available. I lived in North Devon for a while in the fifties and it was the usual fish in the F & C shops then but I have only seen it on odd occasions since. I was in a F & C restaurant in North Wales a year or so ago and it was on the menu, but when I asked for it, I don't think the waiter had ever heard of it. And so, I keep looking.

Cheers, Nerys

Same here Nerys, not had skate for many years, but last year, went to Dartmouth in Devon, and had Smoked Hake , usually we see smoked haddock for sale, but it was very tasty, tried to buy it here in the N.West, but no luck.😊

Cheers, Pete

Nice to see a small ray of sunshine today as I was trying to clean the sole of my shoe while floundering around in the mud down the back yard😁. I like a nice bit of fresh caught Schnapper (maybe in a beer batter) blue Cod or red Scorpion fish (grandaddy Hapuka here) rare to catch one, deep water fish, just an idea to wear gloves when handling, nasty spines,-remove with side cutters- but fantastic tasting !) Southern blue whiting's not bad either. Plenty to choose from down here (better before the Asian raiders started illegal fishing in our waters😠.
JB

Obviously the right plaice. We did a similar run to visit my mum in Aberystwyth, it was good to have fresh local caught fish for tea, I had pollack and Caroline had sea bass.
And as you mentioned it was nice to see people smiling without a mask.
Cheers Colin.

Hi Nerys,
Hake is often found in supermarkets processed foods as a replacement for Cod, in fish fingers etc. Its cheaper than cod but similar apart from the meat being less white.

Regards Roy

Roy, I'd love it to have been skate, I haven't had a nice piece of skate in years. The last place I ever had it was from the F & C shop on the beach at Dunwich, Must have been ten years ago. Another favourite I haven't seen for years is Hake, yet a programme about Cornish fishing I watched recently was about a Penzance boat out hake fishing.

Cheers, Nerys

I do believe that in to days normal a meal out does taste better and fish and chips is always good.Good luck finding a vehicle.
Rick

Must have been a Flat(fish) Rate Roy😁😋😋
😎

I hope you weren't being a cheap skate! Joke!

Good for you.
Regards Roy