Wildside - Tasman Bay Snapper

Snapper – an abundant local resource

© Zane Mirfin, Wildside Column, Snapper - an abundant local resource, Nelson Mail, 13 September 2008

FROM SEA TO TABLE: Zane Mirfin with a haul of snapper. The past season was one of the best in decades, he says.

Tasman Bay is a glistening jewel that enthralled early explorers like Tasman and D’Urville and continues to dazzle modern Nelsonians today.
 

Life has certainly changed in almost 200 years of European settlement but the one constant that remains is the snapper of Tasman Bay.
 

Snapper were abundant when my ancestors Ann and Thomas Hill arrived on a sailing ship, the Thomas Harrison,
in 1841, and the snapper are abundant still for my children, who are seventh-generation Nelson snapper fishermen.
 

It is no secret that the past summer was one of the best snapper seasons for top of the south recreational anglers in
decades. We are fortunate to have such a marvellous resource so close and so available to all.
 

Snapper (Chrysophrys auratus) are a wonderful saltwater fish, and it is probably fair comment to label them the country’s best-known and most popular marine fish.
 

Common around most of New Zealand except for south of Hokitika on the West Coast and south of Kaikoura on the
east, snapper is an important recreational and commercial species.
 

The term ‘‘snapper’’ is a bit of a misnomer – they are actually a type of sea bream, hence the local term ‘‘brim’’ for smaller, pan-sized specimens (called ‘‘pannies’ in the North Island). Smaller snapper are generally school fish, while older and larger specimens can be more solitary.
 

They are most commonly caught in inshore waters during late spring to autumn, when waters are warmer – most fish retreat to deep water during winter.
 

Snapper fresh from the sea are a lovely pinky silver with blue spots, while older specimens (up to 60 years old) can be dark red, depending on where they have been living.
 

All New Zealand fish resources, including snapper, are managed by MFish and subject to rules, regulations and bag limits, which vary throughout the country.
 

The great thing about snapper is that they can be caught by a variety of methods, mostly near the bottom, where they eat all sorts of small fish, shellfish, crabs and worms.
 

Snapper are also a mid-water fish and range throughout the water column, depending on the season and food opportunities. They are an aggressive fish and are great fighters on a rod and line, and can be caught with bait, jigs, flasher rigs, synthetic soft baits, trolled lures and even artificial flies.
 

Catching these fish with light tackle from the beach or boat can be a real buzz.
 

Setlines with 25 baited hooks, set-nets that gill and finwrap snapper, and even beach seining with long ropes are more passive ways of catching a feed.
 

Snapper are a great table fish but at about $30 a kilogram at the fish shop, almost unaffordable to most families.
 

Fish should be killed with a spike at capture and put on ice immediately. Salt-water ice is best, and don’t wash the fillets in fresh water – salt water is always best.
 

Watch your hands as snapper are spiny beasts and thrashing fish can carve your hands up with bites and spikes that could become infected.
 

You can cook and serve snapper in a variety of ways, including frying, baking, grilling, fish pies, smoked – you name it.
 

Filleting is a good way to get most of the flesh off but only uses about half the fish. I now also cut off the fleshy flaps
behind the gill case, which includes the side fins, and smoke these pieces with the skin on in my portable smoker – they are delicious to pick away at with friends, accompanied by a fine ale.
 

Last summer I bought an outside boil-up pot, burner and bracket that runs on gas. Once snapper carcasses are gutted and gilled, they can be boiled up with onions, herbs and spices to make outstanding fish stock for chowders, bouillabaisse etc.
 

The final use of the snapper carcasses is to bury them under some of your olive or citrus trees and just watch your trees grow.
 

Snapper are a wonderful sporting fish. Long may they swim in our coastal waters for us to harvest and enjoy.

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