No more Snapper.

[Quaker 0]

Scheme provides standardised names for fishJune 25, 2008 02:09amArticle from: The Daily Telegraph * Fish names standardised * Now harder to sell cheap catch under flashy name * But now the snapper has gone for goodTHE seafood equivalent of buying a pig's ear when you paid for a silk purse will become far less common with the unveiling of standardised names for fish, it was claimed yesterday.Seafood Australia said the Australian fish names scheme, giving for the first time one moniker to each of Australia's 4500 fish species, will make it far harder for unscrupulous fish mongers to sell cheap varieties under the wrong or made-up names.The fish names brand scheme uses many established names for various species but has also ditched some of the country's best known fish names.Snapper, arguably Australia's most popular fish, will be called "bight redfish" and jewfish will be known as "mulloway".Launched yesterday by NSW Primary Industries Minister Ian Macdonald, the scheme in some cases rewrites names that can be traced back to Captain Cook.Cook came up with the name snapper - originally from the West Indies - and there have been years of confusion over fish names since, Mr Macdonald said.He said confusion had made it possible for unscrupulous operators to make a "quick buck" by selling cheap varieties under incorrect and more expensive names in the $2.5 billion industry.Grahame Turk, managing director of Sydney Seafood Market, said: "Up until now, some fish species have been known by up to 20 different names depending on what state - or region - the fish were landed."You not only needed a menu but an atlas."Ted Loveday, Seafood Services Australia's managing director, said deep sea perch was a species which never existed, and was a made up name. It will now be called orange roughy."It's like having a GTX Holden - there's no such thing," he said."It's the first time a single reference point for fish names has existed in Australia."Take-up of the scheme is voluntary and businesses that sign-on to the scheme will be licensed and display "approved fish names" signage."The message for consumers is look for the new logo," Mr Loveday said.It took a committee of seafood experts, consumer representatives, fisheries managers and other stakeholders six years to standardise the names of more than 4500 fish and the list has been adopted by Standards Australia.Share this article

[Goldie 0]

was there something about changing tommys name too ?

[Ranger 48]

I dunno what's goin on at the Daily Telegraph, but they really need to get on top of things.That's actually pretty old news, coz those standards came into force in 2007.

Take-up of the scheme is voluntary

How can names be standardised if only SOME in the industry are using the standards. I believe it is a compulsory scheme.In regards to the Snapper, seafood outlets in my area are still selling Snapper as Snapper.These new standards also make it compulsory to display the country of origin, so that consumers know where their seafood is coming from.

[Ranger 48]

was there something about changing tommys name too ?

No mate. The name change to Australian Herring was a decision made by Fisheries, nothing to do with the seafood industry.

[Goldie 0]

i only asked cos the man asked me too ;Dbut thanks for clearing that up

[Ranger 48]

And tis a silly name! Bl**dy australian Herrings, they'll always be Tommies to me!

[Fishie 98]

There's no name change for a snapper... A Bight Redfish is a nannygai or that other fish that looks similar which I can't remember just at the moment http://www.frdc.com.au/species.php?f=100&v=f

[Ranger 48]

A Bight Redfish is a nannygai or that other fish that looks similar which I can't remember just at the moment

Swallowtail?

[David Ciaravolo 34]

Yep, sounds right to me!

[Fishie 98]

Nope! I just remembered...... it used to be called a red snapper. I bought a couple a few years back at Raptis on Port Road and baked one in the oven. I didn't like it :icon_e_surprised:

[Ranger 48]

Pink snapper = Pagrus auratusSwallowtail = Centroberyx lineatusNannygai = Centroberyx affinisRed Snapper (Bight Redfish) = Centroberyx gerrardi

Red Snapper Centroberyx gerrardiRED snapper, or bight redfish as they are soon to be officially known, are more frequently being encountered these days as the increased use of braid lines allows anglers to fish successfully in the deeper, cool waters where this species is commonly found. I can remember spearing a big red snapper in a cave off Hamelin Bay in the early seventies. It weighed over 2.5 kilos and was a big specimen by spearfishing standards, although they do tend to be bigger in water far too deep for free divers. Prized for their white flesh and eating qualities, red snapper are an integral part of recreational catches in our offshore southern waters. On the east coast smaller specimens are prized as live baits for big yellowfin tuna, which just seem to love them.IdentificationRed snapper are a beautiful combination of red and silver and are often confused with nannygai, but they can easily be separated because red snapper only have six dorsal spines, whereas a nannygai has seven. The red snapper’s red dorsal line is also quite easily visible.SizeThe Australian record for a red snapper is 4.6 kilos, but a fish over 2.5kg would be considered big in West Australian waters. Any fish over 1.5 kilos would in turn be considered a good one.DistributionThe most northern distribution of red snapper is Lancelin and they are found in increasing numbers further south, where they extend to the South Australian border and beyond. Juvenile red snapper are said to inhabit estuaries and shallow coastal waters. Adults can be found over reefs and mud bottom in deeper Continental Shelf waters up to a depth of 450 metres.Breeding and migrationIt will not come as a surprise that little is known about the breeding and migration of red snapper, other than breeding is thought to take place in late summer and autumn throughout the areas of distribution of this species. Red snapper are slow growing, maturing at 20-25cm when they are four years of age. They reach a maximum length of 38cm for females at 16 years, and 33cm for males at 11 years. Tagging studies have shown there is considerable movement by individual fish although no seasonal migration has been identified.ThreatsIt gives me great pleasure to report that there are no identified threats to red snapper in WA waters. Having said that, given the fact they are slow to mature any development of deepwater trawling off the south coast could have a significant impact.Tackle and baitGiven that red snapper are a bycatch of deepwater anglers in the South-West and along the south coast, tackle and bait are the same as would be used for pink snapper and the like. Braid lines with two hook dropper rigs baited with fish fillets, squid or octopus should catch a red snapper or two. Hook sizes should range from 5/0 to 7/0 and I would certainly be trying circle hooks if fishing in more than 100m of water. Fishing methodsStandard drift fishing techniques, using a sea anchor to slow the drift, would appear to be the most popular way to fish waters over 40m in depth. Red snapper have big eyes, and no doubt they use them for picking up movement when hunting food, so I would tend to allow part of the bait to hang off the hook and move with the current. Just 5cm or so of tantalising squid leg or fish fillet waving before their eyes should prove irresistible. I am also inclined to think that red snapper would succumb to deepwater jigging techniques once more anglers venture out past the 120m mark looking for new species to catch. Only time will tell.References: Sea Fishes of Southern Australia by Barry Hutchins and Roger Swainston. Australian Fisheries Resources by Kailola, Williams, Stewart, Reichelt, McNee and Grieve.