Australian Fish Photos, Seafood Photographs and Information

Directory & Info for Fishing, Angling, Fishing Tackle, Fishing Guides, Fly Fishing, Bass Fishing, Sports fishing, Game Fishing....
See >> Info on All types of Fishing | Angling | Tackle etc

Photos of  Australian Seafood, Fish, Crustaceans & Cephalopods and Information on each....

Beche De Mer
(Sea Cucumber - Trepang)

Also known as Gold Band Jobfish or Golden Snapper.

Gold Banned Snappers are deepwater fish inhabiting tropical and sub-tropical waters.   They are characterised by having the last ray of their dorsal and anal fins much longer than the preceding rays, and by the absence of scales on the bases of their dorsal and anal fins.  Pectoral fins are much longer than the snout length.

Gold Band Snapper have 2-3 orange-yellow stripes on their snout and under their eyes and there are thick yellow transverse stripes or markings between their eyes.

Gold Band Snapper are generalised, opportunistic carnivores.  They feed both on the sea floor and in the water column.  Gold band snapper feed on fish, crustaceans (including prawns and crabs) and squid as well as pelagic items such as gastropod molluscs.

Gold band snapper are caught by demersal otter trawling and some semi-pelagic otter trawling.  Also dropline and wire-meshed traps.  The greatest catches are made during early winter (April-June)

Seven trap designs have been used, the most successful being single entrance round traps and arrow traps and Western Australian "D" or square traps.  The traps are baited with oily fish, mostly pilchards.  The traps are set in water 100-140 metres deep and soak times vary from 0.5 to 10 hours - generally shorter during the day and longer overnight.  After hauling, the traps are rebaited and set if catching is going well.2

Droplining hooks are baited with squid, pilchards or cuttlefish.

Gold Band Snapper are generally sold fresh, chilled or frozen wither as whole fish, gilled and gutted fish or fillets.  Trawled Gold Band Snapper fetch lower prices than droplined snapper.

Angling for Snapper | Snapper Fishing :

Snapper are structure dwellers, they feed over particular areas of reef, gravel or broken bottom and to catch them consistently, offshore anglers must know some of these places. Snapper can be found over a range of habitats although most of these locations have a hard bottom. High profile reefs are the first choice in most areas. The edges around the reef, particularly the place where hard reef meets mud or sand are always very likely snapper spots. The reef itself is also a good location as snapper will work over most of the reef. Broken bottom featuring gravel, or mud and rock are also highly productive. These rubble areas seem to be favoured by intermediate class fish from just legal up to two kilograms.

Snapper will take a very wide range of baits including prawns, squid, pilchards, fish fillets, shellfish and live baits. The pick of the baits are fresh squid, fillets of striped tuna, frigate or slimy mackerel cut into strips and blue pilchards. If the snapper won't take these baits then they're just not on the bite.

When hooked, Snapper offer a fight of a lifetime. A correctly set drag prior to hookup is crucial, as Snapper will run upon feeling the hook. On average, a 12 kilogram Snapper takes about 20 minutes to reel in, and you can tell when they are getting tired, by their characteristic bumping and shaking of its head. This sometimes indicates a prelude to another run. When the Snapper has broken the surface of the water, gaff it cleanly thru the gills if it is a large one, and use a hand net, if it is a rugger.

Use main line between 10 to 15 kg. If fishing for the larger variety, use a 25 kg trace.

A rod around 1.8m is ideal for boat fishing.

Saltwater Fish - What bait to use for fishing - a list of saltwater baits with the main "diners" who will be tempted.

Cooking Goldband Snapper:

Snapper comes in many sizes, making it very versatile. It is excellent as a buffet piece, whole, filleted or as cutlets. Snapper is superb smoked and is also becoming popular for sashimi. A mild to medium flavoured firm flesh with a low oil content. There are only a few bones and these are easily removed. Great for BBQing, Pan frying, grilling and steaming.

Poached Goldband Snapper, served cold with a tomato and cucumber salsa, is best matched with bitter greens and a lemon vinaigrette.

These species are often confused with the snapper (Pagrus auratus) and, although they can be prepared in similar ways, are best suited to methods and flavours recommended for coral trout.

Try roasting goldband snapper with a tasty baste of soy sauce, teriyaki sauce, coriander and chillies. Goldband snappers of superior quality can be used for sushi and sashimi.

Recovery Rate for Fillets: 44% from whole goldband snapper

Tropical Snapper, Gold Band Snapper Fillet

Size and Weight
Commonly 600g-1.5kg and 30-45cm, but can grow to 4kg and 58cm.

Price
Medium priced.

To Buy
Sold mainly whole (gilled and gutted) and occasionally in fillet form (usually skinned). In whole fish look for lustrous skin, firm flesh, and a pleasant, fresh sea smell. In fillets, look for yellowish-white, firm, lustrous, moist flesh without any brown markings or oozing water and with a pleasant fresh sea smell.

To Store
Make sure whole fish is scaled, gutted and cleaned thoroughly as soon as possible (completely remove the lining of the abdominal cavity and the white fat along the abdominal wall). Wrap whole fish and fillets in plastic wrap or place in an airtight container. Refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze whole fish for up to 6 months, and fillets for up to 3 months, below -18ºC.

To Cook
Average yield is 35%. Has a mild, sweet flavour, low oiliness and moist, soft-medium flesh.

Cooking Methods
Steam, poach, pan-fry, bake, grill, barbecue. A good plate-sized fish cooked whole, flesh also works well in mousseline.

Microwave Cooking Times for Fish
- Fish fillets – 5 minutes per 500g on medium-high, +50 seconds more for thicker fillets, or until flesh flakes
- Whole fish - Large – 6 minutes/750g on medium
- Whole fish – Small – 3-4 minutes on medium

SNAPPER RECIPES

Tropical Snapper, Gold Band Snapper Fillet

Recipes Suitable for this fish:

Red Snapper with Island Citrus Shrimp Ceviche and Lemon Beurre Blanc	Mussel and Red Snapper Soup	Vietnamese Snapper

Wild caught

Droplining hooks are baited with squid, pilchards or cuttlefish.

Recovery Rate
Fillets: 48% from whole king snapper and 44% from whole goldband snapper

Commercial operators are authorised to use baited traps and vertical lines, including hand lines and drop lines. Prior to 1999, most operators in the fishery used drop lines. During 1999-2000, there was an industry-wide change to trap fishing, with only one operator using drop lines in 2002. In 2004, there was a reversal of this trend when many operators went back to drop lines; but by 2009, most operators were again using traps. In 2010, one vessel used drop lines and six vessels used traps, reflecting the developing nature of the wider fishery grounds.

Catch

Gold-band snappers are the principal target of the fishery, comprising the three species Pristipomoides multidens, P. typus and P. filamentosus. Together, they comprise 52% of the total catch (Figure 2), with P. multidens being the most common. Other key species caught in the fishery are saddle-tail snapper (Lutjanus malabaricus), crimson snapper (L. erythropterus), red emperor (L. sebae) and cods (Family Serranidae) (Figure 2). There was very little change in 2010 in the species composition from 2009.

By-product species made up 9% of the overall catch in the fishery. As well as red emperor (Lutjanus sebae), by-product species include small snappers (such as L. russelli and L. lemniscatus) rock cods (such as Epinephelus areolatus), emperors (such as red spot emperor, Lethrinus lentjan) and Robinson’s sea bream (Gymnocranius grandoculus).

Exporters, Importers & Processors, Wholesale & Agents of Snapper -  - Worldwide Trade Seafood Industry Directory of companies and contacts who are Exporters, Importers & Processors, Wholesale & Agents of Snapper

More links about Goldband Snapper information

Australian Government - Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences (PDF file) - Australian Fisheries Statistics 2010/2011