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Fish, Crustaceans & Cephalopods

Beche De Mer
(Sea Cucumber)

John Dory are olive-green in colour and have a large black spot with a white or yellow margin on each side.  Their body is covered with minute scales.  John dory have 10 spines with long filamentous membranes between them on their dorsal fin.

An unusual looking, scaleless, plate-like fish with a deep, circular and laterally-compressed body, a big head, huge extendible mouth, and long, filamentous dorsal fin. John dory exhibit vary from greenish-brown to olive or grey on the back and are lighter on the flanks and belly, sometimes with dark patches or even a golden sheen. A large black spot or blotch bordered by a light edge is prominent on each flank.

John dory are found in cool and temperate waters all over the world. In Australia they are confined to the southern half, from about south eastern Queensland to South Australia, with sporadic appearances in Tasmania and the south of Western Australia, frequenting bays, harbours and estuaries, as well as deep reefs out to the edge of the continental shelf.  They are also found in the Western Indian Ocean, eastern Atlantic Ocean, Mediterranean Sea and the waters of New Zealand and Japan.

John Dory are found in depths from 5 metres to 360 metres, but are uncommon in waters deeper than 200m.  They live close to the seabed.

John Dory are known to spawn off  the coast of New South Wales in late summer and autumn at depths of 50 to 100 metres.  They reach a maximum size of 65 cm total length and a weight of 3 kg.

John Dory are taken primarily as a bycatch of the South East Fishery.  They are trawled from depths of between 50m and 200m off New South Wales and eastern Victoria.

Fishing for John Dory:

John Dory are often caught by Recreational Fishers using live baits, and on inshore reefs, anglers may catch John Dory using whole fish or flesh baits. Many of the John dory taken by anglers are incidental captures landed while fishing with live baits for flathead, mulloway or kingfish. If slightly smaller baits are used, the chance of taking a dory increases. Estuary and harbour anglers specifically targeting John dory mostly use handlines or light rods and small live baits, sometimes trimming the tail of the bait with scissors to slow it down. Over the deeper reefs, John dory take cut-flesh strips and whole small fish such as pilchards, as well as deep-fished live baits.

Cooking John Dory:

The John dory is a high-priced finfish; the other dories are medium priced.

The John dory is rated as one of our very best table fish. The flesh is pearly-white, firm and has an extremely fine grain. Once filleted, there are no bones in the flesh. Because of its quality, the John dory commands a very high price at market, despite a fair degree of wastage due to the size of its head.  Very Good Eating

John dory is well known and highly regarded. However, mirror dory, which has a similar taste, also has excellent cooking potential, and can often be cheaper. The mirror dory has a thick edible skin but the thumbprint on each side, characteristic of John dory, is inconspicuous.

The dories and oreos are similar food fishes and can be used as alternatives for each other.

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

Commercial Fishing for John Dory:

John Dory, the premium fish for exclusive dining

Recovery Rate
Fillets (skin on, wing off): 35% from whole John dory, Dories have a low recovery rate because the head and gut cavity are large, and the body is very compressed (i.e. flattened from side to side).

SIZE: whole 0.8-2.5 kg, fillet 100-300 g


IDENTIFYING FEATURES: Olive-brown with a golden sheen and a dark spot on the centre of each side. Tiny scales and a very smooth skin. The body is almost oval, very compressed and it has a large head and upright jaw. The dorsal-fin spine membranes extend well beyond the spines and there is a single row of spiny-edged scutes along the belly and at the base of dorsal and anal fins.

COMPARISONS: Dories are distinct from all other fishes, with the exception of their deepwater relatives the oreos from which they differ in having a smoother, paler skin and smaller eye. The John Dory, with its dark fingerprint spot and long filamentous dorsal fin, is an unmistakable member of the group.

FILLET: White firm flesh. Very deep, short and tapering sharply. Rarely skinned with small and barely detectable scales.

HABITAT: Quite common in the coastal water of northern New Zealand, particularly from Bay of Plenty northwards, but not abundant in any locality. This species does not school.

CATCHING METHODS: Longliner, Danish seining and trawled.
 

Exporters of John Dory  |  Importers of John Dory  |  Processors of John Dory  | Wholesale Suppliers of John Dory  |  Seafood Agents for John Dory  |

See also: Dory, Lookdown Dory,  Black Oreo Dory,  John Dory,  King Dory,  Mirror Dory,  Smooth Oreo Dory

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