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Fish & Other Seafood

Beche De Mer
(Sea Cucumber)

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.

Fishing for Snapper:

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.

Tropical Snapper, Gold Band Snapper Fillet

Cooking Snapper:

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 -18șC.

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.

Commercial Fishing For Snapper:

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