Are wrasse considered edible??
Submitted by r.gates on Tue, 2010-11-23 22:20
Hi all
During last weekend's fishing trip out from the Cut, we caught a few decent sized wrasse...mainly the Western King (red variety) but also a couple of the Brown Spotted, too. As we weren't sure about their eating qualities, we erred on the side of caution and returned them to the water. Enjoyed the fight on light gear, especially from the bigger ones.
Are these fish considered 'table fish'...as they don't get a mention in any of the West Coast Region Recreational Fishing Guide's 'Risk Species' regarding bag limits or minimum size, I'm guessing that they aren't too sort after.
Your thought or comments would be greatly appreciated, thanks.
regards
r.gates...
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danno
Posts: 1676
Date Joined: 12/07/09
you can eat them but i
you can eat them but i wouldnt personaly because there are better fish out there. my dad mate used to go on the boat with us and used to yell at us for letting them go becasue he loved them. as far as im aware there no size or bag limit. the westren king wrasse are good for dhuie bait.
Faulkner Family
Posts: 18111
Date Joined: 11/03/08
yeah they are edible. they
yeah they are edible. they have a soft white flesh that doesnt taste too bad imo. yeah there are better eating fish out there but when you cant or dont get anything else the big western's will give you a decent fillet. never bothered with the brown spot.they do well smoked
RUSS and SANDY. A family that fishes together stays together
barneyboy
Posts: 1392
Date Joined: 08/01/09
THEY are a bit fiddly to fillet
but we eat them. my daughter demolishes them. 1/2 freezing them helps with filleting
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Faulkner Family
Posts: 18111
Date Joined: 11/03/08
if you have your fish on ice
if you have your fish on ice or in an ice slurry they are easy to fillet as the flesh is firm.
RUSS and SANDY. A family that fishes together stays together
Simon C
Posts: 801
Date Joined: 01/05/07
do you consider baldchin
do you consider baldchin good to eat or fox fish - both are just another wrasse
lurcha
Posts: 455
Date Joined: 29/12/09
Good point simon, given the
Good point simon, given the dentures you would assume they have a very similar diet too.
tommyqueenfish
Posts: 373
Date Joined: 27/10/10
Baldchin are GREAT!!
Baldchin are GREAT!!
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Stevef
Posts: 478
Date Joined: 27/02/08
I reckon the King Wrasse are
I reckon the King Wrasse are pretty tasty......... as mentioned above they are fairly soft but if you eat them fresh they are pretty good.
I find that leaving the skin on, dust them in flour (Rice flour or SR) and fry them up in a bit of butter is the way to go.
Steve
r.gates
Posts: 573
Date Joined: 15/11/10
Sounds like they're worth trying...
Thanks everyone for your comments, they're greatly appreciated.
As I'm fairly new to boat fishing, I hadn't considered the baldchin in the same family as the wrasse, but hey, you learn something new every day.
I enjoy cooking fish in alfoil on the bbq with some olive oil, lemon, onion and seasoning so we'll give them a try like that....thanks again.
Thanks for the filleting tips, too.
regards
r.gates...
If life is boring, you must be doing it wrong!
JohnF
Posts: 2839
Date Joined: 07/07/10
Are wrasee demersal?
Are wrasee demersal?
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JohnF
Posts: 2839
Date Joined: 07/07/10
I must admit, I am a tad
I must admit, I am a tad confused about wrasse....are they considered a parotfish, a member of the Scaridae family? If so, they are banned during the demersal ban period (ends 15 Dec). Certainly Foxfish are banned, as are baldchin groper, two members of the wrasse family.
In any event, the intent is to ban demersal fishing, so I would have thought even if wrasse were not banned?? you should avoid targeting bottom dwelling fish around reefs like wrasee because of the likley by pacth of banned demersals.
Below is the link to the west coast rules. I am a bit embarrassed I dont know this, as I have read these many times, but as I always release wrasse and dont fish for demersals during the ban, I guess it has never been an issue.
http://www.fish.wa.gov.au/docs/pub/WestLimits/index.php?0102
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hlokk
Posts: 4293
Date Joined: 04/04/08
Wrasse are demersal fish.
Wrasse are demersal fish. However, the demersal ban only applies to the high risk demersal species. Theres a lot of families/groups of fish in that list though (e.g. tropical snappers which includes fish found way out of the tropics).
You can fish for them, and you can keep them. If you want to fish for them, chances are you'd do it in 10m or so and theres not a lot of chance of catching anything but wrasse at those spots :p. Even if you did luck onto a dhuie, it should go back ok anyways.
If you're bored/interested in the biology:
When they classify animals (e.g. fish) using scientific terms, they use the genus and the species, e.g. Coris auricularis. If you go up one level you get wrasse (Labridae) which is a family.
Baldies are banned because their genus is banned Choerodon (thats the first half when you see a scientific name). Same with foxfish/pigfish which are Bodianus.
Both of these genus's belong to the wrasse family, but other genus's in the family are not protected. E.g. Coris for the western king wrasse or Pseudocheilinus for one commonly kept in aquariums. These arent banned.
So all baldies, and all foxfish/pigfish are types of wrasse and are protected, but other types of wrasse are not protected.
Its kinda like banning a few of your aunts/uncles and their kids from a family BBQ, but letting most of your aunts/uncles and their kids still go :p
fishnut
Posts: 255
Date Joined: 22/09/10
wrasse are in the family
John, wrasse are in the family Labridae, not Scaridae, so the only ones on the demersal ban are baldies (and tuskies), foxies (and pigfish) and the western blue groper (which is actually a wrasse). But all scaridae are banned... although we don't get too many in the SW anyway
JohnF
Posts: 2839
Date Joined: 07/07/10
Phew.....I think I will just
Phew.....I think I will just stick to throwing the slimy blighters back over the side and catch a feed of squid!
Boston Whaler 235 Conquest......getting the flogging it was built for.