Whitebait
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Whitebait is a collective term for the immature
Individual whitebait are tender and edible, and are considered a delicacy in New Zealand.[1] The entire fish is eaten — including head, fins, bones, and bowels. Some species make better eating than others, and the particular species that are marketed as "whitebait" vary in different parts of the world.
As whitebait consists of immature fry of many important food species (such as herring, sprat, sardines, mackerel, bass and many others) it is not an ecologically viable foodstuff and several countries impose strict controls on harvesting.
Whitebait by region
Alboran Sea
The Alboran Sea is the westernmost element of the Mediterranean Sea. Whitebait have been consumed as a favoured element of the diet of peoples living along the northern coasts of the Alboran Sea in Spain, even though sale of these products has been banned.[2]
Australia
In Australia whitebait refers to the juvenile stage of several predominantly
Species referred to as whitebait in Australia include Common galaxias G. maculatus, Climbing galaxias G. brevipinnis, Spotted galaxias G. truttaceus, Tasmanian whitebait Lovettia sealii, Tasmanian mudfish Neochanna cleaveri, and Tasmanian smelt Retropinna tasmanica.
Whitebait were once subject to a substantial commercial fishery but today only recreational fishers are permitted to gather them, under strict conditions and for a limited season.
China
Chinese whitebait is raised in fish farms and plentiful quantities are produced for export. The Chinese whitebait is larger than the New Zealand whitebait and not nearly so delicate. The frozen product is commonly available in food stores and
Italy
Gianchetti (also bianchetti) are the whitebait of the
A speciality of the
In Sicilian cuisine whitebait are known as ceruses (literally translated as "baby"). Whitebait are the principal ingredient of the Sicilian specialty croquette polpette di neonata; which are a type of rolled meatball of whitebait with parsley, and egg and/or a bit of flour to amalgamate, fried in olive oil or sometimes deep-fried in peanut oil.
In Neapolitan cuisine whitebait are known as cicenielli.
In Brindisian cuisine whitebait are known as chuma (literally foam of sea).
Japan
In Japan, the whitebait (しらす/白子, shirasu)[a] fishing industry is concentrated in Shizuoka Prefecture, where the major landing ports for them are situated.[5] The shirasu boiled in salted hot water is called kamaage shirasu (釜上げしらす, boiled whitebait), and this product retains about 85% or greater water ratio.[6][7]
The boiled whitefish which are subsequently semi-dried are referred to generally as shirasuboshi (しらす干し, literally 'dried whitebait'),
The whitebait used in these shirasu products is generally the larvae of the Japanese anchovy,[8][13][14] but in the vernacular Japanese language anchovy (片口鰯, katakuchi iwashi) is called a type of sardine (鰯, iwashi), thus shirasu may be (somewhat misleadingly) described as sardine fry in some literature, though the larvae of clupeids do occur as bycatch in the shirasu being harvested.[14] The shirasu landed in Shizuoka Prefecture consists of the 2–3 month old, and 1–2 cm length larvae of mostly Japanese anchovy, and a small proportion of Japanese pilchard (真鰯, ma iwashi),[10][15] Sardinops sagax melanostictus, a subspecies of sardine.[d]
One specialty product is the tatami iwashi (たたみいわし, literally 'tatami sardine'), a paper-thin square wafer made from uncooked dry shirasu, spreading the washed fish thinly inside square molds then drying them, which has become a pricey delicacy.[16][17]
New Zealand
The most common whitebait species in New Zealand is the
New Zealand whitebait are caught in the lower reaches of the rivers using large, open-mouthed, hand-held scoop nets, long sock nets, or rigid, typically wedge-shaped set nets.[18] Whitebaiters must constantly attend the nets in order to lift them as soon as a shoal enters the net, otherwise the whitebait quickly swim back out of the net. Whitebaiters may fish from platforms known as a 'stand', which may include screens to direct the fish and systems for raising and lowering nets.
Whitebaiting in New Zealand is a seasonal activity with a legally fixed and limited period[23] which spans part of the annual migration. The timing of the allowed fishing season is set to target the more common inanga, while avoiding the less common species that mainly migrate before and after the whitebaiting season. There is strict control over net sizes and rules against blocking the river or channelling the fish into the net to allow some fish to reach the adult habitats. The whitebait themselves are very sensitive to objects in the river and are adept at dodging the nets.
Whitebait is a traditional food for Māori, and was widely eaten by European settlers in the 19th Century. By the 20th Century, the price of whitebait rose and it became known as a delicacy.[24] Currently, it commands high prices to the extent that it is the most expensive fish on the market, when available. The wholesale price (NZD) is typically $60–$70 per kilogram ($27–$32/lb), but the retail price can be up to $140 per kilogram ($64/lb).[25] It is normally sold fresh in small quantities, although some are frozen to extend the sale period. Nevertheless, whitebait can normally only be purchased during or close after the netting season. The most popular way of cooking whitebait in New Zealand is the whitebait fritter, which is essentially an omelette containing whitebait. Purists use only the egg white in order to minimise interfering with the taste of the bait.[citation needed]
The degradation of waterways through forest clearance, and the impacts of agriculture and urbanisation, have caused the whitebait catch to decline.[18][26] The loss of suitable spawning habitat has been particularly severe, especially for inanga, which rely on dense riparian vegetation lining the tidal portions of waterways.[26] Amongst other factors, a lack of shade over waterways has been shown to kill developing whitebait eggs.[27]
United Kingdom
In the United Kingdom today, whitebait principally refers to the fry of Clupeidae fish, young sprats, most commonly herring.[28] They are normally deep-fried, coated in flour or a light batter, and served very hot with sprinkled lemon juice and bread and butter. Whitebait are very hard to buy fresh unless the buyer goes to a fishing harbour early in the morning, as most are frozen on the boat.
Records of whitebait as a food in England date back to 1612. By the 1780s it was fashionable to dine on whitebait. In those days, whitebait was thought to be a species or group on its own right, and the French zoologist Valenciennes proposed that whitebait was a new genus, which he called Rogenia.[28] In 1903, Dr James Murie, in his 'Report on the sea fisheries and fishing industry of the Thames estuary' conducted studies on the contents of boxes sold as whitebait. He discovered that some boxes of whitebait contained up to 31 species of immature fish, including the fry of eel, plaice, whiting, herring sprat and bass, along with shrimp, crab, octopus and even jellyfish.[29]
For Londoners in the 19th century and before, summer excursions down the
Puerto Rico
Residents of Arecibo, Puerto Rico traditionally fish for whitebait at the mouth of the Río Grande de Arecibo. The fish are known locally as cetí and classified as Pellona bleekeriana[32] or Sicydium plumieri.[33][34]
Elvers
Cuttlefish, octopus and squid
Battered and fried baby
Explanatory notes
- soft roeof any fish.
- ^ Also the boiling water is saltier at around 15% saline.[10] Drying time is approximately 30 minutes.[11]
- ^ The boiling water used is a milder 5–6% saline solution.[10] Drying time is longer at 1.5 hours.[11]
- ^ Also 1% the larvae of urume iwashi (潤目鰯)[15] (Etrumeus teres syn. Etrumeus sadina) or red-eye round herring). Though the Japanese vernacular name suggest it to be a type of sardine (iwashi).
References
- Footnotes
- ^ "Iconic Kiwi 'Fritters' Contain Handfuls of Tiny, Hard-to-Catch Fish".
Limited riverbank real estate and a small seasonal window for fishing only add to whitebait's status as a delicacy.
- ^ C.Michael Hogan. 2011. Alboran Sea. eds. P.Saundry & C.J.Cleveland. Encyclopedia of Earth. National Council for Science and the Environment. Washington DC
- ^ Feng Hui, Hui. "Taihu Lake Whitebait". en.chinaculture.org. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
- ^ Ikematsu (1986), p. 171.
- ^ Ikematsu (1986), pp. 171, 175.
- ^ a b c Kurogi (2014), p. 606.
- ^ doi:10.4327/jsnfs.50.439; text@Google (abstract in English).
- ^ Sakata (1989), p. 24.
- ^ a b c Umino (2014), p. 22.
- ^ a b Umino (2014), p. 25.
- ^ Iwasa, Takahiro (1994), "Chirimenjako seibun no seizō jiki ni yoru henka" 4)ちりめんじゃこ成分の製造時期による変化 (PDF), FY Heisei 6 Activity Report 平成6年度事業報告, Hyogo Prefectural Tajima Fisheries Experimental Station, pp. 96–98
- ISBN 9789251028483
- ^ @Google (abstract in English).
- ^ a b "Shirasu no miwake-kata" シラスの見分け方 [How to distinguish shirasu]. Shizuoka Prefectural Research Institute of Fishery and Ocean. Retrieved 2021-03-31.
- ^ Umino (2014), pp. 21, 23.
- ISBN 9789264056473
- ^ ISBN 0-589-01533-8.
- ^ Beckman, Sadie (22 August 2018). "Forest & Bird: Four of five whitebait species endangered". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 21 July 2019.
- ^ Goodman, Jane M.; Allibone, Richard M.; Closs, Gerard P.; Crow, Shannan K.; David, Bruno O.; Dunn, Nicholas R.; Griffiths, Marc; Jack, Daniel C.; Ling, Nicholas (2017-01-01). "Conservation status of New Zealand freshwater fishes". New Zealand Threat Classification System. 24: 1–15.
- ^ McDowall, R.M.; Mitchell, C.P.; Brothers, E.B. (1994). "Age at migration from the sea of juvenile galaxias in New Zealand (Pisces, Galaxiidae)". Bulletin of Marine Science. 54 (2).
- ^ Whitebait and whitebaiting – Whitebait in New Zealand Carl Walrond in Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Updated 1 March 2009. Retrieved 30 November 2011.
- ^ "Department of Conservation whitebait regulations".
- Wikidata Q114871191.
- ^ Taunton, Esther (2020-09-25). "$140 a kilogram: Whitebait back to 'gold-plated' prices". Stuff. Retrieved 2021-03-16.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-478-23255-4.
- PMID 21931680.
- ^ ISBN 9780747588696.
- ^ Murie, James (1903). Report on the sea fisheries and fishing industries on the Thames Estuary. London: Waterlow Bros. & Layton, Ltd. pp. 88f.
- ^ "British History Online – The core printed primary and secondary sources for the medieval and modern history of the British Isles". www.british-history.ac.uk. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
- ^ "Annual Southend Whitebait Festival set to take place next month". Echo. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
- ^ "Mejores Aseguranzas de Autos Florida – Ortizal". 13 April 2018. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
- ^ "Historia del Cetí en Puerto Rico y el Caribe". 4 February 2015. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
- ^ Erdman, Donald S. (1961-07-01). "Notes on the Biology of the Gobiid Fish Sicydium plumieri in Puerto Rico". Bulletin of Marine Science. 11 (3): 448–456.
- ^ Basque food: Angulas Retrieved 14 February 2012.
- Bibliography
- Ikematsu, Masato (January 1986), "Shizuoka-ken ni okeru shirasu-gyogyō no seisan to kakōhin shukka ni kansuru kenkyū" 静岡県におけるシラス漁業の生産と加工品出荷に関する研究 [Studies on the Production and on the Shipment of Processed Products in the Shirasu (larval anchovy) Fishery of Shizuoka Prefect] (PDF), Journal of the Faculty of Marine Science and Technology, Tokai University (22): 171–185; text@Google (abstract in English).
- Umino, Miki (2014), "Mochimune no shirasu kakō: kakō gaisha no kodawari" 用宗のシラス加工 : 加工会社のこだわり, Mochimune District, Shizuoka (Fieldwork hands-on training study report) (in Japanese), Shizuoka University: 20–28
- Kurogi, Ryūichi (2014), "Shirasuboshi" しらす干し (PDF), Shokuhin to Yōki: Food and Packaging (in Japanese), 55 (10), Kangiken: 606–614
- Sakata, Yukiko (1989), "Shihan shirasuboshi no hinshitsu chōsa" 市販しらす干しの品質調査 [Survey on the quality of "Shirasuboshi" boiled and semidried juvenile fish of Japanese anchovy on the market], Journal of Home Economics of Japan (in Japanese), 40 (5): 335–339
External links
- Whitebait and whitebaiting in Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand
- Beach, Chandler B., ed. (1914). . . Chicago: F. E. Compton and Co.
- Williams, Roger (2016). Whitebait and the Thames Fisheries. London: Bristol Book Publishing. ISBN 978-0-9928466-5-7.