Whitebait
Encyclopedia
Shoaling and schooling
In biology, any group of fish that stay together for social reasons are said to be shoaling , and if, in addition, the group is swimming in the same direction in a coordinated manner, they are said to be schooling . In common usage, the terms are sometimes used rather loosely...
along the coast, and move into estuaries and sometimes up rivers where they can be easily caught with fine meshed fishing net
Fishing net
A fishing net or fishnet is a net that is used for fishing. Fishing nets are meshes usually formed by knotting a relatively thin thread. Modern nets are usually made of artificial polyamides like nylon, although nets of organic polyamides such as wool or silk thread were common until recently and...
s. Whitebaiting is the activity of catching whitebait.
Whitebait are tender and edible, and can be regarded as a delicacy. The entire fish is eaten including head, fins and gut. Some species make better eating than others, and the particular species that are marketed as "whitebait" varies in different parts of the world.
Italy
Gianchetti (also bianchetti) are the whitebait of the pesce azzurro of the Mediterranean (sardineSardine
Sardines, or pilchards, are several types of small, oily fish related to herrings, family Clupeidae. Sardines are named after the Mediterranean island of Sardinia, around which they were once abundant....
s and anchovies
European anchovy
The European anchovy is a forage fish somewhat related to the herring. Anchovies are placed in the family Engraulidae....
, etc.), caught with special nets named from the Ligurian sciabegottu (similar to the net to sciabica, but with smaller dimensions) in the early months of the year.
A speciality of the Liguria
Liguria
Liguria is a coastal region of north-western Italy, the third smallest of the Italian regions. Its capital is Genoa. It is a popular region with tourists for its beautiful beaches, picturesque little towns, and good food.-Geography:...
cuisine, gianchetti are generally lightly boiled in salted water and served hot, dressed with oil and lemon juice. Another classic approach is to make fritters of the fish together with an egg and flour batter; finally they may simply be dipped in flour and deep fried (Frittelle di Gianchetti/Bianchetti). The gianchetti of a red colour (ruscetti, rossetti) are tougher and scaly to the palate: they are largely used to flavour fish-based sauces.
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).
New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
whitebait are the juvenile of certain galaxiid
Galaxiid
The Galaxiidae, also known by the anglicised name as galaxiids, are a family of mostly small freshwater fish in the southern hemisphere. The majority of species live in Australia or New Zealand, some are also found in South Africa, South America, Lord Howe Island, New Caledonia and the Falkland...
s which mature and live as adults in rivers with native forest surrounds. The eggs of these galaxiids are swept down to the ocean where they hatch and the young fry then move back up their home rivers as whitebait.
The most common whitebait species in New Zealand is the common galaxias
Common galaxias
The common galaxias or the inanga , is a species of fish from the galaxiid family that is very widespread in the southern hemisphere. It is a slim narrow fish with a forked tail and as an adult it lives in freshwater rivers and lakes. Common galaxias grows to a length of 40 to 120 mm, but can grow...
or inanga, which lays its eggs during spring tides in Autumn on the banks of a river amongst grasses that are flooded by the tide. The next spring tide causes the eggs to hatch into larvae which are then flushed down to the sea with the outgoing tide where they form part of the ocean's plankton mass. After six months the developed juveniles return to rivers and move upstream to live in freshwater. The other galaxiid species identified with whitebait in New Zealand are the climbing galaxias
Climbing galaxias
The Climbing galaxias or the Koaro , is a fish of the family Galaxiidae found in Australia, New Zealand and nearby islands. The name Climbing galaxias is used in Australia, and Koaro in New Zealand...
or koaro, and the species group called kokopu
Kokopu
Kokopu is a common name used for three species of fish of the genus Galaxias. They are found in the rivers, lakes and swamps of New Zealand for which they are endemic. Kokopu are galaxiids and like others members of that family lacks scales and has a thick, leathery skin covered with mucus. Kokopu...
.
New Zealand whitebait are caught in the lower reaches of the rivers using small open-mouthed hand-held nets although in some parts of the country where whitebait are more plentiful, larger (but not very large) set nets may be used adjacent to river banks. Whitebaiters 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. Typically, the small nets have a long pole attached so that the whitebaiter can stand on the river bank and scoop the net forward and out of the water when whitebait are seen to enter it. The larger nets may be set into a platform extending into the river from the bank and various forms of apparatus used to lift the net.
Whitebaiting in New Zealand is a seasonal activity with a fixed and limited period enforced during the period that the whitebait normally migrate up-river. The strict control over net sizes and rules against blocking the river to channel the fish into the net permit sufficient quantity of whitebait to reach the adult habitat and maintain stock levels. The whitebait themselves are very sensitive to objects in the river and are adept at dodging the nets.
Whitebait is very much a delicacy
Delicacy
A delicacy is a food item that is considered highly desirable in certain cultures. Often this is because of unusual flavors or characteristics or because it is rare....
and commands high prices to the extent that it is the most costly fish on the market, if available. It is normally sold fresh in small quantities, although some is frozen to extend the sale period. Nevertheless, whitebait can normally only be purchased during or close to the netting season. The most popular way of cooking whitebait in New Zealand is the whitebait fritter, which is essentially an omelette
Omelette
In cuisine, an omelette or omelet is a dish made from beaten eggs quickly cooked with butter or oil in a frying pan, sometimes folded around a filling such as cheese, vegetables, meat , or some combination of the above...
containing whitebait. Purists use only the egg white
Egg white
Egg white is the common name for the clear liquid contained within an egg. In chickens it is formed from the layers of secretions of the anterior section of the hen's oviduct during the passage of the egg. It forms around either fertilized or unfertilized egg yolks...
in order to minimise interfering with the taste of the bait.
The combination of the fishing controls, a limited season and the depletion of habitat as a result of forest felling during the era of colonisation results in limited quantities being available on the market. Also, a lack of shade over waterways has been shown to kill the whitebait eggs.
Australia
In Australia whitebait refers to the juvenile stage of several predominantly galaxiasGalaxiid
The Galaxiidae, also known by the anglicised name as galaxiids, are a family of mostly small freshwater fish in the southern hemisphere. The majority of species live in Australia or New Zealand, some are also found in South Africa, South America, Lord Howe Island, New Caledonia and the Falkland...
species during their return to freshwater from the marine phase of their lifecycle. Comments for New Zealand are generally applicable.
Species referred to as whitebait in Australia include Common galaxias
Common galaxias
The common galaxias or the inanga , is a species of fish from the galaxiid family that is very widespread in the southern hemisphere. It is a slim narrow fish with a forked tail and as an adult it lives in freshwater rivers and lakes. Common galaxias grows to a length of 40 to 120 mm, but can grow...
G. maculatus, Climbing galaxias
Climbing galaxias
The Climbing galaxias or the Koaro , is a fish of the family Galaxiidae found in Australia, New Zealand and nearby islands. The name Climbing galaxias is used in Australia, and Koaro in New Zealand...
G. brevipinnis, Spotted galaxias
Spotted galaxias
-Introduction:Spotted galaxias are a largish, primarily-freshwater galaxias species found in southern Australia. Spotted galaxias are perhaps the most beautiful of the Australian galaxias species...
G. truttaceus, Tasmanian whitebait
Tasmanian whitebait
The Tasmanian whitebait or Derwent whitebait, Lovettia sealii, is an osmeriform fish of the family Galaxiidae, found only in Tasmania, Australia.It grows to a length of up to 8 cm. It is an anadromous fish found in fresh, brackish and marine water....
Lovettia sealii, Tasmanian mudfish
Tasmanian mudfish
The Tasmanian mudfish, Neochanna cleaveri, is a small Australian amphidromous fish in the galaxiid family, of the order Osmeriformes.- Distribution :...
Neochanna cleaveri, and Tasmanian smelt
Tasmanian smelt
The Tasmanian smelt, Retropinna tasmanica, is a small, pelagic freshwater smelt found in lowland streams of Tasmania, Australia....
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.
Alboran Sea
The Alboran SeaAlboran Sea
|300px|thumb|]]The Alboran Sea is the westernmost portion of the Mediterranean Sea, lying between Spain on the north and Morocco and Algeria on the south...
is the westernmost element of the Mediterranean Sea
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...
. 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.
United Kingdom
In the United Kingdom today, whitebait principally refers to the fry of ClupeidaeClupeidae
Clupeidae is the family of the herrings, shads, sardines, hilsa and menhadens. It includes many of the most important food fishes in the world.-Description and biology:...
fish, young sprats, most commonly herring. They are normally deep-fried, coated in flour or a light batter
Batter (cooking)
Batter is a semi-liquid mixture of one or more flours combined with liquids such as water, milk or eggs used to prepare various foods. Often a leavening agent such as baking powder is included to aerate and fluff up the batter as it cooks, or the mixture may be naturally fermented for this purpose...
, and served very hot with sprinkled lemon
Lemon
The lemon is both a small evergreen tree native to Asia, and the tree's ellipsoidal yellow fruit. The fruit is used for culinary and non-culinary purposes throughout the world – primarily for its juice, though the pulp and rind are also used, mainly in cooking and baking...
juice and bread and butter. White bait are very hard to buy fresh unless you are down at 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
Achille Valenciennes
Achille Valenciennes was a French zoologist.Valenciennes was born in Paris, and studied under Georges Cuvier. Valenciennes' study of parasitic worms in humans made an important contribution to the study of parasitology...
proposed that whitebait was a new genus, which he called Rogenia. 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, the report discovered that some boxes of whitebait contained up to 23 species of immature fish, including the fry of eel, plaice, whiting, herring sprat and bass, along with shrimp crab octopus and even jellyfish.
For Londoners in the 19th century and before, summer excursions down the Thames to Greenwich
Greenwich
Greenwich is a district of south London, England, located in the London Borough of Greenwich.Greenwich is best known for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwich Meridian and Greenwich Mean Time...
or Blackwall
Blackwall, London
Blackwall is an area of the East End of London, situated in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets on the north bank of the River Thames.The district around Blackwall Stairs was known as Blackwall by at least the 14th century. This presumably derives from the colour of the river wall, constructed in...
to dine on whitebait were popular. For instance, the Cabinet
Cabinet (government)
A Cabinet is a body of high ranking government officials, typically representing the executive branch. It can also sometimes be referred to as the Council of Ministers, an Executive Council, or an Executive Committee.- Overview :...
undertook such a trip every year shortly before the prorogation of Parliament
Parliament
A parliament is a legislature, especially in those countries whose system of government is based on the Westminster system modeled after that of the United Kingdom. The name is derived from the French , the action of parler : a parlement is a discussion. The term came to mean a meeting at which...
. An annual whitebait festival takes place in Southend
Given that UK and imported whitebait still consists of immature herring, sprat, sardines, mackerel, bass and many others, it is not an ecologicial foodstuff. Removing these fish at such a juvenile stage, before they have had a chance to grow and reproduce, might severely reduce future fish stocks. The Marine Conservation Society (MCS) is the only non-government organisation to provide independent information on the sustainability of fish stocks and species around the world, and to have a rating system for fish sustainability, in order to safeguard future stocks. The MCS suggests avoiding eating and purchasing the juvenile whitebait as it is detrimental to sustainable fish populations.
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 supermarkets at reasonable prices.External links
- Whitebait and whitebaiting in Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand