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Glossary

Barramundi, Wild-Caught

A member of the perch family, barramundi is native to Australia but not an indigenous fish as such, as they are found across Asia and as far as the Persian Gulf. They are estuary fish, often farmed in northern Australia but the wild-caught variety is available only in season. They are mostly caught in gill nets but many chefs say advertise line-caught fish on their menus - which would tend to mean caught by sporting fishermen rather than a commercial operator. An estuary fish, barramundi can often be found in freshwater dams and rivers - where they are also farmed. Wild barramundi, however, will feed in the mangroves and river systems alike and have a cleaner taste than the rather more earthy-flavoured freshwater fish. Found in the waters of Northern Australia from Queensland across to the Northern Territory and Western Australia, they are protected from commercial fishermen during a period of fishing closure, timed to coincide with the breeding season (usually just before the onset of the wet season). So that while the wild-caught barramundi season is open from February to October, the best time to find them is from February to June. To check the barramundi seasons around Australia, contact the Queensland Fisheries Management Authority or similar bodies in the Northern Territory and Western Australia. As an eating fish, barramundi are second to none. The soft, moist, thick white flesh of the barra is superb, especially when freshly caught and more so if killed by the ike jime method - a spike in the brain. This sounds ghoulish but it assures instant death and also stops the release of adrenalin into the bloodstream. It also delays the onset of rigor mortis, considered to lessen the shelf life of a fish.

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Glossary

Carp

Considered a pest by many Australians, the European carp inhabits many of the continent's waterways. It is however prized by many communities including the Chinese and some Middle Eastern nationalities.