Over many years I have photographed most of the New Zealand commercially caught fish species. My seafood poster has been around for some time now, if you would like order one please visit my online shop. Scroll down to see more about each fish species. If you wish to purchase a New Zealand Seafood poster please go to my online shop here https://theartfultrout.nz/
Yellowfin Tuna belong to the Scombridae family (mackerels, tunas). A major migratory species, they are found in the warm ocean waters north of New Zealand. They move south to East Cape in the summer. They are generally found over the outer shelf and occur above and below the thermocline. They are caught mainly from December to March to the east of New Zealand between East Cape and North Cape. They are also found north of North Cape in September and October. Yellowfin Tuna are mainly caught by longliners but sometimes by game fishermen with trolling gear. Yellowfin Tuna is firm and moist with large flakes when cooked. It is bright red when raw (ideally with a glistening, wet look) and popular in sushi and as sashimi. The meat is a little darker than Albacore when canned and is often blended with Skipjack Tuna
SUSTAINABILITY
A Quota Management species, Yellowfin Tuna belong to the Scombridae family (mackerels, tunas). A major migratory species, they are found in the warm ocean waters north of New Zealand. They move south to East Cape in the summer. They are generally found over the outer shelf and occur above and below the thermocline.
They are caught mainly from December to March to the east of New Zealand between East Cape and North Cape. They are also found north of North Cape in September and October. Yellowfin Tuna are mainly caught by longliners but sometimes by game fishermen with trolling gear.
image © Terry Wreford Hann
Info: https://www.seafood.co.nz/show-species/yellowfin-tuna/
LOCATION
They are a shallow-water fish found at depths of up to 50 metres. In New Zealand, they are most abundant in harbours, estuaries, and muddy bays, particularly in the north.
ATTRIBUTES PHYSICAL
Dark olive green body above with yellow or white on the belly and dark spots. The body is oval. Yellowbelly flounder are plumper than Sand flounder, and have smaller eyes and larger, dark-edged scales.
FAMILY
Yellowbelly flounder belong to the Pleuronectidae (righteye flounders) family. Related species: Greenback flounder (R. tapirina) are dark green above and white below, with an oval body and a pointed snout. They are found in the Canterbury Bight and also in Southland. Black flounder (R. retiaria) are dark green to black above with small, brick-red spots, and pale grey below with some darker spots. They have an oval shaped body that is thicker than some other flat fish. Black flounder are found mainly in estuaries and the tidal reaches of rivers.
image: © Terry Wreford Hann
info: https://www.seafood.co.nz/show-species/yellowbelly-flounder/
LOCATION
Jack mackerel (T. declivis), are found only in Australasian waters, especially in the central and northwestern seas.
ATTRIBUTES PHYSICAL
Green/blue body with a green sheen, white below, and streamlined with long pectoral fins and obvious lateral line. There are varieties in colour and number of scutes. Wide overlapping scales along lateral line expand to hard ridge at tail base. Horse jack mackerel (T. novaezelandiae) is smaller and slightly deeper-bodied. Green with broad but faint brown bands, white below and grows to 30 to 40 cm. They are distributed from Australasia through southeast Asia to Japan. Slender jack mackerel (T. murphyi) is a slender-bodied large bluegreen species. First found in New Zealand in the early 1980s, it extended territory from the eastern Pacific Ocean to the southern.
image:©Terry Wreford Hann
Info : https://www.seafood.co.nz/show-species/jack-mackerel/
The yellow-eye mullet is a mullet of the family Mugilidae, the only species in the genus Aldrichetta. It is found around New Zealand, the Chatham Islands, and southern Australia. In New Zealand it is also known as the sprat or herring, but is neither a true sprat nor a true herring. Wikipedia
The brill is a species of flatfish in the turbot family of the order Pleuronectiformes. Brill can be found in the northeast Atlantic, Black Sea, Baltic Sea, and Mediterranean, primarily in deeper offshore waters.Wikipedia
Image © Terry Wreford Hann
They are both pelagic and demersal in behaviour. Juveniles are found in shallow inshore areas, and from around one year old, the growing fish enter the demersal phase. As adults, they move from the demersal to the pelagic and school at all levels. They grow rapidly, reaching maturity after about five years and can live to 45 years. They feed on krill and other plankton in closely packed surface schools.
ATTRIBUTES PHYSICAL
Blue-green on the top and silvery white on the belly, with a yellowish sheen running along the length of the fish. A small dark blotch often appears on the upper gill cover. The body is deep and laterally compressed with a bluntly rounded head and sickleshaped pectoral fin. Large fish often develop a hump on the head caused by the enlargement of the bony skull crest. The species has small scales and a row of strong scutes at the tail base. Juveniles often have vertical bands of green and gold, which are sometimes also visible on freshly-caught adults.
FAMILY
Trevally belong to the Carangidae family (trevallies, kingfishes).
Image: © Terry Wreford Hann
Info: https://www.seafood.co.nz/show-species/trevally/
Trumpeter like the cool, temperate Southern Hemisphere from the Indian Ocean islands to South America. In New Zealand waters, they are found from the eastern Bay of Plenty and South of the Cook Strait, particularly off the coast of Otago and Stewart Island.
They like to live among reefs or rough ground at depths between 20 and 200 metres.
Image: © Terry Wreford Hann
Info : https://www.talleys.co.nz/seafood/species/trumpeter
LOCATION
Black oreo are found only in the Southern Hemisphere. They are a deepwater species, living at depths between 600 and 1200 metres. In New Zealand Black oreo are found along the south of the Chatham Rise, off the east coast of the South Island, and on the Campbell Plateau. They form schools near pinnacles and feed on crustaceans, fish, and squid.
ATTRIBUTES PHYSICAL
They have a very dark brown body with blackish fins and small, firm scales that cannot be dislodged. The body is wide and angular and is dominated by a very large, green eye.
FAMILY
Black oreo belong to the Oreosomatidae family (oreos). They are not members of the Zeidae family (true dories) despite their market name. Spiky oreo (Neocyttus rhomboidalis) is a related species. They are paler than Black oreo and have greyish fins. They are smaller in size (around 35 centimetres) and are found in flatter, shallower grounds than Black oreo. Spiky oreo are not as common as Black oreo, and are not a preferred commercial catch.
SPAWNING
Spawning occurs from late October to December, particularly on the south Chatham Rise. They are thought to be slow growing and to live to at least 100 years.
Image: © Terry Wreford Hann
Info: https://www.seafood.co.nz/show-species/black-oreo/
Grenadiers or rattails are generally large, brown to black gadiform marine fish of the subfamily Macrourinae, the largest subfamily of the family Macrouridae. Found at great depths from the Arctic to Antarctic, members of this subfamily are amongst the most abundant of the deep-sea fish. Wikipedia
Image: © Terry Wreford Hann