FRESHWATER BASA

[Derek Bullock]

I saw Freshwater Basa fillets in the the fish shop today. Anyone got any info on it.


Derek

[Fitzy]

Never heard of them. Cant be an Oz fish so it dont matter (apart from imports bit the big one)
Hope thats not a typo & you meant "bass".

fitz

[Derek Bullock]

Well I'll be buggered. #Did some searching on the net and found them.

They are a freshwater catfish farmed in Vietnam. #Now a big export market for them. #Saw them (fillets only) this weekend at my local fish and chip shop as well as the seafood section in Bi Lo.

What next. #They were fetching top dollar as well.

(No not a typo Fitzy - I know what bass are #;D ;D ;D ;D ;D)


Derek

[MTpockets]

I think BASA stands for Buy Asian Seafood A#@*wipe
then again.... ;D

[Crewsin]

Maybe it means " BUY A STOMACH ACHE "

[ishing]

yeah we sell them at work, they are one of the chepest fish we have, alot of people buy them though, i dunno if thats cause they are good or because they are cheap. they look like s**t, i wouldnt be game to try them, they almost look fake...

[reelcrazy]

Vietnamese Farm Raised catfish.

I'd think twice about buying the fillets, especially after reading this, typical of all farm raised fish.

http://www.asm.org/Media/index.asp?bid=27350

Recently import competition from Vietnamese basa fish has come to the U.S. farm-raised channel catfish industry. There is abundant speculation that the imported product is inferior to domestic product in terms of microbiological quality and safety even though there is no scientific evidence to support such claims. Therefore, the present study was designed to compare the microbiological profiles of the two fish species available to consumers. Thirty bags of each fish fillets were analyzed for bacterial load and presence of human disease causing bacteria. The number of microorganisms on a fish fillet is related to food quality, where greater spoilage bacteria counts results in products with shorter shelf life and lower quality. Results indicated that both fish had counts that were within acceptable quality ranges, even though channel catfish had greater microbial counts that basa. In screening for disease causing bacteria, both fish were found to harbor Salmonella and Listeria monocytogenes. Vibrio cholerae was absent in basa fish but found in channel catfish. The lack of quantitative information about pathogens and their toxins precludes declaring either of the fish species as unsafe. Moreover, catfish is consumed after cooking, which if done adequately is sufficient to render the product safe for consumption.

Amit Pal, Graduate student in Mississippi State University, did the present work at Food Safety Laboratory of Department of Food Science and Technology in Mississippi State University, Mississippi State, MS. This work was supported by USDA-CSREES and the results were presented at the 104th General Meeting of the American Society of Microbiology, May 24 of 2004 in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Farm-raised channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) is the most prevalent processed aquacultured seafood produced in the U.S. and the most commercialized species among all aquaculture food products, especially in the Southern United States. Farm-raised catfish is the commercial name of aquacultured channel catfish and is presently the 5th most consumed seafood in U.S., with Mississippi leading the nation in production. With demand increasing every year, domestic markets are relying on imported fish and fish products. One such imported product is Vietnamese basa fish. Imports of basa fish in the U.S. started in 1996 and every year the import volume increased until 2003, when the U.S. Department of Commerce and the International Trade Commission imposed an antidumping order to stop importation of basa. Before implementation of the antidumping order, Vietnamese basa was quickly displacing U.S. farm-raised catfish in American seafood markets. An additional fair trade concern included basa being mislabeled as catfish, which forced the National Fisheries Institute to recalculate annual consumption of catfish in 2002. Furthermore, negative speculation about poor farming and processing conditions in Vietnam raised concerns about the quality and safety of basa. The results of the present study demonstrate that Vietnamese basa fish is not microbiologically inferior to U.S farm-raised catfish. Thus, present scientific evidence does not support food quality and safety reasons for basa embargo in international trade.

[brianstaples]

I bought them once from my local IGA supermarket. I asked the person who served me what sort of fish it was and all that they told me that it was very popular.

Well, I cooked the fish and had one mouthful of it and spat it out. It is absolutely disgusting; strange colour, texture and taste. I now know that it is catfish, so that probably says it all.

Apparently, a lot of fish and chip shops are selling it as their everyday crumbed or battered fish, so it would pay to ask what you are getting before you order. I was going to order fish and chips at a shop in Bundaberg and I asked what fish they were cooking and I was told Basa, so I picked something else which, of course, was more expensive.

Brian

[cbs]

Quite often fish and chip shops sell it as "dory". Its a joke.

Questioned one place one time, got the answer I didn't want, so I upgraded to snapper. Can tell you that wasn't snapper either. Won't buy there again.

[Noelm]

it has been for sale for yonks, it is well suited to People who do not like Fish, as it is nice and White, no bones, and absolutely no Flavour, BUT, I must say, it is really good in cooking dishes that have a lot of spices and stuff (like Asian or Indian) it is very firm and can be cooked for ages and it does not fall to bits, way back before all the Seafood substitution scandal, it was sold for a dozen different species, and most loved it, but lost some appeal once it was found out to be Catfish, raised in filthy poluted waterways in a third World Country, with all the associiated crap that went with it.

[gunna]

Not a bad effort to resurrect this from 2004. Nothing has changed in the 4 years since this post originally started. Its still crap.

[ant_72]

There was a story about them a while ago ( may have been 60 minutes or some current affairs show ). They are an imported fish from asia that has been farmed in some of the filthiest waters known to man. The program showed that the chemicals that had been in the water were of toxic levels and that they were being sold here in oz with ridiculously high levels of contaminates. Not good for those who were consuming it. The thing with them is that they are cheap to buy and for those who see one fillet the same as the next fillet it looks affordable. There is alot to be said for fresh local seafood and having the ability to catch your own. Steer clear of imported seafood if you can, there are not the quality controls of the local stuff

[tigermullet]

It's lovely stuff. Don't cook, just chop into fine pieces or shavings, wrap in seaweed, then present yourself to the nearest intensive care unit.

It adds 'spice' to the medicos day trying to figure out what you are dying from.;D

[Dirtysanchez]

Feed it to the cat, then wait for the RSPCA to come and arrest you for cruelty

Perhaps it could be used as a soft form of loo paper ? :(

Honestly, if thats all I could buy at the shop I would head to the butcher for steak.

[timddo]

You guys are joking .

If the fish was that toxic , we would have seen huge amounts of poisining and they will be banned. The difference between the farmed fish here and asia is the source of the water. Water is taken directly from the mekong river,

so a prime example is the brisbane river at luggage point. Once fish is cook to a certain temperature, all the bacteria dies anyway.

Hey, nothing beats drining brisbanes recycled water soon, Pretty much drinking your on shit.

[bdowdy]

this stuff is sold at our local supermarket and fish shop and is absolute CRAP..... IT FROM OVER SEAS ALRIGHT,,,PROBABLY FARMED IN SEWERAGE PONDS...

[mowerman]

Has anyone had the Butterfish experience?

Brother in law fed his family with some about 6 weeks ago
6 out of 8 people came down with ( as an old dairy farmer like me would put it) the scours.

Look it up and while your at it look for butterfish side effects.

Rod

[Derek Bullock]

Good grief, I was only a boy when I started this post. ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

Do you know why Bassa is such a clean looking light fish? The bleach the fillets thats why. :o

[kingtin]

Has anyone had the Butterfish experience?

Brother in law fed his family with some about 6 weeks ago
6 out of 8 people came down with ( as an old dairy farmer like me would put it) the scours.

Look it up and while your at it look for butterfish side effects.

Rod

yeah, the deckie will eat anything but not the butterfish..............not now anyway ::)

Had this bugger for brekky and it only took a couple of hours to work ;D

Makes a change from her normal..................verbal diarrhoea ;D

kev


http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b182/bidkev/LuderickButterfish-Bid.jpg

[Lucky_Phill]

Bassa has been sold in our supermarkets and fish retailers for some time now.

The vast majority of fishermen ( anglers ) steer clear of it as they know exactly under what conditions these ' things ' are bred and processed.

I think Steve has been to Thailand to see first hand the " cess-pitt " in which these fish are bred. >:(

Derek, you remember the story about cooking and you add a house.... etc. well this is a prime example. ;D

OH, and I gave away my prize from the cooking demonstration to the lady beside me who was going 'round OZ with Hubby. And that Bread was yummy,,,, Bungle something or other ???????;) :)

Cheers Phill

[disorderly]

Strangely enough I had a glimpse into the seafood counter at our IGA today and the only fish available was nile perch...Tasmanian salmon(which looked nice but at $33 a kg) and of course a whole tray of Basa fillets...http://www.ausfish.com.au/vforum/../yabbfiles/Templates/Forum/default/rolleyes.gif
As I sat up to my beautiful fat Coral Trout and salad burger tonight I just still can't believe anyone would actually eat that crap...the thought of actually putting that shit in my mouth almost makes me sick..http://www.ausfish.com.au/vforum/../yabbfiles/Templates/Forum/default/sad.gif.

Scott

[RayDeR]

G'day!

Basa is also known as Pacific Dory. I believe it is/was the dory sold in Sizzlers.

Its white firm flesh would make it a great substitute for cod, reef fish, or flake in fish and chip shops.

Ray De R

[kingtin]

G'day!

Its white firm fish would make it a great substitute for cod, reef fish, or flake in fish and chip shops.

Ray De R

And it's eating habits would make it a great substitute for the filtering system at sewerage plants........................Oh! wait a minute! That's what those Vietnamese fish farmers are using it for anyway...............before they ship it here............multi - tasking I think they call it ;D

kev

[disorderly]

And it's eating habits would make it a great substitute for the filtering system at sewerage plants........................Oh! wait a minute! That's what those Vietnamese fish farmers are using it for anyway...............before they ship it here............multi - tasking I think they call it ;D

kev

I heard the basa is a pretty popular dish in our countries prisons....they say it goes down a treat when accompanied by toilet wine.http://www.ausfish.com.au/vforum/../yabbfiles/Templates/Forum/default/rolleyes.gif

[RayDeR]

Strangely enough I had a glimpse into the seafood counter at our IGA today and the only fish available was nile perch...Tasmanian salmon(which looked nice but at $33 a kg) and of course a whole tray of Basa fillets...http://www.ausfish.com.au/vforum/../yabbfiles/Templates/Forum/default/rolleyes.gif


Scott

G'day Scott!

Have you ever researched "NIle Perch" and its origins?

Ray De R

[disorderly]

G'day Scott!

Have you ever researched "NIle Perch" and its origins?

Ray De R

No I haven't Ray...What can you tell us about it?

Scott

[LeeannP]

The last time I ate "fish and chips" (and the first time in about ten years) was about three years ago at a fish and chip shop at the ramp near bribie. We'd just taken a boat for a test and were totally starving and thought bugger it, we'll buy something for dinner. I chose barramundi fillets (which I believe would have been Nile Perch) and thought it tasted a bit odd.
Anyway, I ended up with food poisoning.
BASA get fed poo (as in the human stuff) so it's little wonder it tastes the way it apparently does.
Moral of the story only eat the fish you catch yourself... and hmmmmmmmm... weren't those snapper, mackerel and flatties from the weekend pretty tasty ;)

[Little grey men]

It really makes you wonder why they let this garbage into the country. YUK !!! :P

[4x4frog]

I don't think I have knowingly eaten basa but looks now like I could have. I would have considered it for the odd Thai red or green curry but might give it a wide berth now.



Our local fish shop has a good range of 'fresh' product in the window. To their credit,t hey have the country of origin on all product. The sad fact is that I think there are inly 3 at the most with 'Product of Australia' on the price/breed tag. Even the whiting is imported:o:o....to their credit, I don't actually think they sell Basa.

[onerabbit]

Definitely stay with the fresh local fish, at least you know what you are getting...................or do you.

Muzz

[RayDeR]

Nile Perch is native in north Africa including the Nile riverand is apparently a relative of Barramundi but grows much larger. It was introduced to Lake Victoria, a lot further south than its native range. It bred well wiping out a lot of the native fish including cyclids.

Catching and selling (including exporting) Nile Perch is now a major industry around Lake Victoria bring millions of dollarsto the local economy each year.

Apparently, the Nile Perch is nowbeing overfished and there is some hope the native fish will recover.

I mentioned in a previous post that "Dory" sold by Sizzlers was probably Basa. I see on their website menus that it is now labelled as Basa. This is my local store, Mermaide Beach, I did not check others.

Ray De R

[disorderly]

Thanks Ray...I just did a google search..

Man what an awesome fish..http://www.ausfish.com.au/vforum/../yabbfiles/Templates/Forum/default/smiley.gif

Resembles a Barramundi..grows to 2 metres in length and up to 200kg http://www.ausfish.com.au/vforum/../yabbfiles/Templates/Forum/default/shocked.gif...Holy crap a 200 kg barra..now that would be fun http://www.ausfish.com.au/vforum/../yabbfiles/Templates/Forum/default/grin.gif.

I also read that due to declining Barra stocks in Australia that DPI was considering bringing them here.....but alas as you mention the devastating environmental impact they create on native fish meant it was not to be. http://www.ausfish.com.au/vforum/../yabbfiles/Templates/Forum/default/sad.gif

Scott

[Chong]

found this, here is lunch::)

ozkSp_Ec0d0

[Pistol_P]

Its pretty concerning really when a country like Austalia which has good fish stocks brings this crap into the country.

I personally NEVER buy fish and catch enough to feed myself regularly.
BUT in saying that if I had to buy fish these days I would only ever buy a WHOLE fish and then bring it home and fillet it myself.

You just dont know what you are getting these days.
That Basa is enough to turn you off buying fish for ever......:sick2: :sick2: :sick2:

Pete

[Hot_Snappa]

What makes it even worse is that some fish mongers that sell it (now what was their name...can't quite remember..."de" something or other!!!), won't tell the customer what it really is and where it comes from! Years ago I remember standing next to a young couple enquiring what that fish called basa was they were selling. The guy started giving some half hearted explanation, so I proceeded to tell them exactly what it was and where it came from! Should have seen the filthy look the fish monger gave me!
Needless to say the couple walked away in disgust and bought nothing!
These retailers need to be fined for telling porkies!

[Noelm]

I guess it all comes down to dollars, if people buy a product (Fish) and WE can supply it cheap (by way of crap Imports) then we do it, no different to buying a cheap Indian Car or a Korean Car instead of a Holden or Ford in some ways, if it was not available (from a Government ban) then maybe our Fishermen may get a better price and would need to catch less for a good return (wishfull thinking) or people buying Fish would get a better product and eat more as a result, who knows?? but while ever cheap crap is available, then there will be a Market for it

[4x4frog]

Its pretty concerning really when a country like Austalia which has good fish stocks brings this crap into the country.

I personally NEVER buy fish and catch enough to feed myself regularly.
BUT in saying that if I had to buy fish these days I would only ever buy a WHOLE fish and then bring it home and fillet it myself.

You just dont know what you are getting these days.
That Basa is enough to turn you off buying fish for ever......:sick2: :sick2: :sick2:

Pete
Pete and others, the main problem is the dollar, but not from where you'd think either.
My father-in-law used to work for an import-export agent out at the airport precinct. My wife and I would go visit him for lunch and he'd show us some of the produce going out of the country. I never saw any of the seafood as they did all theirs in the early morning before it got too warm but the fruit and veges I saw would bring you to tears. The tomatoes were that red and plump you could have painted a stitch line on them and they would have looked like a cricket ball. Everything I saw that was being exported would have fetched easily 3 times the price we would want to pay for it if they sold it here. That's the big problem, many areas of the world don't have the great raw produce we can get and are willing to pay more than enough to cover costs and a good profit for the seller so they sell to the highest bidder, many times that is an O/S buyer, hence we have to import the rubbish to make up numbers>:( :-[ :'(

[disorderly]

Everything I saw that was being exported would have fetched easily 3 times the price we would want to pay for it if they sold it here. That's the big problem, many areas of the world don't have the great raw produce we can get and are willing to pay more than enough to cover costs and a good profit for the seller so they sell to the highest bidder, many times that is an O/S buyer, hence we have to import the rubbish to make up numbers>:( :-[ :'(

After visiting a live trout export business yesterday(thanks for the tour Matt,very interesting http://www.ausfish.com.au/vforum/../yabbfiles/Templates/Forum/default/smiley.gif) the above statement appears quite right.....nobody in their right mind is going to go pay the costs and go through the drama's to export unless they are getting premium prices hence we export plenty of beautiful fresh product because O/S markets are willing to pay the premium.....then we import a heap of different cheap rubbish seafood products,fruit,flowers etc to satisfy the cheapskate aussie demand.
Just remember though.......You are what you eat..http://www.ausfish.com.au/vforum/../yabbfiles/Templates/Forum/default/wink.gif

Scott

[r3volt]

Its all about making money...

[johnlikes2fish]

from memory arent there 5 or more treament plants along the brisbane river pumping out secondary treated sewage or primary during wet weather doesnt stop people catchinjg and eating fish at the mouth, also the stain (sewage outlet) in sydney at north head was immensely popular during my youth amongst fisherman, fish swim in waste, i wouldnt eat basa but i am realistic about what fish swim in and eat.

[Imfiik]

Hell will freeze over before I eat an Australian freshwater catfish. Why would I eat a foreign one?:-X

[Gamble]

Basa is cat fish for vietnam farmed in that river of theres that the piss in shit in and all there waste goes into.....mmmm tasty

[Jackinthebox]

Decided to have a look in the seafood section at Coles yesterday(I never buy fish) and the one minute i was standing there, two old ducks came up & each bought a couple of fillets of Basa. The girl behind the counter had this look on her face like "are you sure?"

I could see the look on the old ladies faces as they watched her. They were almost licking their lips although i think it was because it was only $7 a kilo compared to $15 a kilo for nile perch next to it. A bit further over there was a couple of small spangled emporer that would have been lucky to be legal and cost $12 per whole fish. (that might work out to about $30 a kilo once filleted). Then there was all the chinese farmed prawns(yuk!) which looked a bit better than the local caught banana prawns that were all dried & shrivelled & old (double yuk!)

I'm so glad that i catch my own and look after it, cause if i didn't, i would waste my money buying it there! That basa looked like frozen white toilet paper!!!

Cheers,
Mick

[2manylures]

All I can say is if as anglers we have to resort to BUYING FISH to EAT then it's time to................................................ .......

[Outsider1]

I have never bought Basa or knowingly eaten it. The only fresh fish I buy is Tassie Salmon (the family like it), I try to catch all the other fish that I eat at home. And I stick to the Aussie caught stuff if I order fish in a restaurant.

I was searching for some Flathead recipe info and came across this Vogue forum post. A different view on Basa;

"..................However, I felt compelled to clarify the basa situation... (having just finished writing an article on it for Simplot, which uses Basa in its packaged fish products).

Over 90 per cent of basa farmed in Vietnam now comes from open aquaculture ponds, where farmers control water cleanliness and volume. Pond farming techniques have, in the past five or six years, replaced the practice of floating cages along the Mekong River (whereby basa was potentially exposed to contaminated water).

Water from certain areas on the river is checked and, if necessary, cleaned before entering the ponds. After harvesting the water goes into an environmental holding pen before being released back into the river.

As for claims of mercury in basa, mercury accumulates in very old or large fish. Basa is harvested within nine months at about one kilogram. Further, the fish has a protein meal and doesn’t feed on other fish, which could themselves contain mercury. You'll more likely find mercury in sharks, swordfish and tuna.

Buy A Grade basa from a reputable supplier and I think you should be fine! (Still, it's got nothing on flathead - yummm.)

http://forums.vogue.com.au/showthread.php?referrerid=48441&t=288090

[disorderly]

I have never bought Basa or knowingly eaten it.
Over 90 per cent of basa farmed in Vietnam now comes from open aquaculture ponds, where farmers control water cleanliness and volume.
Buy A Grade basa from a reputable supplier and I think you should be fine!




If I were to buy it it would be just my luck to get the 10% that had been raised on human sh!thttp://www.ausfish.com.au/vforum/../yabbfiles/Templates/Forum/default/rolleyes.gifhttp://www.ausfish.com.au/vforum/../yabbfiles/Templates/Forum/default/sad.gif.

Scott

[r3volt]

Whats that other fish that is used alot in processed fish products?

[FNQCairns]

Decided to have a look in the seafood section at Coles yesterday(I never buy fish) and the one minute i was standing there, two old ducks came up & each bought a couple of fillets of Basa. The girl behind the counter had this look on her face like "are you sure?"

I could see the look on the old ladies faces as they watched her. They were almost licking their lips although i think it was because it was only $7 a kilo compared to $15 a kilo for nile perch next to it. A bit further over there was a couple of small spangled emporer that would have been lucky to be legal and cost $12 per whole fish. (that might work out to about $30 a kilo once filleted). Then there was all the chinese farmed prawns(yuk!) which looked a bit better than the local caught banana prawns that were all dried & shrivelled & old (double yuk!)

I'm so glad that i catch my own and look after it, cause if i didn't, i would waste my money buying it there! That basa looked like frozen white toilet paper!!!

Cheers,
Mick

My mother (70odd) loves Bassa, doesn't smell like fish when cooked nor does it regurgitate all night like some of the others sold.

IMO bassa it doesn't taste bad, little bland but nothing terrible.

cheers fnq

[fivefishes]

FNQ,

Here's some food for thought.
There is a chemical used in the processing of the Basa, and heaps of other imported seafood products, it's used as a preservative but is in fact nothing of the sort. Sodium Tripolyphosphate is his name, he has a grest side effect for processors, STPP for short, encourages fillets, prawn meat etc to soak up water. Bingo turn 900g of fillets into 1kg and instant 10% profit margin. it's what makes the fillet look slippery and imported prawns crunchy when you bite them, typical of chinese restaurants, oh it's also why your frypan fills up with water when you cook it. Sounds harmless enough, google the stuff and see "suspected side effects" below is a quote sourced earlier tonight.

"Exposure to chemical substances can cause adverse effects on the nervous system (Neurotoxicity). Chemicals toxic to the central nervous system can induce confusion, fatigue, irritability, and other behavioral changes. Exposure to methyl mercury and lead cause central nervous system toxicity, and can also cause degenerative diseases of the brain (encephalopathy). Chemicals toxic to the peripheral nervous sytem affect how nerves carry sensory information and motor impulses from the brain to the rest of the body. The organic solvents carbon disulfide, n-hexane,and trichloroethylene can harm the peripheral nervous system, resulting in weakness in the lower limbs, tingling in the limbs (paresthesia), and loss of coordination"

Only a suspected side effect but hey give me local fillets and stuff the price, at least i don't have to worry bout whats in it.
Oh by the way i have seen processors in Brisbane do the same thing with some local prawns, not commonplace but it's out there.

Happy feasting,

Matt

[disorderly]

So what is it you are really trying to say,Matt.....
That imported Basa is not as good for us as freshly caught Coral Trout...Hmmmm...you don't have to convince me of that,mate.http://www.ausfish.com.au/vforum/../yabbfiles/Templates/Forum/default/wink.gifhttp://www.ausfish.com.au/vforum/../yabbfiles/Templates/Forum/default/smiley.gif

Man it tends to fluctuate that Basa....I saw it a couple of weeks ago at our local IGA for $12.99......2 days ago I saw it for $4.99 a kg in the same store.

Perhaps all the regular Basa buyers have died and they just need to offload it.http://www.ausfish.com.au/vforum/../yabbfiles/Templates/Forum/default/lipsrsealed.gif

Scott

[fivefishes]

So what is it you are really trying to say,Matt.....
That imported Basa is not as good for us as freshly caught Coral Trout...Hmmmm...you don't have to convince me of that,mate.http://www.ausfish.com.au/vforum/../yabbfiles/Templates/Forum/default/wink.gifhttp://www.ausfish.com.au/vforum/../yabbfiles/Templates/Forum/default/smiley.gif

Man it tends to fluctuate that Basa....I saw it a couple of weeks ago at our local IGA for $12.99......2 days ago I saw it for $4.99 a kg in the same store.

Perhaps all the regular Basa buyers have died and they just need to offload it.http://www.ausfish.com.au/vforum/../yabbfiles/Templates/Forum/default/lipsrsealed.gif

Scott

Scott, Scott, Scott

Always looking for a way to stir the pot. FYI the stuff is imported for about $2.70-$3.00kg, bear in mind your local IGA isn't bringing it in from Vietnam, just getting it from an importer/distrbutor so $4.99kg is clear it out price. Hey why don't we ship it all to Clownsville and let them deal with it....!

Matt

P.S By the way, your'e half way to Clown town so what side of the fence are you on???

[mangomick]

What a great way for our asian neighbours to return all that dioxin back to some of those nice people who shared it with them. to begin with :-/

Mmmm, maybe an extra $15 for boat rego isnt too bad to be eating nice coral trout and sweetlip

Arrhh, how come you guys who are members of the Ausfish site know the price of Basa anyway...................... Not catching too many eh ;D ;D

[fivefishes]

Mangomick,

I'm in the seafood biz so i have an excuse for knowing the price, disorderly on the other hand has some explaining to do!! What's up Scott freezer empty, boat broken, what?

Matt

[mangomick]

Well actually Matt we know Scott has plenty of trout in his freezer cause we all counted them for him a few weeks back;D ;D

[disorderly]

Mangomick,

I'm in the seafood biz so i have an excuse for knowing the price, disorderly on the other hand has some explaining to do!! What's up Scott freezer empty, boat broken, what?


Matt

Ah,mate those bloody pro's have fished the reef out...no trout left!!:P;D
Basa is all I can afford.;)



Well actually Matt we know Scott has plenty of trout in his freezer cause we all counted them for him a few weeks back;D ;D

Come now Mick,surely you realize I just photoshopped in a couple of extra trout to see if you blokes were on the ball..;);D

[FNQCairns]

FNQ,

Here's some food for thought.
There is a chemical used in the processing of the Basa, and heaps of other imported seafood products, it's used as a preservative but is in fact nothing of the sort. Sodium Tripolyphosphate is his name, he has a grest side effect for processors, STPP for short, encourages fillets, prawn meat etc to soak up water. Bingo turn 900g of fillets into 1kg and instant 10% profit margin. it's what makes the fillet look slippery and imported prawns crunchy when you bite them, typical of chinese restaurants, oh it's also why your frypan fills up with water when you cook it. Sounds harmless enough, google the stuff and see "suspected side effects" below is a quote sourced earlier tonight.

"Exposure to chemical substances can cause adverse effects on the nervous system (Neurotoxicity). Chemicals toxic to the central nervous system can induce confusion, fatigue, irritability, and other behavioral changes. Exposure to methyl mercury and lead cause central nervous system toxicity, and can also cause degenerative diseases of the brain (encephalopathy). Chemicals toxic to the peripheral nervous sytem affect how nerves carry sensory information and motor impulses from the brain to the rest of the body. The organic solvents carbon disulfide, n-hexane,and trichloroethylene can harm the peripheral nervous system, resulting in weakness in the lower limbs, tingling in the limbs (paresthesia), and loss of coordination"

Only a suspected side effect but hey give me local fillets and stuff the price, at least i don't have to worry bout whats in it.
Oh by the way i have seen processors in Brisbane do the same thing with some local prawns, not commonplace but it's out there.

Happy feasting,

Matt

Matt thanks very much for that inside info, it astounds me what I do not know about the seafood I eat! Will keep an lookout for slick fish fillets and yes I have in the past wondered why so much water would come out:( some fish is hard fish to cook nicely -now I know why:o!

cheers fnq

[mangomick]

[quote=disorderly;premium.....then we import a heap of different cheap rubbish seafood products,fruit,flowers etc to satisfy the cheapskate aussie demand.
Scott[/quote]


Were not "cheapskates" we're " ECONOMIC CONSERVATIVES" :-/

[B_E_N]

dont know if anyone watched it or not but last sunday night on thalasis (sbs program) they had a short doco on the mekong catfish farmers from the cambodian border (mekong delta). now i worked in a couple of fish and chip shops when i was younger and i can tell you basa (mekong catfish) is sold as cod, dory and even sometimes barra, hence why i only eat chips from these sort of shops.
anyway back to the doco, i dont know how true that 90% control farmed stat is because what i saw was completley different. whole towns almost (community is a better word) have been built on the river by these farmers and their family. most used to be rice farmers but found out they could make heaps more money with less effort by raising and selling catfish.
their houses are built on cages which are constructed first out of bamboo then sunk. the rest of the house is then built on top of these with a hole in one of the rooms for feeding and extracting the fish. what a smell it would be tho, twice a day they cook 2 tonnes of boiled fish meal and other smelly crap then lay it out on their floor to dry if before feeding the fish.
twice a year they harvest the cages by putting a net down and schooling the fish to the opening then fill a half sunk boat with them where they are then transported to a cleaning centre.
i bet the show put quite a few people off...

[disorderly]

I would have liked to have seen that.
Ben...what did the "fish meal and other smelly crap"consist of?.

Scott

[kingtin]

I would have liked to have seen that.
Ben...what did the "fish meal and other smelly crap"consist of?.

Scott

The remains of other catfish. The processing factories recycle the frames and skin.

That "thalassa" (the sea) is a brilliant programme.....5.30 every sunday

kev