Derek_Bullock
04-02-2006, 12:10 PM
A shark's tale
January 31, 2006
"Shark eats man!" sells newspapers. "Man eats shark!" does not. After all, it happens every day.
It's unclear exactly how many sharks are consumed in Australia each year but it far outweighs the number that eat us. This year's fishing quota in one fishery, for one species alone, the gummy shark, is 1800 tonnes (about 600,000 sharks).
"Out of all the sharks, it's the nicest," says Melbourne seafood supplier Con Andronis.
"It's beautiful on the barbie, you don't have to deep fry it."
Shark is the best-selling fish in Victoria, and gummy shark the biggest seller. Walk into a fish and chip shop in Melbourne and you'll most likely walk out with a piece of battered flake, as it's called.
In Sydney, shark tends to be labelled "boneless fillet" and is considered a cheap cut.
It certainly isn't a fine dining favourite. Fish-focused chefs Greg Doyle (Pier), Steve Hodges (Fishface) and Matt Kemp (Balzac, Billingsgate Fish Bistro) all give it the thumbs down. It's not even popular here for fish and chips - shops mainly serve hoki from New Zealand, hake from South Africa or South America or basa, also known as Vietnamese Catfish, from the Mekong Delta.
Sydney's shark supply is too inconsistent for the fish and chip trade, says George Costi, of De Costi Seafoods. The best-eating sharks fetch better prices in Victoria, so that's where most of it ends up, including imports. "I like it," Costi says. "It's boneless, moist and delicate. If you had children, you know it's safe."
Geography and tradition seem to be the main theories about why more shark is eaten in Victoria. Melbourne is closer to the Australian fishery where most gummy sharks are caught, and flake is what Melburnians expect to eat in their fish and chips. Another theory is that Sydney simply offers a greater variety of seafood.
This year's 1800-tonne quota for gummy in the southern and eastern shark fishery, set by the Australian Fisheries Management Authority, is not enough to meet Victorian demand. The shark is also imported from New Zealand and South Africa but is not cheap, at about $10 a kilo wholesale. The gummy supremacy is being challenged #- other cheaper fish, such as basa at $4 a kilo, are creeping into the southern batter.
Then there's the issue of whether we should be eating shark at all. Compared with other fish species, they are long-lived, start breeding later and have fewer young, making them vulnerable to overfishing. School shark, which used to rival gummy in Victoria, has been drastically overfished. Despite very small fishing quotas, the population is still recovering.
The Australian Marine Conservation Society recommends eating no shark. The Marine Stewardship Council says eating certain sustainably managed species is fine.
Commonwealth and state government fisheries representatives say eating shark is fine in general as Australian shark populations are being adequately supervised (in 2004, a national shark plan was introduced to conserve and manage sharks).
Everyone agrees however, that there's a labelling problem. Sydney consumers often don't know they're buying shark, let alone what type, or whether its numbers are healthy.
Macquarie University PhD student Charlie Huveneers is studying one of Sydney's most popular shark species, the wobbegong. Anecdotal evidence from divers suggests populations are way down and the commercial catch rate halved between 1990 and 2000, but it's not clear whether this is due to fewer fish or less effort catching them as they fetch a relatively low price.
Working closely with NSW Fisheries, Huveneers is monitoring the shark's population and trying to figure out if they can be sustainably fished. He believes about 60 to 80 tonnes of wobbegong are caught each year in NSW, a trifle compared to the gummy haul. But, as he points out, even a small catch can dangerously deplete vulnerable shark populations.
His advice to consumers is to err on the side of caution. "If you don't know, don't take it," he says. "If you're not sure the species is sustainable, go for something you know can be eaten with no problems."
January 31, 2006
"Shark eats man!" sells newspapers. "Man eats shark!" does not. After all, it happens every day.
It's unclear exactly how many sharks are consumed in Australia each year but it far outweighs the number that eat us. This year's fishing quota in one fishery, for one species alone, the gummy shark, is 1800 tonnes (about 600,000 sharks).
"Out of all the sharks, it's the nicest," says Melbourne seafood supplier Con Andronis.
"It's beautiful on the barbie, you don't have to deep fry it."
Shark is the best-selling fish in Victoria, and gummy shark the biggest seller. Walk into a fish and chip shop in Melbourne and you'll most likely walk out with a piece of battered flake, as it's called.
In Sydney, shark tends to be labelled "boneless fillet" and is considered a cheap cut.
It certainly isn't a fine dining favourite. Fish-focused chefs Greg Doyle (Pier), Steve Hodges (Fishface) and Matt Kemp (Balzac, Billingsgate Fish Bistro) all give it the thumbs down. It's not even popular here for fish and chips - shops mainly serve hoki from New Zealand, hake from South Africa or South America or basa, also known as Vietnamese Catfish, from the Mekong Delta.
Sydney's shark supply is too inconsistent for the fish and chip trade, says George Costi, of De Costi Seafoods. The best-eating sharks fetch better prices in Victoria, so that's where most of it ends up, including imports. "I like it," Costi says. "It's boneless, moist and delicate. If you had children, you know it's safe."
Geography and tradition seem to be the main theories about why more shark is eaten in Victoria. Melbourne is closer to the Australian fishery where most gummy sharks are caught, and flake is what Melburnians expect to eat in their fish and chips. Another theory is that Sydney simply offers a greater variety of seafood.
This year's 1800-tonne quota for gummy in the southern and eastern shark fishery, set by the Australian Fisheries Management Authority, is not enough to meet Victorian demand. The shark is also imported from New Zealand and South Africa but is not cheap, at about $10 a kilo wholesale. The gummy supremacy is being challenged #- other cheaper fish, such as basa at $4 a kilo, are creeping into the southern batter.
Then there's the issue of whether we should be eating shark at all. Compared with other fish species, they are long-lived, start breeding later and have fewer young, making them vulnerable to overfishing. School shark, which used to rival gummy in Victoria, has been drastically overfished. Despite very small fishing quotas, the population is still recovering.
The Australian Marine Conservation Society recommends eating no shark. The Marine Stewardship Council says eating certain sustainably managed species is fine.
Commonwealth and state government fisheries representatives say eating shark is fine in general as Australian shark populations are being adequately supervised (in 2004, a national shark plan was introduced to conserve and manage sharks).
Everyone agrees however, that there's a labelling problem. Sydney consumers often don't know they're buying shark, let alone what type, or whether its numbers are healthy.
Macquarie University PhD student Charlie Huveneers is studying one of Sydney's most popular shark species, the wobbegong. Anecdotal evidence from divers suggests populations are way down and the commercial catch rate halved between 1990 and 2000, but it's not clear whether this is due to fewer fish or less effort catching them as they fetch a relatively low price.
Working closely with NSW Fisheries, Huveneers is monitoring the shark's population and trying to figure out if they can be sustainably fished. He believes about 60 to 80 tonnes of wobbegong are caught each year in NSW, a trifle compared to the gummy haul. But, as he points out, even a small catch can dangerously deplete vulnerable shark populations.
His advice to consumers is to err on the side of caution. "If you don't know, don't take it," he says. "If you're not sure the species is sustainable, go for something you know can be eaten with no problems."