Sustainable seafood video transcript

Neil Perry

Victorian Bays and Inlet's have been a source of sustainable seafood for Victoria for over hundred and fifty years. Most Victorian's choose to buy fresh seafood and that's why we need a vibrant and healthy seafood industry.

Public perceptions about commercial fisheries are often misunderstood and that's why we need initiatives like these in education about the real issues.

Melbourne is one of the main seafood processing hubs with seafood landed from Victoria, Tasmania and South Australia.

Victoria has many sustainable seafood opportunities for the consumer to enjoy, including snapper, bream, flathead, calamari and King George whiting. Victorian seafood is healthy and has higher omega three content. Fresh fish is an important part of a healthy diet.

Consumers can make guilt free choices by eating beautiful fresh Victorian seafood. Fisheries Victoria does a brilliant job of making sure there are fish for the future. This is achieved by working in partnership with the industry. All Victorian export fisheries are managed and accredited under the commonwealth environmental protection and biodiversity legislation.

Snapper is an icon species in Victoria. Port Philip Bay is the home of a booming snapper industry, which is really fantastic. Fisheries Victoria research shows Port Phillip Bay is a vital nursery ground for snapper. Mature snapper migrate into the bay each October and November, where they are caught by both commercial and recreational fishers.

King George whiting is also one of the best eating fish in the sea. The species is doing well in Victoria. Research done by Fisheries Victoria has allowed us to predict the King George whiting season in advance. This work involves counting larvae and juvenile whiting as they settle into Port Phillip Bay once transported by prevailing winds and currents. By understanding King George whiting growth rates we know how long it takes before they reached the legal minimum size they can be legally taken.

What I’m going to do with this fish is just a little score so it cooks evenly, on both sides. A little olive oil and little sea salt and they will really roast up a treat in this char grill oven which is one of the specialties of Rockpool Bar and Grill.

Calamari is plentiful in Victorian waters. They are fast growing and short lived. They live by the moto ‘live fast and die young’.

Calamari are harvested from places such as Corner Inlet and Port Phillip Bay in Victoria and they are terrific in any sort of seafood combination, fried, roasted like I’m going to do in the wood fire grill. Im actually going to add calamari into a nice little cast iron pot. So here we’ve got some beautiful Victorian squid and to add a little spanich touch some already braised pork belly some onions garlic roasted tomatoes and chillies, lots of beautiful olive oil and sea salt and this just makes the most delicious starter. Now it’s off to the char grill over with all of this stuff.

Educations programs like these are so important because they allow Government, the consumers and industry to really work together and that's how we are going to have a vibrant seafood industry and that's how we are going to for the future and for our children's future enjoy beautiful fresh fish like this.  Now if you’ve got fresh seafood all you need is a wonderful char grill like this which imparts a gorgeous smokiness which leaves the fish really moist and delicious. 

Four or five minutes and it will be perfect.

So now I’m just taking the fish to the top level now it’s got nice and hot and bringing the squid down so it all cooks at the same time.
Look at that beautiful pork belly and squid, with a really lovely Spanish flavour. And all that needs is a little squeeze of lemon
Now we get the whiting, and again just really quite simply extra virgin olive oil, a little sea salt, and serve with a couple of wedges of lemon.

Now that is the tastes of great Victorian seafood. You won’t get a fish more delicious than a simple King George whiting cooked in a char gill over.

Thanks to Anthony Hurst from Fisheries Victoria, Roy Palmer of Seafood Experience Australia and Ross McGowan from Seafood Industry Victoria, for this really terrific initiative.

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