With springtime fishing underway, heads and frames have been seen washing ashore at Takapuna beach recently. They had obviously been discarded not far away after a day’s fishing at or around the boat ramp.
What is unfortunate is that the amount of sweet tasting flesh on the head and frame of fish like snapper is significant. The meat next to the bone and skin has the best flavour and so much is left behind when just the fillets are used and the rest tossed over the side.
The great news is that there is a movement afoot to help people share the unwanted heads and frames of their catch with people eager to get their hands on those same heads and frames. Matt Watson started the website www.freefishheads.co.nz to make it real easy to connect these two groups of people and ultimately, utilise the whole fish so nothing is wasted.
Fresh and tasty protein is getting more and more expensive and the shop bought stuff will not be the same as something pulled out of a chilly bin from being caught a few hours earlier.
The Kai Ika project is an initiative in the same spirit, where the Papatuanuku Kokiri Marae collects these fish parts from the Outboard Boating Club (with plans exciting plans for Westhaven Marina on the cards to be joining the project). A fish processing building with benches, hose and chilling facilities means fishers can take their prized fillets home and give away their other parts, which are equally precious to the community connected to the Papatuanuku Marae. This initiative has recently been selected as a finalist in the NZI Sustainable Business Awards – Transforming Food Category.
All it takes is a little effort (it could be simple as phoning people from the free fish heads website while on the water) and someone gets the heads and frames when you arrive at the ramp. If you fillet your fish later, you could meet at a local location with a chilly bin and some ice and complete the collection that way.
Making the effort to share something of value does immense good for our community as a whole, the individuals in that community, our environment and of course we ourselves get a bit of self-respect knowing we’ve done the right thing. In the same spirit of caring and sharing, LegaSea has been working with Matt Watson with his Free Fish Head initiative to help fishers best utilise what they catch see www.freefishheads.co.nz for more information.
