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Whitebait is a collective term for the immaturefry of fish, typically between 25 and 50 millimetres (1 and 2 in) long. Such young fish often travel together inschools along coasts, and move intoestuaries and sometimes up rivers where they can be easily caught using fine-meshedfishing nets.Whitebaiting is the activity of catching whitebait.
Individual whitebait are tender and edible. The entire fish is eaten — including head, fins, bones, and bowels. Some species make better eating than others, and the particular species that are marketed as "whitebait" vary in different parts of the world.
As whitebait consists of immature fry of many important food species (such asherring,sprat,sardines,mackerel,bass and many others) it is not an ecologically viable foodstuff and several countries impose strict controls on harvesting.
TheAlboran Sea is the westernmost element of theMediterranean Sea. Whitebait have been consumed as a favoured element of the diet of peoples living along the northern coasts of the Alboran Sea in Spain, even though sale of these products has been banned.[1]
In Australia whitebait refers to the juvenile stage of several predominantlygalaxias species during their return to freshwater from the marine phase of their lifecycle.
Species referred to as whitebait in Australia includecommon galaxiasG. maculatus,climbing galaxiasG. brevipinnis,spotted galaxiasG. truttaceus,Tasmanian whitebaitLovettia sealii,Tasmanian mudfishNeochanna cleaveri, andTasmanian smeltRetropinna tasmanica.
Whitebait were once subject to a substantial commercial fishery but today only recreational fishers are permitted to gather them, under strict conditions and for a limited season.
Chinese whitebait is raised in fish farms and plentiful quantities are produced for export. The frozen product is commonly available in food stores andsupermarkets at reasonable prices. The Chinese name for these is often translated as "silver fish" in English.[2]
Gianchetti (alsobianchetti) are the whitebait of thepesce azzurro[3] of theMediterranean (sardines andanchovies, etc.), caught with special nets named from theLiguriansciabegottu (similar to the net tosciabica, but with smaller dimensions) in the early months of the year.
A speciality of theLiguria cuisine, gianchetti are generally lightly boiled in salted water and served hot, dressed with oil and lemon juice. Another classic approach is to make fritters of the fish together with an egg and flour batter; finally they may simply be dipped in flour anddeep-fried (frittelle di gianchetti/bianchetti). The gianchetti of a red colour (ruscetti,rossetti) are tougher and scaly to the palate; they are largely used to flavour fish-based sauces.
In Sicilian cuisine whitebait are known asceruses (literally translated as "baby"). Whitebait are the principal ingredient of the Sicilian specialty croquettepolpette di neonata; which are a type of rolled meatball of whitebait with parsley, and egg and/or a bit of flour to amalgamate, fried in olive oil or sometimes deep-fried in peanut oil.
In Neapolitan cuisine whitebait are known ascicenielli.
In Brindisian cuisine whitebait are known aschuma (literally "foam of sea").
In Japan, the whitebait (しらす/白子,shirasu)[a] fishing industry is concentrated inShizuoka Prefecture, where the major landing ports for them are situated.[4] Theshirasu boiled in salted hot water is calledkamaage shirasu (釜上げしらす; boiled whitebait), and this product retains about 85% or greater water ratio.[5][6]
The boiled whitefish which are subsequently semi-dried are referred to generally asshirasuboshi (しらす干し; literally 'dried whitebait'),[7][8] but this is in the wider sense of the term; in the stricter senseshirasuboshi (also known asKantō boshi, or 'Eastern Japan–style dried') refers to soft-dried products (50–85% water ratio[6]),[b] and distinguished fromchirimen-jako (縮緬雑魚) (akaKansai boshi or 'Western Japan style dried') which are dried to harder consistency (30% to shy of 50% water content.[6][11])[c]
The whitebait used in theseshirasu products is generally the larvae of theJapanese anchovy,[7][12][13] but in the vernacular Japanese language anchovy (片口鰯,katakuchi iwashi) is called a type of sardine (鰯,iwashi), thusshirasu may be (somewhat misleadingly) described as sardine fry in some literature, though the larvae ofclupeids do occur as bycatch in theshirasu being harvested.[13] Theshirasu landed in Shizuoka Prefecture consists of the 2–3 month old, and 1–2 cm length larvae of mostly Japanese anchovy, and a small proportion of Japanese pilchard (真鰯,ma iwashi),[9][14]Sardinops sagax melanostictus, a subspecies of sardine.[d]
One specialty product is thetatami iwashi (たたみいわし; literally 'tatami sardine'), a paper-thin square wafer made from uncooked dryshirasu, spreading the washed fish thinly inside square molds then drying them, which has become an expensive delicacy.[15][16]
New Zealand whitebait are the juveniles of fivegalaxiid species which live as adults in freshwater rivers and streams.[17] Four of these five species have been classified by theDepartment of Conservation as endangered.[18][19] The whitebait are caught during their migration into freshwater habitats after their larval stage at sea.[17] They are much smaller than Chinese or British whitebait, averaging 45–55 mm in length,[17] and are around 15–22 weeks old.[20]
The most common whitebait species in New Zealand is thecommon galaxias or inanga, which lays its eggs during the very highspring tides in autumn amongst bankside grasses that are flooded by the tide.[17] The eggs develop out of the water until inundated by the next spring tide which stimulates the eggs to hatch.[17] The larvae are then carried to sea on the outgoing tide where they join the ocean's plankton.[17] After approximately six months, the juvenile fish migrate back into freshwater habitats where they mature to adulthood. The four other galaxiid species in New Zealand whitebait are thekōaro,banded kōkopu,giant kōkopu andshortjaw kōkopu.[21] These species also spawn in bankside vegetation, but their spawning is triggered by autumn floods rather than tides.[17]
New Zealand whitebait are caught in the lower reaches of the rivers using large, open-mouthed, hand-held scoop nets, long sock nets, or rigid, typically wedge-shaped set nets.[17] Whitebaiters must constantly attend the nets in order to lift them as soon as a shoal enters the net; otherwise the whitebait quickly swim back out of the net. Whitebaiters may fish from platforms known as 'stands', which may include screens to direct the fish and systems for raising and lowering nets.
Whitebaiting in New Zealand is a seasonal activity with a legally fixed and limited period[22] which spans part of the annual migration. The timing of the allowed fishing season is set to target the more common inanga, while avoiding the less common species that mainly migrate before and after the whitebaiting season. There is strict control over net sizes and rules against blocking the river or channelling the fish into the net; these measures allow some fish to reach the adult habitats. The whitebait themselves are very sensitive to objects in the river and are adept at dodging the nets.
Whitebait is a traditional food forMāori, and was widely eaten by European settlers in the 19th century. By the 20th century, the price of whitebait rose and it became known as adelicacy.[23] Currently, it commands high prices to the extent that it is the most expensive fish on the market, when available. The wholesale price (NZD) is typically $60–$70 per kilogram ($27–$32/lb), but the retail price can be up to $140 per kilogram ($64/lb).[24] It is normally sold fresh in small quantities, although some are frozen to extend the sale period. Nevertheless, whitebait can normally only be purchased during or close after the netting season. The most popular way of cooking whitebait in New Zealand is the whitebait fritter, which is essentially anomelette containing whitebait. Purists use only theegg white in order to minimise interfering with the taste of the bait.[citation needed]
The degradation of waterways through forest clearance, and the impacts of agriculture and urbanisation, have caused the whitebait catch to decline.[17][25] The loss of suitable spawning habitat has been particularly severe, especially for inanga, which rely on dense riparian vegetation lining the tidal portions of waterways.[25] Amongst other factors, a lack of shade over waterways has been shown to kill developing whitebait eggs.[26]
In the United Kingdom today, whitebait principally refers to the fry ofClupeidae fish, youngsprats, most commonly herring.[27] They are normally deep-fried, coated in flour or a lightbatter, and served very hot with sprinkledlemon juice and bread and butter.
Records of whitebait as a food in England date back to 1612. By the 1780s it was fashionable to dine on whitebait. In those days, whitebait was thought to be a species or group on its own right, and the French zoologistValenciennes proposed that whitebait was a new genus, which he calledRogenia.[27] In 1903, Dr James Murie, in his 'Report on the sea fisheries and fishing industry of the Thames estuary' conducted studies on the contents of boxes sold as whitebait. He discovered that some boxes of whitebait contained up to 31 species of immature fish, including the fry of eel, plaice, whiting, herring sprat and bass, along with shrimp, crab, octopus and even jellyfish.[28]
For Londoners in the 19th century and before, summer excursions down theThames toGreenwich orBlackwall to dine on whitebait were popular. For instance, theCabinet undertook such a trip every year shortly before theprorogation ofParliament.[29] An annual whitebait festival takes place inSouthend.[30]
Residents ofArecibo, Puerto Rico traditionally fish for whitebait at the mouth of theRío Grande de Arecibo. The fish are known locally ascetí and classified asPellona bleekeriana[31] orSicydium plumieri.[32][33]
Elvers are youngeels. Traditionally, fishermen consumed elvers as a cheap dish, but environmental changes have reduced eel populations. Similar to whitebait, they are now considered a delicacy and are priced at up to 1 000euros per kilogram.[34]
Battered and fried babycephalopods (usuallycuttlefish, but sometimessquid oroctopus), known aspuntillitas or chopitos, are popular in southernSpain and theBalearic Islands and possibly elsewhere.[citation needed]
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