Eastern Sea Garfish

When Caught

Year round, with peak supply of southern garfish from March through May

Important Features

Wild/Farmed: Wild
Habitat: Saltwater, estuarine and freshwater, Caught in rivers, bays and estuaries, and on occasions along the coast
Recovery Rate: Fillets: 47% from whole garfish (gut in)

Eastern Sea Garfish Research

FRDC provides a comprehensive search of the latest research papers and images on Eastern Sea Garfish

Remarks

When garfish are purchased whole, the gut must be removed promptly to avoid staining of the flesh by the gut contents.

Small quantities of garfish are sold for sashimi.

To remove bones, place garfish belly-side down and roll along the length of the backbone a few times with a rolling pin. This separates the bones from the flesh, allowing them to be removed with some ease.

Imports

nil

Common Size

>33cm

Grading

Rarely graded although river garfish are sometimes graded as presented below

Eastern Sea Garfish (Hyporhamphus australis)

Photograph by CSIRO

Nutrition Facts

per 100g of raw product

Kilojoules	na
Cholesterol	32mg
Sodium	na
Total fat (oil)	0.7g
Saturated fat	37% of total fat
Monounsaturated fat	18% of total fat
Polyunsaturated fat	45% of total fat
Omega-3, EPA	22mg
Omega-3, DHA	109mg
Omega-6, AA	22mg

Cooking Ideas

Bake	Boil	Deep Fry
Grill/barbecue	Poach	Raw
Roe	Roe & Milk	Salted
Shallow Fry	Smoke	Steam/microwave

Note: Cooking Ideas identified by dark bold text are relevant to this species

Garfish are small and rather tasty. They can be filleted to produce attractive boned-out, butterfly fillets, which are exceptional for delicate dishes.

For best effect, cook garfish whole and deep fried. Larger species can be filleted, coated in batter and fried or grilled on a very hot plate, with the skin on and lightly dusted with seasoned flour.

Poaching or steaming garfish fillets in a court bouillon will cause the fillets to curl up into half moon shapes which can be attractively served with a salad of buttered sage, snow pea runners and lemon butter.

Flavour: Medium, Sweet and delicate flavour
Oiliness: Low
Moisture: Medium to Moist
Texture: Soft to medium, Very fine flakes
Flesh Colour: Grey
Thickness: Thin fillets
Bones: Garfish have a backbone, which can be removed, and fine rib bones that are often eaten.
Price: Garfish are medium-priced finfish.

Suggested Wines

Being sweet and delicate in flavour, garfish should be accompanied by the more floral, delicate riesling wines, such as those from the Barossa or Clare Valley areas of South Australia.

For the garfish recipe from Greg Doyle and Steve Hodges of the Pier Restaurant at Rose Bay (p. 289), more full-bodied varietals such as viogniers or marsanne are recommended to complement the stronger flavours.

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