#luderick

You get a Luderick

Girella tricuspidata

Luderick

Image source

Status: No IUCN evaluation

One of a bunch of stuff I somehow failed to cover from my last time in Sydney.

A Nibbler first formally described as Boops tricuspidatus in 1824 by Jean René Constant Quoy & Joseph Paul Gaimard, but also as Doydixodon australis and Aplodon margaritiferum. Common names include parore in New Zealand, black bream, black snapper, blackfish, or, unfortunately, ni󠀡󠀡g󠀡󠀡g󠀡󠀡er fish.

Quoy & Gaimard gave the type location as Shark Bay, Western Australia, which is weird since it isn't found there.  Native to eastern Australia and New Zealand, where schools feed on seaweed and small invertebrates.

For some reason, the species developed a poor reputation in New Zealand in the early colonial period, allegedly due to bad flavour, but it remains a popular target fish and sometimes a commercial fishery in Australia. Anglers catch them using seaweed as bait.