Put a barra on the barbie

There is nothing better than grilled seafish to celebrate Christmas in Australia

THE scenic flights that head north from Broome provide some breathtaking views of the West Australian coastline but, as passengers fly over Cone Bay, they might spot something surprising below.

More than 30 rings float on the surface of the bay’s turquoise water, looking like some sort of giant prehistoric jellyfish.

They are, in fact, part of large, underwater cages that are home to hundreds of thousands of barramundi at various stages of growth.

When they reach full size, at about 4kg, these fish will be plucked from the sea, processed and sent around the country as one of our most sought-after seafoods.

The pristine waters and the huge tides of Cone Bay make it a perfect site for raising the barramundi, says Richard Buczak, sales and marketing manager at Marine Produce Australia, the farm’s owner.

“If you scoop up a glass of water from Cone Bay, you will see straight through it,” Richard says.

“Our barramundi are oceanfarmed so you will always get a clean, consistent marine flavour. It is never earthy or muddy.”

The barramundi are hatched and graded, then transferred to a “nursery” on Turtle Island in Cone Bay. They are raised by hand until reaching about 100g when they are moved out to the sea cages where they will stay for more than two years.

During this time, they are fed with floating pellets and kept fit and active as they work hard to stay in one place against the force of a tide that can rise and fall by up to 11m in this part of the world.

“Our fish is swimming a lot,” Richard says. “It is an athlete. This means it has very little fat through it and what it has is evenly distributed making the flesh like wagyu (marbled beef ).”

When the fish reach 4kg (about 67cm long), they are taken from the water and put in an ice slurry, before being transported by boat to the port of Derby, and then by truck to Fremantle for distribution around the country.

Richard says a barramundi fillet is easy to cook on a barbecue hotplate or pan.

He recommends frying flesh side down at medium heat for four minutes, sprinkling the skin with salt while it cooks. Then flip the fillet over, turn the heat up to high and cook for another four to five minutes.

“The skin will crisp up like pork crackling,” he says.

For Christmas Day, he reckons you can’t beat grilled barramundi and prawns.

“That is your Australian Christmas seafood barbecue,” he says. “Aussie prawns and Aussie barra. Simple.”

Richard is passionate about protecting the name barramundi, which is an Aboriginal word, and changing legislation so it cannot be used to sell imported fish, most often Asian sea bass.

“Consumers, particularly when they dine out, need to ask where the produce is from, particularly if it is barramundi,” he says.