Kahawai national treasure

The Kahawai bears a superficial resemblance to a salmon. Photo / Supplied

In Australia, the early European settlers called it salmon. But it isn't a salmon at all. There is a superficial resemblance and this is recognised in its scientific name, Arripis trutta, which refers to its trout-like appearance. There are, in fact, no members of the salmonid family native to any waters below the equator. They were introduced to the rivers and lakes in this country, Australia, South Africa and South America, mainly for their sporting values. And no salmonids spend their whole lives in the sea.

But we know the Australian salmon by its Maori name, kahawai, and it is found only in Anzac waters. It is a true saltwater fish, although it will enter rivers and travel up into the freshwater zone beyond the reach of the salinity. Our kahawai used to be much maligned and regarded as good only for bait or feeding the cat. Maori have always recognised its true value and caught it in large numbers, preserving the catch by smoking and bottling.

But today the kahawai enjoys a high status. It is a family-friendly fish; a sort of entry-level target for the budding angler. It will eagerly grab a bait or a lure, and then the fun begins, for it performs like a hooked salmon, leaping out of the water and then tearing away and zipping line from the reel. It fights all the way to the side of the boat and, while Kiwi anglers are learning to respect its ability against a bending rod, others from around the world are always awed when they hook their first kahawai.

In the 1970s, we used to cast trout flies and spinners at kahawai in the Bay of Plenty and the Bay of Islands, and on a slender fly rod a kahawai makes a trout look like a damp squid. If connected tail-to-tail, a kahawai would pull a trout backwards so fast it would drown quickly. But a trout offers a different perspective. It lives in beautiful places and is delicate, and offers special challenges compared with the robust dynamism of its "cousin".

As well as in the smokehouse, the kahawai performs well when chilled, sliced thinly and served with soy sauce and wasabi. In fish cakes, it is magnificent.

Until recently, our kahawai stocks were in trouble as the commercial harvest was uncontrolled and whole schools were scooped up by the tonne and shipped off to Australia as crayfish bait. But, in 2004, a quota was introduced and set the catch limit at just more than 3000 tonnes. It has since been challenged legally by recreational fishing bodies who want to reduce the harvest and have kahawai recognised for its sporting values. But stocks are improving; in the past summer kahawai have been thick around our coast. In fact, some snapper fishermen were complaining about the abundance of kahawai and how they couldn't get a bait down to the bottom without hooking them. How the worm turns.

The growth in light sporting techniques such as saltwater fly-fishing and casting soft baits has helped grow the appreciation of our kahawai.
They are found easily. Just look for the fluttering "kahawai birds", which are white-fronted terns. They enjoy a symbiotic relationship with the kahawai, which herd schools of small bait fish and drive them to the surface. Then it is a simple matter of either trolling a lure, like the traditional green plastic jigs, or a small trout lure like a toby spinner or a silver smelt fly. Lures with little weight will skim across the surface so a small sinker can be added 1m ahead of the lure to take it down. Or you can drift and cast a lure or fly into the melee. Many anglers make the mistake of driving their boat through the middle of the activity, which will disperse the fish. It makes far more sense to just clip the edge of the work-up, or even anticipate the direction it is moving and fish there.

Whether catching your kahawai as live bait, for sashimi or the smoker, they are not hard to catch and on light tackle they will improve your angling skills.

Those setting a long-line or casting a whole fillet on to a reef for an old-man snapper also know the value of fresh kahawai bait after the scales have been scraped off.

No wonder the humble fish is now so popular, and should be protected as a national treasure.