Fishing guru Matt Watson’s hook-up app for fish head lovers

Extreme fisherman Matt Watson with a kingfish caught off the Karikari Peninsula.

By RNZ

For every kilo of fish you give to somebody to eat, that’s a kilo of fish still swimming in the ocean, says TV fishing personality Matt Watson.

That’s why he’s been on a mission to connect fish head eaters with fish head catchers for over 10 years.

The latest version of his hook-up app for fish head lovers launches Friday.

“It’s kind of like Tinder – we want people to use the Free Fish Heads app, find somebody they give they can give their fish heads to, form a relationship [through which] they’re reducing waste, and they’re going to get on and, hopefully, they’ll never need to use the app again because they’ve found their fish head match,” Watson told RNZ.

Fishing legend Matt Watson is relaunching his app Free Fish Heads.

While the app has been around for a while, it was in need of a refresh, he said.

“The developers we were using are no longer around and we couldn’t get it updated. So, when new versions of Google Maps came out, the app was getting clunky, and I needed some help running it.”

He’s partnered up with LegaSea and the Kai Ika project, which diverts fish heads, frames and offal which were previously going to waste to bring the app up to date, he said.

“The Kai Ika project is very similar, except they literally gather and distribute the fish heads as well.

Free Fish Heads is an extension of is an extension of the Kai Ika project, which has distributed more than 500,000kg of fish heads and frames to whānau and local communities.

“So by having an efficient app, it means we can do peer-to-peer gifting of unwanted fish heads and frames, and you [can] get that beautiful thing where you’re going to meet some other cool Kiwis and get to know them through the act of giving.”

As well as getting kai to people that would otherwise go to waste, the app is building bridges, he said.

“Two groups of New Zealanders that wouldn’t normally mix; fish head eaters and non-fish head eaters don’t always move in the same social circles.

“It’s like the golf club and local pub – people not always crossing paths. And there’s been so many stories on the social media pages of people [who] have formed friendships.”

So how does Watson cook up his fish heads?

“The easiest way to do it is take the gills out – you can leave the wings on. If you’re really fussy, you could scale it.

“I just throw that head and wings on a baking tray, [with] a little bit of olive oil on it. Maybe chop up some onions, [add a] squeeze of lemon.”

Bake for 20 minutes and you’re away, he said.

“Just pick it straight out of the roasting dish. All the scraps can go straight back in – no dishes.”