FISHY BUSINESS
Moki Name: Blue moki Māori names: Moki
and be sure to use the species’ preferred foods as bait: think shellfish (mussel, tuatua) and crab, and the moki-mad angler’s favourite – crayfish parts. Despite their lush lips, moki mouths are relatively small for their size – so be sure to keep baits little so they can take them in one.
Scientific name: Latridopsis ciliaris Looks like: A species of trumpeter with an attractive elliptical silhouette, a deeply forked tail, large scales and thick, fleshy lips. A blue moki has a grey-blue body with broad dark bands across its back, and is silver/white on its side and belly. A comparatively long-lived species, moki can survive for more than 30 years (the oldest recorded was 43), and grow up to 80cm long – though most don’t exceed 63cm.
Cook: Blue moki fillets are firm and slightly flaky and hold their shape well, making them suitable for many cooking methods, from pan frying to poaching to currying. Did you know? Because of the location of their spawning grounds, moki are culturally important for East Cape and Cape Runaway iwi. In his 1951 book The Autobiography of a Maori, Ngāti Porou clergyman, journalist, farmer and historian Reweti T Kohere wrote about the ritual surrounding the opening of moki season, in a section titled “The Sacred Moki”: “Very early in the morning, long before sunrise, the removers of the tapu put out in their canoe, without tasting food and even without using the beloved pipe. … On the return of the fishers, a woman prepares the hangi in which the moki caught that day are cooked and eaten by the fishers only… Other fish which were not moki were not eaten, but were suspended on a tree as offerings to Pou, the god of fish.”
Habitat: Blue moki are native to the south-western Pacific Ocean around New Zealand, sometimes also occurring off the south east coast of Australia. Every winter, adults travel along the east coast to their only known spawning ground between East Cape and Mahia, for the most part travelling south again afterwards (most moki are caught south of this point, though some will be found as far north as Auckland and even the Three Kings Islands). Juvenile moki inhabit rocky reefs inshore, whereas most adults hang out offshore, schooling over open, muddy bottoms. Feeds on: Bue moki are carnivorous and pass their time sucking crabs and other crustaceans, shellfish and worms from the mud.
If they were human they would be: attractive and slim with an impressive pout, plus fussy about what they’re fed – we see moki as the supermodel of New Zealand’s waters.
Catch: Rarely caught by accident, as fishing for blue moki requires careful targeting. Look for sandy or muddy bottoms in close proximity to rocks and reefs,
Remarkably Fresh Fish
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