Arripis trutta, (Forster, 1801)
Arripis trutta, known as the Australian salmon in Australia and as kahawai in New Zealand, is a South Pacific marine fish and one of the four extant species within the genus Arripis, native to the cooler waters around the southeastern Australian coasts and the New Zealand coastline. Other common names for this species include Eastern Australian salmon, Eastern Australian mackerel, bay trout, blackback salmon (or just "black back"), buck salmon (or "buck"), cocky salmon, colonial salmon, woolley Judith, newfish and salmon trout.
Although it is referred to as "salmon" in Australian English and its species epithet trutta is Latin for trout, it is not related to true salmons or trouts, which belong to the family Salmonidae of the order Salmoniformes. All Arripis species belong to the family Arripidae of the order Scombriformes.
Arripis trutta is a streamlined fish with a long and slender body. There is a bony ridge edge of bone beneath and in front of each eye which has obvious serrations in smaller individuals. In larger fish the scales feel smooth. The lobes of the caudal fin are equivalent in length to the head.
Arripis trutta is found in the southwestern Pacific Ocean mostly around the littoral waters of the Tasman Sea and Bass Strait. In Australia, they are found from Moreton Bay in Queensland to western Victoria and northern Tasmania, with infrequent records at Kangaroo Island in South Australia. They are also found around Lord Howe Island and Norfolk Island in the open waters of the Tasman Sea. In New Zealand, they are distributed around the coasts but are more common north of Kaikōura on the South Island. They are also found around the Chatham Islands and Kermadec Islands east of New Zealand.
Arripis trutta is a major traditional food for Māori. Many tribes would migrate to river mouths in summer months, when kahawai would swarm. Kahawai could be caught using flecks of iridescent pāua shells, or by using a pā kahawai, a specialised hook that incorporated pāua shell in the design. The name kahawai is specific to Māori language, as the word is not used for any similar species of fish across Polynesia.
Early European settlers to New Zealand did not like the fish, describing it as dry, coarse and flavourless. Over time the fish grew in popularity, and is now one of the most caught recreational fish in the country.
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