Handling and preparing seafood
New Zealand’s world-leading Quota Management System ensures that fish stocks are sustainable into the future so New Zealand seafood will always be available for your family to enjoy.
It’s not difficult to cut and prepare your own seafood — just follow the instructions we give on this page. Remember to handle the fish carefully from the time you buy it, right through to when you cook it. This way you get the best texture and flavour from your meal.
How to handle fresh fish
Keep fresh fish chilled
Fish spoils if you leave it warming in your car while you finish your shopping. To avoid this, take a small chilly bin or bag with you when you go shopping, and put the fish into it as soon as you can.
Fish is easiest to handle when it is chilled between 1C and +4C. That ¡s a bit cooler than most home refrigerators, so put the fish on ice in the fridge as soon as you get home.
More about how to store seafood
Handle fresh fish with care
Preparing your own fresh fish is easy, remember: chilled fish is easier to handle & doesn’t readily damage. Use sharp knives & always slice the flesh - don't saw it.
Fish is delicate — be gentle and handle it with care. If you handle fish roughly the flesh may bruise, which will spoil the flavour and texture of your meal.
Only cut fish with a sharp knifeAlways use a sharp knife to cut fish and do not saw it. A dull knife will break and bruise the flesh and you won’t get the best results. You can use sharp scissors to cut off fins and the heads and tails of flatfish.
How to gut a whole fish
Ask your fishmonger to gut fish for you if you prefer not to do this yourself. But it isn’t difficult to do yourself if you know how. Follow these steps:
1. Place the fish on a flat surface facing away from you.
2. Use a sharp knife to make a cut in the belly of the fish from the vent (just in front of the tail) to just under the gills.
3. Use your hand to ease the guts out of the fish. This is easier to do under cold running water.
4. Clean the inside of the fish under cold running water. (Use a spoon to scrape the cavity clean if you need to.)
How to cut and prepare fish
How to fillet a round-bodied fish
 1. With fish facing away from you, cut along the back of the fish, from tail to head. Make a second cut just behind the gills, down to the backbone. |
 2. Hold the knife at a slight angle and cut along the bone to free the back side of the fillet. |
 3. Peel back the free meat, and cut the fillet away from the rib cage. Turn the fish over and repeat this process to cut a second fillet. |
How to fillet a flat fish
 1.With the dark side of the flatfish up. use a flexible boning knofe to make a cut along the spine from the gills to the tail. |
 2. Slide the blade between backbone and flesh. lifting the fillet away from the bone. Remove the second fillet in the same manner, then turn the fish over and repeat this step for two more fillets. |
 3. To cut the skin off, hold the fillet by the tail end, skin side down. Hold the knife at a slight angle and cut the meat free from the skin. |
How to cut steaks from a round fish
 1. Use the point of your knife to cut off the fins from a cleaned, scaled fish. Then use a heavy knife to cut off the head. To do this, make a diagonal cut behind the gills and through the backbone. |
 2. Start to slick steaks about 11cm from the head end of the fish. Slice the fish into steaks about 2-4cm thick. |
How to clean and prepare shellfish
Shellfish are abundant in New Zealand and can play an important part in a balanced diet. Scallops and oysters are best shucked open while raw — we show you how to do this here. Cockles and pipi can be opened raw in the same way as scallops, but they are best opened (like mussels) by steaming. If you’ve gathered them yourself, you should let cockles and pipi sit for a while in fresh seawater before you start to open them. This allows them to flush out the sand they contain.
How to open scallops
 1. Wash thoroughly and throw away any fish that have broken shells or shells that do not close. Wear a heavy glove for safety, and hold the shellfish in your palm (cupped side down for scallops). |
 2. Force the blade of a short knife between the shells. Run the knife around the edge of the shell to cut through the muscles holding it together. |
 3. Open the shellfish and remove the top shell. Use your knife to loosen the meat from bottom shell. Only keep the roe and white meat of scallops: throw the rest away. Check for shell fragments before starting to cook. |
How to shuck an oyster
 1. Hold the oyster under cold running water and scrub it with a stiff brush. Throw away any oysters that are not tightly closed or that do not close quickly when you do this. |
 2. Place the oyster, cupped side down, on a firm surface, and holding it with a gloved hand near the hinge. Insert an oyster knife in the side opposite the hinge, and twist knife blade to force the oyster open. |
 3. Run the knife around the edge of the shell to cut the muscle that holds the two shells together. |
 4. Remove the top shell, and loosen the oyster from bottom shell. Check for shell fragments before serving. |
How to clean a mussel
 1.Hold the mussel under cold running water and scrub with a stiff brush. |
 2.Clip or pull beard. Rinse musssel before cooking. |
How to prepare rock lobsters, crabs and prawns
You can buy rock lobsters (crayfish) and crabs live, freshly cooked, and sometimes frozen. If you buy them live, kill (dispatch) them as soon as possible to prevent changes in the flesh texture and flavour. Plunging them into boiling water will toughen the flesh.
To dispatch or kill a rock lobster or crab humanely chill it in the freezer for at least 30 minutes, and longer for larger rock lobster or crabs.
How to prepare a dispatched rock lobster (crayfish) for grilling
 1.Cut off the legs with a sharp knife |
 2.Push the knife into the abdomen, and cut through the undershell toward the head, leaving the back shell intact. |
 3.Cut toward the tail. |
 4.Press the lobster apart. |
 5.Remove sand sac from head, and remove the intestines. |
How to crack a raw, dispatched crab
 1.Remove the crab's back, by taking hold of the crab in one hand and forcing off the shell with the other. |
 2.Use a small, heavy knife to cut away the gills. Wash out the intestines and spongy matter. |
 3.Break off the claws and crack them with the knife handle, a mallet, or the back of a cleaver. Use the knife to prise meat out if necessary. Twist legs loose from the body, crack them, and remove the meat. |
 4.Cut the body down the middle, and cut the halves into smaller pieces. Use the point of the knife to remove the lump of meat from each side of the rear portion of the body. |
 5.Remove the remainder of the meat by prising upward with the knife. |
How to dress a prawn
Prawns are sold cooked or raw, but New Zealand has no live prawn fishery. Prawns offered for sale in New Zealand are imported raw.
 1.Use a sharp knife to make a shallow cut along the back of the prawn, from head to tail. Peel off the shell and legs. Leave the shell on the tail if you like. Hold the prawn under cold running water and use a toothpick to hook out the vein. |
 2.To butterfly, cut along the back of the prawn, but not all the way through. Spread the halves open. |