Trevally
Rating
Standard Names
Black Trevally, Silver Trevally, Bluefin Trevally, Bigeye Trevally, Giant Trevally, and other species
AMCS lists Trevally as BETTER CHOICE and Silver Trevally as THINK TWICE. Silver Trevally from both Corner Inlet, Vic and Port Phillip Bay, Vic have been assessed and recognised as a sustainable product by the Australian Conservation Foundation's 'Victorian Sustainable Seafood Assessment Project'. IUCN Redlist of Threatened Species lists Bigeye Trevally as 'Least Concern'. Forest & Bird (NZ) rank Silver Trevally D (AMBER - CONCERNS) in their Best Fish Guide Silver Trevally is sometimes sold as 'Silver Bream', a confusing mislabelling that inhibits the consumer's ability to make an informed purchasing choice.
The Trevally's, of which there are at least 50 species in Australian waters, are unrelated to Blue-eye Trevalla and the Warehou family (including the Silver and Blue Warehou, often mislabelled as Trevally's) but are related to Samson Fish, Yellowtail Kingfish and Queenfish. They occur in schools in marine pelagic environments, mostly in Northern Australian waters. Mostly caught as bycatch of other fisheries, especially trawl but also including seine and gillnet fisheries.
Preparation and cooking
TREVALLY has firm, dense, slightly oily meat. They can be dry if overcooked, but Grilled, BBQ’d or Pan Fried lightly they are a pleasant eating fish. Skin is usually taken off to remove the dark oily bloodline.
Sustainable Alternatives
Mullet
MULLET has a distinct flavour and light oilyness. Fillets are a suitable alternative to Trevally, and whole fish can be roasted, grilled, BBQ’d or fried.
Australian Salmon
The oily, darkish flesh of Australian Salmon is very similar to that of Trevally. It BBQ’s very well. Like Trevally, care should be taken with larger specimens to prevent the flesh from drying out. As with Trevally, removing the dark bloodline of Australian Salmon will result in a milder flavour.