Ko Au te Whenua, Ko Te Whenua Ko Au. (I am the Land, and the Land is Me) 
2025

Growing up in Tasmania, surrounded by the ocean, we would be spoiled with kai moana a few times a week— from seared tuna, crayfish salad, to Dad’s famous crumbed flathead! Without fail, every time I cook fish with my mum, the same story surfaces: her memory of nan and aunties, fighting over who gets to eat the tamure (snapper) eyes. As kids this story grossed us out - why bother messing with the bones and heads when the best bits are the fillets? That's how they came to us.

That preference—fillets over whole fish—wasn’t just a personal preference, it’s manufactured. Consumerism packages food in sterile ways, glorifying certain cuts: boneless, skinless, ‘prime’. Supermarkets rarely sell whole fish anymore, reasoning that the consumer feedback is that they are unwanted. The reality for fish heads is similar to that of ‘imperfect produce’. Supermarkets argue that consumers  don't buy them–consumers don't buy them because they’ve never see them, and so don’t know how to use them! This perpetuating conflict over food’s ease and aesthetic distances us from food literacy, and is made only 
worse by waste!

Fish has a generally accepted yield of just 36-38% (the lowest of any other meats), with the majority being lost though the frames and the head. Wasting these parts not only feeds the fillet agenda, but also raises prices—a 60% loss on yield that needs to be made back on the fabricated luxuries that remain.

When I moved to Naarm, I soon realised just how much more expensive seafood could get. So, I followed my Aunties lead. To satisfy cravings and stretch my budget, I started buying whole fish from the market—snacking on heads, simmering frames for broth. A love for fish heads, born from necessity.

Sustainability often begins there: not in luxury, but in necessity. For Māori, this necessity is built into culture, a call to care for the land as we care for ourselves:

Ko au te whenua, ko te whenua ko au — I am the land, and the land is me.   

Filming and Editing: Storm Bloomfield
Assited by Romaine McSweeney

Recipe:
3kg fish heads/frames (whatever the fishmonger gives you)
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 Onions, peeled and thinly sliced
6 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced
2 Tbsp  ginger, chopped or grated
2 Chilli,  thinly sliced
400ml coconut cream 
2tsp fennel seeds
1 lime, Juice and zest

Seasonal veg (in this case):
Fennel, 1 small or ½ large , diced
Celery, 2 sticks, thinly sliced
Coriander, rough chopped

1. Simmer the fish heads and frames in barely boiling water (to stop creating excess scum). Remove the frames after 8 minutes, and the heads after 10 and set aside to cool. Strain the stock, and set aside. Once cooled, pick off all edible meat, discarding bones and any scales.
   
   
2. In a large pot, Sauté onions, garlic, and ginger until lightly caramelised. Stir in fennel and celery and cook until they begin to soften.
   
   
3. Add chilli, fennel seeds and lime zest. Once fragrant, add lime juice and the set aside fish stock. Let this come to the boil and reduce while you pick the fish heads 
   
   
4. Pick apart the fish heads and frames (Most of the meat is at the back of the head and around the collar). Don't forget the cheeks and eyes!
   
   
5. Once reduced by about half, add the coconut cream and bring back to a simmer. Throw in the fish meat, heat for a couple minutes and serve!