As a barra of fact! Fun facts about the nation's favourite fish

Clear your calendars everyone, because National Barramundi Day will be celebrating its third birthday this year on 22nd October and we are SO excited!

If you're anything like us, you already love barramundi every day of the year, but National Barramundi Day truly is the day to celebrate ALL THINGS BARRAMUNDI – from the wonderful farmers raising the fish, to the restaurants doing beautiful things with it!

With that said, we thought in the leadup to National Barramundi Day, why not take this chance to dive into some of our FAVOURITE fun facts about this ex-squid-site (wink wink) fish?!

Who runs the world? GIRLS

By now you may already know that all barramundi are born as males and turn into females after approximately 5-6 years. However, new research from Charles Darwin University highlights how the transition of gender can be more closely related to the size of the barramundi, rather than age – that is, faster-growing barramundi will change sex at a younger age.

Reason being, large females are the most valuable breeders, as they produce more eggs (up to 32 million per season) and are more successful at passing on her genes, while smaller male barra are quicker at swimming around and fertilising them!

If you like it then you shoulda put a ring on it… an age ring, that is!

A barramundi’s age can be discovered by checking out the number of rings on their scales or otoliths (‘ear bones’). The more rings on the scales - the older the fish! - As Beyonce says “Cause if you like it then you shoulda put a ring on it” (age ring of course). 

On the other hand, a young barramundi can be distinguished by a white primitive marking on their dorsal (spine). Speaking of their fishy-cal appearance - did you know some barramundi can grow up to 120cm long and weigh 41kg?! 

Say my name, say my name…

Did you know the word “barramundi” comes from the Gangulu language group in Central Queensland and translates to “large scale river fish”? There are several Dream Time stories that mention barramundi – making it an age-old national icon!

We believe there is no other fish that is as patriotic to Australia as the barramundi, which is why we encourage everyone to #askforaussiebarra and celebrate with us on National Barramundi Day on the 22nd of October.

If you’re looking for some easy and DELICIOUS recipes, look no further than our FREE recipe cookbook created by Australia’s best chefs.