Can you sell muttonbird?

Our Tītī are salted and brined in buckets, and sold individually. Tītī are a bird harvested annually by Rakiura Māori, between April and May.

How long do mutton birds last in a bucket?

They are then split longitudinally through the breastbone and their internal organs are removed. Each chick is graded by size, covered with salt, and packed into 10-litre plastic buckets for storage. Preserved in this way and kept cool, the birds can keep for a year or more.

Are mutton birds good eating?

Apart from being a good source of meat, mutton birds are also rich in omega-3 oils, including appreciable quantities of oil found in their stomach (Warham 1977). The reddish-brown colour of the stomach oil of mutton bird has been associated with their feeding on Australian krill (Virtue et al. 1995).

How many mutton birds are in a bucket?

A Grade Buckets range from 16-21 birds, B Grade Buckets range from 22-25 depending on the size of the Mutton Birds.

What does mutton bird taste like?

Muttonbirds, or sooty shearwaters, are known to Māori as tītī. These seabirds, according to one 18th-century commentator, taste remarkably like sheep meat.

What do mutton birds eat?

Fish, squid, crustaceans, molluscs and plankton form the main part of their diet, but some species of shearwater follow ships for scraps or scavenge for food at offshore waste-disposal points.

How do you freeze mutton birds?

seabirds, split and salted for longterm storage. Muttonbirds are split, salted and folded closed, then packed tightly into food grade plastic buckets. They keep for a couple of years if you flip the bucket over regularly during storage.

What do mutton birds taste like?

Where do you find mutton birds?

Places

  1. Mutton Bird Island, Tasmania, Australia. South East Mutton Bird Islet. South West Mutton Bird Islet.
  2. Titi/Muttonbird Islands, New Zealand.

Where do you get mutton birds?

The Titi/Muttonbird Islands are located near Stewart Island in the far south of New Zealand. The islands are not permanently inhabited and are named for the traditional seasonal harvesting of the sooty shearwater by Māori.

Where can you find mutton birds?

Muttonbirds

  • Short-tailed shearwater, a seabird that nests in south-eastern Australia, particularly in the Furneaux Group of islands in eastern Bass Strait.
  • Sooty shearwater, a seabird that nests mainly in New Zealand and islands in the South Atlantic Ocean.

How long do mutton birds live?

Calls are given by birds on the ground or from within their burrows at night and rarely when they are in flight. Early in the breeding season there is much noise in the colonies, especially at night and particularly during the evening arrival. Their birth rate is very low and they only live to 15-19 years approx.

Do Aboriginals still harvest mutton birds?

Aboriginal people still harvest the mutton birds. Our catch and sales are dependent on the sustainability of the harvest. Mutton birds are a delicacy to eat, with a rich oily flavour unlike any other. bird has been cleaned. These birds are called “plucked”. Plucked birds are sold as frozen (25 per box) or in brine (50 to the barrel).

What does muttonbird taste like?

Muttonbird, also known as tītī or sooty shearwater, have the texture of a bird but a taste similar to fish from the prestigious diet of fish, squid and shrimp-like krill. Split longitudinally through the breastbone before being graded by size, muttonbird are covered with salt and packed into 10-litre plastic buckets for storage.

Why is it called Muttonbird Island?

The islands are not permanently inhabited and are named for the traditional seasonal harvesting of the sooty shearwater by Māori . Muttonbird, also known as tītī or sooty shearwater, have the texture of a bird but a taste similar to fish from the prestigious diet of fish, squid and shrimp-like krill.

How do you store muttonbirds?

Split longitudinally through the breastbone before being graded by size, muttonbird are covered with salt and packed into 10-litre plastic buckets for storage. Preserved in this way and kept cool, the birds can keep for a year or more. Please read our delivery details before placing an order..