John Dory belong to the Zeidae family.  They are solitary fish that have a range of habitats, from reefs to sand and mud bottoms.

They have an olive-brown to silver body with green-brown wavy stripes and a distinctive, dark blue spot ringed with white in the centre of each side.

John Dory Fishery

John Dory are found in the warm waters around the North Island of New Zealand - most commonly north of the Bay of Plenty.  They are caught year-round, often in mixed species trawl catches of Snapper and Tarakihi, and by Danish seiners.

New Zealand's John Dory fishery is managed by strict quotas, which allow only a set amount of John Dory to be taken commercially each year. This Total Allowable Commercial Catch (TACC) was set at 1,146 metric tonnes for the 2009/10 fishing year.

John Dory Meat Quality

John Dory has medium flakes and is white when cooked.  It is suitable for most cooking methods and has good Omega-3 levels.

For meal ideas using John Dory, check out recipes on the Greatest Meal on Earth website.