Chilean Sea Bass Flavor Profile
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Chilean Sea Bass has a fabulous taste and an almost sinful mouth-feel. Its high fat content keeps it moist during cooking and gives it a rich, moist, tender flavor profile which melts in your mouth. It has white flesh with large, tender flakes. I usually cook it to 125° F, about medium (note that the Health Dept. recommends 135° for fish).
Alternate Names
Patagonian Toothfish, Antarctic Toothfish, Antarctic Cod, Icefish, Black hake, Antarctic Blenny, Patagonian Blenny, Icefish, Mero, Bacalao de profundidad, Merluza Negra, Légine australe
Typical Cooking Methods
- Bake
- Broil
- Deep-Fry
- Grill
- Poach
- Saute
- Smoke
- Steam
- Sushi
Chilean Sea Bass Description (Dissostichus eleginoides, Dissostichus mawsoni)
Image from Wikipedia-click for licensingChilean Sea Bass are actually Patagonian Toothfish (eleginoides) orAntarctic Toothfish (mawsoni) and not a true bass. The average commercial market size is about 20-40 lbs but they can weigh up to 200 lbs. Almost all Chilean Sea Bass is frozen at sea and is almost never available fresh. But these flash frozen fish are very high quality.
Typical Wholesale Products
H&G, Loins, Skin-on Fillets, Skin-off Fillets
Fresh Availability
Fresh seafood availability chart: green areas show peak availability, light green show limited availability, gray indicates not available fresh, but high quality flash frozen product is available all year long.
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Chilean Sea Bass Butchering Yield %
| Item | To Skin/On Fillets | To Skin/Off Fillets | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whole Head/Off gutted | — | 65% – 75% | If you have yield info on this fish please comment below. |
| Skn/On Top Loin (no belly) | — | 90% |
Range & Habitat
Chilean Sea Bass are caught in both the eastern & western waters of southern South America and southern South Africa. They dwell at depths of between 5,000 – 6,000 feet deep and are caught by longliners.
Chilean Sea Bass Sustainability Info
| Name | Alternate Names | Catch Method | Where Caught |
Seafood Watch |
Ocean Wise |
Sea Choice |
Mercury Concerns |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Patagonian Toothfish, Antarctic Toothfish |
Chilean Sea Bass, Black hake, Antarctic Blenny, Patagonian Blenny, Icefish | Longline, Bottom trawl, Chilean Longline, Traps | Crozet Islands, Prince Edward and Marion Islands, Chile |  |
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Yes |
| Longline | Heard and McDonald Islands, Falkland Islands, Macquarie Island |  |
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| South Georgia, Kerguelen Islands |
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| Ross Sea | |
n/a | |
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Marine Stewardship Council (MSC)There are currently 6 Chilean Sea Bass fisheries which are certified sustainable by MSC:
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| Disclaimer: The sustainability info here is accurate to the best of our knowledge. However, each program randomly updates their information without our knowledge. We therefore recommend that you verify the current accuracy of this information. | |||||||
| = Best Choice/Recommended = Good Alternative = Avoid/Not Recommended |
Updated April 2013 |
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In April 2013, after a one year reassessment of the fishery, the Seafood Watch updated the status and rating of Chilean Sea Bass to include some “Best Choice” and “Good Alternative” options. This is due to a major improvement in the management of the fishery, a decrease in bycatch due to the use of improved gear, and a decrease in pirating and illegal fishing.
There are are also several fisheries which are certified sustainable by the MSC (Marine Stewardship Counsel).
MSC certified Chilean Sea Bass does not fall under the “Avoid” categorization for Seafood Watch. And Ocean Wise states, “The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) has certified the small South Georgian Chilean Sea Bass fishery as ‘sustainable’ but this fishery only represents a small proportion of Chilean Sea Bass catches.” Any vendor, restaurant, or grocery store that states they are selling an MSC product is required to have the MSC “Chain of Custody” certification.
The former rating of “Avoid” was based on the 2006 Seafood Watch Report which suggested the following:
“The majority of Chilean Sea Bass is considered to be over-fished. Additionally, most of the long-line gear which is used is unmodified and as a result it traps and drowns thousands of sea birds including endangered albatross. Because of its popularity, many fish are also caught illegally.”
Nutritional Informationbased upon a 6 oz (171 grams) raw edible serving.
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Comments from before Site Migration
Thanks for the update DISSOSTICHUS! I’ll review this an update the page soon.
I would change a few things on this page:
1. Change Alternate Names to: Patagonian toothfish, Antarctic toothfish, Black hake, Mero, Bacalao de profundidad, Merluza Negra, Légine australe
(this is referenced from the Marine Stewardship Council website).
2. Add “or Antarctic Toothfish,” to: Chilean Sea Bass Description (Dissostichus eleginoides)
Chilean Sea Bass are actually Patagonian toothfish or Antarctic toothfish, and not a true bass.
3. Add “Skin on fillet” to Typical Wholesale Products
4. Patagonian is spelt wrong in the “Name” section of Chilean Sea Bass Sustainability Info
5. Add “traps” to catch method.
6. There are now 4 toothfish fisheries that are independently certified by the MSC as sustainable and well managed fisheries – South Georgia, Ross Sea, Heard Island, Macquarie Island (this represents 30% of all toothfish harvested worldwide), plus there are 2 more fisheries undergoing assessment (Falkland Islands, Kerguelen Islands) (which is an additional 26% of worldwide catch).
7. I would also remove the statement as this is vastly outdated and inaccurate. (see CCAMLR reports, COLTO website or MSC website for references with scientific backup).
“The majority of Chilean Sea Bass is considered to be over-fished. Additionally, most of the long-line gear which is used is unmodified and as a result it traps and drowns thousands of sea birds including endangered albatross. Because of its popularity, many fish are also caught illegally.”
Cheers
Thanks Ron, always appreciate helpful info to add. It is especially hard to find butchering yields.
Skin Off Chilean Sea bass is approx a 54% yield.
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Hi there. SeaChoice and OceanWise recommendations need to be updated. Also, there are now 6 MSC certified fisheries (need to add Kerguelen, and Falkland Islands to your list)
Thanks Martin – I updated the MSC fisheries…I’ll try to get to the other recommendations soon.
Thanks for updating the recommendations on MSC,
and happy to work with you to update the SeaChoice and Oceanwise
recommendations if you need any input as well
Would LOVE any help offered @martinexel:disqus. With nearly 500 pages on this site I’m unable to keep content as current as I’d like.