Rabbit Fish-Kordonnyen

The rabbit fish known as stinging bream, black spinefoot or happy moments (Australian), is a tasty fish that possesses extremely spiny dorsal and anal fins. A very popular fish that has to be handled with care as the needle-sharp and rigid dorsal and anal spines are capable of inflicting painful, but not dangerous, wounds. Watch out for the forward projecting spine in the front of the first dorsal. This spine is not visible and faces forward and it probably the worst of the lot.

The local name kordonnyen is derived from the French word ‘cordonnier’ which is a shoemaker. The name may have originated from the shoemaker spinefoot/ rabbit fish, locally known as kordonnyen, which is a widely found all over the Indian Ocean.

The body is compressed and ovate with a rounded snout that is reminiscent of a rabbit’s. They are herbivorous and are frequently encountered in the areas where sea grass meadows and the coral formations meet. They are mostly abundant during their spawning season, locally known as lapondant, and is found in great quanties around the Consolation area of Praslin Island. The flesh is white and fairly coarse. The kordonyen are usually caught in fish traps and salted when in abundance. The roe is a delicacy and I prefer it shallow fried with onion and chilli dressing.

There are different types of kordonnyen, including the streamlined rabbit fish or kordonnyen soul fanm; the blue-spotted rabbit fish or kordonnyen brizan ; the marbled rabbit fish or kordonnyen blan , the brown-spotted rabbit fish or kordonnyen marguerite and black eye rabbit fish or kordonyen lafimen.

Blue Spotted Rabbit Fish
Kordonnyen Brizan
Brown Spotted Rabbit Fish
Kordonnyen Marguerite
Streamlined Rabbit Fish
Kordonnyen Soul fanm
Marbled Rabbit Fish
Kordonnyen Blan
Black Eyed Rabbit Fish- Kordonnyen Lafimen

There are anecdotal evidence that some people feel dizzy or have slight incidence of hallucination after eating the fresh fish. This incident is very rare and is probably be due to the toxin found in the flesh of the fish that originates from the type of algae that the fish has eaten. This may how the streamlined spinefoot or kordonnyen soul fanm got its name as soul fanm means getting women drunk!

The bouyon blan kordonnyen is a comfort food for all Seychellois.