Monster barbel is a favourite dish!

Every now and again we see a fish of gargantuan proportions. This man-sized barbel is estimated to weigh well over 100lb, and as soon as we saw it, we had to find out more.

Caught from the Dukan Dam in Northern Iraq, it is known locally as a ‘biz’. 

They can be caught on rod and line, just like our native barbel, but unlike our own fish, biz is one of the favourite dishes in Iraq.

Typically cooked in the Masgouf-style, this 5000-year-old Arabic cooking technique involves cutting the fish butterfly-style and hanging it in front of the fire for about 40 minutes. The fish is then served with tomato, onion and lime.

Of course, Biz aren’t the same strain as barbel we have in the UK – they’re a distant relative of our native fish and can exceed weights of a 200kg - imagine the fight one of those would give!