A chocolate fish or choccy fish is a traditional confectionery item in New Zealand, and in New Zealand culture is a common reward for a job done well ("Give that kid a chocolate fish").
Chocolate fish have a conventional fish-shape and a length of . They are made of pink or white marshmallow covered in a thin layer of milk chocolate with the ripples or "scales" on the fish created simply by the fish moving under a blower; this slides the unset chocolate back, creating the illusion of scales on the fish. Several manufacturers make the fish; the most well-recognised is Cadbury. Smaller, or "fun-sized" variants of the chocolate fish are colloquially referred to as "sprats". Variants of the traditional item exist; a common version is made of solid orange-flavoured milk chocolate.
History
Chocolate fish have been made since at least 1903, though early varieties may not have included marshmallow. Marshmallow-based chocolate fish were being produced in Dunedin in 1937. For a short period, in the late 1990s to early 2000s, Tip Top sold a chocolate fish ice-cream. In 2019, the chocolate fish was added to the Cadbury Favourites box.
In 1970 RM Barclay, Member of Parliament for New Plymouth, asked a question in Parliament about the price of chocolate fish.