fishmonger

The whale that had been trapped off the coast of New York and New Jersey manages to break free with a little help from members of NOAA. Unfortunately the whale sustained injuries from the entanglement and experts are unsure if the whale will survive. In related news a whale collides with a boat off of Cabo san Lucas, Mexico and nearly capsizes the 40 foot craft.

Photos from the coast guard show a juvenile humpback whale that is tangled in lobster gear off the coast of Far Rockaway, New York. Members of NOAA's whale disentaglement team will attempt to release the unfortunate animal. Follow the links below for more information. http://news.google.com/news?pz=1&ncl=dLXRjU-x22Kx6fMUeaLlHyw45tF2M

Here is an idea for some domestic economic stimulus. Buy and eat United States produced Catfish. Not only will it keep those dwindling dollars here in the states, but it is delicious to boot. And pretty darn sustainable too. So there you have it just stop buying overpriced farmed salmon and give reasonably priced catfish a try.

I used to enjoy watching John Stossel on 20/20 and his Give Me A Break segments. I even had the opportunity to attend a dinner at Stetson Law where he spoke. I wonder what he would say about the current state of the Salmon industry. That most of the Industrial Salmon Complex are owned by few companies leads one to ponder conspiracy theories. We are all guilty for enjoying the relatively inexpensive farm raised Atlantic salmon during its hey day. The American people generally ignored all the bad press the lowly salmon had to take. Food writers and scientists alike criticized the fish because of the way in which it was raised, that it was dyed or color added, and that it was contaminated with toxins, or that it just didn't taste as good. Maybe Top Chef contestant and finalist Stefan will forget all he thinks he knows about farmed salmon after his disappointing showing cooking or overcooking as the judges determined lean wild coho salmon. Despite all its bad press most people love the

Every year thousands of seafood vendors come to Boston to meet and greet and sell every imaginable species of seafood to the hundreds of thousand that attend the three day show every March. This year looks to be a little less grand. I was surprised last week when I was sent an unsolicited free registration. My first thought was that they must be having a hard time filling the aisles. Intrafish is running the headline Sour economy dents Boston Seafood show attendance . Asian seafood exporters are evaluating their financial problems. Seafood Exporters Prepare for Crisis . Part of their plan is to increase sales at expos like The Boston Seafood Show . They might want to adjust their expectations. The New York Restaurant show is having the same difficulty, as I just received a free badge for this show too.

Wild Stp Bass is still dropping, fish are around right now Icelandic Day boat Cod is the Cod to get. Fish are great size and pristine quality Live Crayfish. LIve Dungeness, Live taylor bays, and recently plucked Nantucketts are the shellfish specials to jump on Shrimp wise we have beautiful fresh 16/20's head off and JUMBO head on 3/4 size shrimp Taz Trout is a special, Snappers are inching up, and Fluke are beautiful Shad Roe are large and around, the mackeral is sushi quality, and East Coas Halibut is around “It has always been my private conviction that any man who puts his intelligence up against a fish and loses had it coming.” - John Steinbeck Happy casting

I really enjoy well made illustrations of fish, and this new book by Artist Flick Ford has really impressed me. You can view the illustrations and glean a bit of information if you check out Field and Stream's web page dedicated to the book BIG: The 50 Greatest World Record Catches . Of course putting aside the great illustrations and the well written citations I am a bit saddened to think that we may never see fish like this again. Even the well established rules for recreational anglers about size minimums may need to be revised. If we want to see fish like this again we need to implement rules to let the big fish live on. Scientist are beginning to support this kind of thinking to allow these fish to do what they do best. Reproduce in quantity. By taking larger fish we may be working on diminishing returns. If anyone is having a hard time finding me a birthday gift, may I suggest the limited collectors edition of BIG: The 50 Greatest World Record Catches for only $1350 Press rel

V-Day is upon us, so order up, there will not be much left on Sat., just some small fill ins. We will be open on Mon., for Presidents Day There will be high winds tonight, so items out of the Atlantic may be problematic, and imported items may be difficult due to flower shipments, they get the dibs on flights We do have HUGE shrimp on special, they are 3/4 to a lb and make for an impressive plate Fluke is still running beautiful, the Stp Bass went down, and Nantucketts will be available The mahi, grouper, hake, and Skate are money makers Swordfish is very tight right now, fish are not around but we do have East Coast Halibut available, large and small fish The Rouget are great, sardines pristine, and Crayfish are alive Cod is going to be Icelandic Dayboat, really beautiful stuff, and New Zealand Pink Snappers are a wise inexpensive sub for Domestics For last minute specials for the sweethearts we have Gorgeous Stone Crab Claws and Fresh Chilean Sea

Seafood can be an affordable dining choice. So with that in mind here is one fish that you should consider putting on your menu, Boston mackerel. This small member of the mackerel family Scomber scombrus is also known by some other names such as Atlantic mackerel, tinker, or simply mackerel. A favorite fish in the United Kingdom and Europe it is barely on the radar to American chefs and consumers. Atlantic mackerel is often sold in tins or smoked. The tinned product makes an excellent and more flavorful alternative to canned tuna. Try to find one packed in olive oil and use it like you would tuna in your favorite salad recipe. Try a mackerel nicoise salad. Smoked fish is always a winner and the rich flavor of mackerel is enhanced with the addition of salt and hardwood smoke, it is great on its own or made into a dip. Fresh fillets can be quickly sauteed and served with simple garnishes for a truly delicious and elegant meal. Mackerel is high in healthy omega oils, selenium and low in

Fresh Main Shrimp are in house, Live Sea Urchin from the East Coast are available, and the Nantucket Bay price has come down The baby grouper special are still available, the fish are 1-2lb and only 3.65/lb, and the Fiji snapper special is around, fish are 2-6lb, H/G and have a great flavor Grouper will be closing for a month. This happens every year, Grouper goes away for about a month and prices sky rocket. I recommend taking them off the menu and waiting for the return. Wild Stp Bass and Fluke should hold at the low price for the week, Black Sea Bass is spotty, and Skate is creeping up Watch out for Swordfish, it's tight right now and the price is way up Boston Mackerel is a steal and the Spanish is pristine The Maine Shrimp and Nantuckets are on a quota system and it looks like those seasons may last a little longer this year, as there are plenty of more tags to be harvested "He who can suppress a moment's anger may prevent a day of sorrow." - Tryon Ed

Ja pan is the world leader in seafood consumption and most of that is frozen. So does the entire country of Japan know something we here in the States don’t? The simple answer, yes they do. But we all may have good reason to doubt. Many chefs simply have not had good experience with frozen seafood, and even those that use frozen shrimp or frozen squid on a daily basis are reluctant to try frozen fin fish. What gives? Well for so many years frozen was synonymous with low grade waterlogged commodity fish that gave frozen fish as a class a real bad rep. But today there are a few products that equal or surpass the quality of fresh, or as Bruce Gore a leader and pioneer in boat frozen wild salmon likes to call” fresh”...refrigerated. I remember that first conversation with Bruce as he constantly corrected me every time I told him about the fresh wild salmon we were bringing in. Although it is possible to have very fresh west coast product in New York because of the miracle of flight.

Congrats to the Steelers and their Superbowl win, it was a great game Wild Black Cod is in house and fresh from the West Coast Live Crayfish is coming tonight, Nantuckett Bays are in house and down, and the spanish Mackeral is sushi quality We have a beautiful new Snapper in from Fiji, the flesh is nice and white, and the fish are h/g making for a great yield and the price is much lower than the Domestics The Taz Trout and Turbot come in tonight and fresh 16/20 size shrimp are very firm Wild Stp Bass is way down in price, Cod went up a little bit, Black Sea Bass is not around early this week, and we have beautiful Golden Tile Fish available "Don't go around saying the world owes you a living. The world owes you nothing. It was here first." - Mark Twain Happy Monday MJ GIMBAR

A well thought out plan to farm native species fish in open ocean pens in United States waters could be a solution to more than one problem facing us today. Or it could be the worst idea to come since we allowed untreated waste to be dumped into the water from heavy manufacturing. Pros Reduces the need to consume wild caught food fish. Creates much needed employment in coastal communities. Promotes innovation and technology. Reduces dependency on imported aquaculture. Cons Waste from fish farming impacts local ecology. Greater demand on wild forage fish as food for aquaculture fish. Disease and escapement jeopardize wild stock. Creates confusion in the market with identical wild and farmed fish species. This debate is far from over, and I am sure all sides will weigh in on this issue. I for one would allow some progress on this to occur on a very limited basis. By allowing some ocean open farming to occur we could better understand how to meet the growing demands of the seafood consume