fishmonger

Good morning Chefs and Buyers,   You may have noticed some instability in shrimp prices lately. There are any number of reasons that shrimp prices are beginning to climb after a very long period of stability. Last year unexpectedly high domestic wild shrimp production kept prices low for white shrimp even as we saw black tiger prices increasing. White shrimp from the Americas were being made available at prices to compete with the lower priced US shrimp. Now those large reserves of domestic product are quickly dwindling down and forcing prices up on white shrimp. In the meantime we have a new ban on wild Mexican shrimp set to start on April 20th. On the Asian front you have many farms actually switching from black tigers to the more profitable vanamei white. Vanaemei whites grow quicker and farms are able to get two harvests vs. one with tigers. Unfortunately these shrimp do not grow to the larger sizes, and most are harvested at a 26/30 market size....

Thursday, December 6, 2007 Friday night my wife and I had the greatest time as we watched Garrison Keillor bring his Prairie Home Companion to The Town Hall, right here in NYC. And the best part was his story piece Guy Noir , and his foray into the New York Seafood Biz. The skit featured Guy Noir as the newly established President of the " Freshwater Grouper Association ". This association and Guy are charged with the task of bringing walleye to the tables of New Yorkers. We busted at the seams last night, but today I have a real taste for the fish fry of my childhood...bring me some walleye. Anyway the show was great and it inspired me to start a blog of the same name. Garrison please don't sue me, imitation is the most sincerest form of flattery.

Washington Post (blog) Trader Joe's adopts sustainable seafood standards Washington Post (blog) The phase-out applies to all fresh, frozen and canned seafood . The move comes after months of pressure from environmental groups. In July 2009, the company ... See all stories on this topic Investigation: Ice price illegally added to some seafood prices Puget Sound Business Journal Some frozen seafood products may illegally contain the weight of ice in the price, according to a national investigation. Washington state was one of 17 ... See all stories on this topic Blueacre Seafood opens with plenty of ocean -- and more air Seattle Times Blueacre Seafood , the second restaurant for the owners of the Steelhead Diner, made its debut -- as promised -- with chef Kevin Davis in the kitchen and h...

Good day Chefs and Buyers,   This morning we have fresh trap porgies, small 1lb Spanish Mackerel, and fluke all from Long Island boats just in late last night.   We have hand produced uni trays from Maine, uni is the edible portion of the sea urchin. Uni can be eaten raw, it makes a great addition to raw oysters, and adds an umami rich ocean flavor to risotto and sauces.   Dover sole is available in the most popular size of 18 to 20 ounces each. Flown in direct from the Holland auction these are great fish.   Wild striped bass prices are going up as landings are reduced, but the fish are certainly still worth it with bright red gills and very firm flesh.   Fresh Chilean turbot has arrived a fabulous flatfish that should be on more menus. The flesh is best described as a cross between halibut and dory with the best of both worlds. Awesome table commanding presence as a whole fish for two turbot never disappoints. ...

Cuttlefish is a member of the same family as octopus and squid. Believed to be one of the smartest invertebrates around it is never the less a staple of the Portuguese cuisine where it is often found as a component of rice dishes. Here in the United States it is less well known, found in ethnic cuisine and in high end restaurants where chefs clamor for this unique cephalapod.

Good morning Chefs and Buyers,   Well it looks like once again the old adage of March coming in like lamb and out like a lion may hold true. Here comes another N'or Easter. Rain is in the forecast until the end of the month and April first gets warmer and dries out on Thursday. But rain did not stop good fish from getting in to us and we have a nice varied line up of product.   From a direct flight last night arrived Portuguese sardines, and fresh sepia (cuttlefish). The sepia are about 2 to 3 per lb, a good size to stuff or grill. Sardines are making it onto more and more menus these days. It is great to see the public finally embracing this delicious "bottom of the food chain" species, a great sustainable and green choice.   Wild stripe bass landings are moving to different areas with the majority of the fish from the Potomac River management area. Super nice fish from this small allotment tag area.   Florida boats brought us a mix of species; inc...

Yesterday marked the 8th year I ate shad roe. I make it a point to have at least one meal of this springtime special. This year looks to be a much better harvest if we can make that assumption by the early and bountiful supply. Nothing seems to go better with these full sacs of eggs than bacon, so this year was no different. Since my mother in law is here from Poland I thought to add some of that flavor. The fresh smoked bacon was from my favorite Greenpoint Butcher Driggs Meat Marke t and I served it with a simple salad of fresh sauerkraut, apples, carrot, and shallot. Of course no Polish dinner would be complete without potatoes so some well buttered mash made it to the plate as well. Mama Babcia pronounced the meal smakuje dobra

Good day Chefs and Buyers,   Something really exciting is in our warehouse today. Jumbo Spot Prawns from British Columbia are in today. These are the choicest specimens packed out for the Japanese Market. They come 15/19 per 1 kilo box, that works out to about 7 pieces in a pound. Check out the photos on http://twitter.com/WildEdiblesFish  and Facebook http://tinyurl.com/y9elztv   Spot prawns are a very sustainable fishery from the icy cold North Pacific waters of Canada http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/cr/SeafoodWatch/web/sfw_factsheet.aspx?fid=23  Also from the same supplier we were able to buy the very best frozen at sea black cod. These fish are far superior to the land frozen fish some other companies sell. Try these sable out and you will see the difference.   Since we have been talking about west coast seafood we should mention that the halibut fishery has finally hit its stride with prices coming down and leveling off. We ...

Wednesday is always a good day to start planning for the weekend. Our shelves are bare in anticipation of Thursday, the day when we get in fresh shipments from Portugal, Holland, Greece and Florida just to name a few. These shipments usually sell out fast since we bring in only the best and let someone else have the rest. So if you would like sardines, fresh octo, large branzini and dorade or Dover sole let us know.   From our favorite Florida fish house we will be getting fresh white shrimp tails sized 16/20, these will be sweet and incomparable to anything frozen. The American red snappers are always bright and red with crimson gills, we spec them out in the 2-4lb range as they are by far the most requested size. We often get a handful of the captains by catch (non targeted species of fish), and they told us to expect some fancy pompano, and a mahi or two.   Shad are still being caught in good quantities in the Carolinas. We are getting new shipments daily, an...

Good day Chefs and Buyers,   Local fluke landings are stronger than ever and prices are coming down. Fluke are available in all sizes from 2-8lbs. Boats fill up quick, so these fish are just hours out of the water. After a tough winter with lobster prices staying high there is a bit of relief in the market with many big lobster houses interested in moving inventory from their pounds. Warmer weather will start to increase catches before the demand catches up, so we hope to see additional relief in the future.   Spanish mackerel are sushi grade in rigor fish. Bluefish availability has been sporadic at best, but we have some nice "snapper" blues 2-4lbs in today. Tuesday's turbot shipments from Chile are back on line and the fish are as nice as ever. Hiramasa is new from Australia, and boy are these fish nice and fatty. We have whitefish from the great lakes today, and carp is available for those planning to make gefilte fish.   Large farmed stripe bass will ...

Good morning Chefs and Buyers,   Saturday was the first day of Spring, and the beautiful weather in and around NYC backed that up. We will be adding additional delivery routes to handle the increased volume. Starting in May we will have 6 day deliveries to the Hamptons, currently we deliver M,W,F.  We look forward to a successful Spring and Summer for everyone, let us know what we can do to make it easy too.   Small tasty treats abound today. Plump little spearing (whitebait, eperlain) just beg to be fried. Portuguese sardines arrived a day early and they are firm, clean and so shiny you can almost see the omega threes. Nice tinker sized Boston Mackerel running 3-5 per lb are superb today, our English chef really like these, and they are sustainable. Crayfish got delayed and are coming in later today so you can have them for tomorrows menu, straight from the delta. Oh, and we still have the soft shelled crayfish if you haven't tried them...

ABC News Japanese Fish Dealers Welcome Tuna Ban Rejection ABC News By MALCOLM FOSTER AP Writer AP A fish dealer walks among tuna at his stall inside Tsukiji Wholesale Market in Tokyo, Japan, Friday,. ... See all stories on this topic Study backs efforts to save delta fish San Francisco Chronicle A study by the National Academy of Sciences declared Friday that the efforts to save endangered fish in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta by ... See all stories on this topic Anglers head out looking for the tournament-changing big fish ESPN Velvick's kicker fish , a 10-11, is exactly what the 93 Elite pros are hunting for today. "I didn't get a big bite yesterday, and I have to figure out how to ... See all stories on this topic No Rabies Found in Wolves Blamed in Teacher Death New York Ti...

I thought for sure that the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora or CITES for short would have voted for listing Bluefin Tuna off the table commercially. Bluefin is the largest and most sought after tuna primarily in Japan. Very few of these fish even make it to the states and I have not sold one in years. I have to admit that at first it was purely financial as the high price of these fish made them difficult to sell and make money on. However after following the stories and looking at good scientific data I decided that I would not buy or sell any until I could do so in good conscious, especially with so many other tuna species available. So yesterday when the announcement was made that the proposal by Monaco and the United States to list Atlantic bluefin on Appendix I failed, with 20 in favor, 68 against and 30 abstaining. I was it bit surprised. With strong lobbying by Japan I guess I should not have been. After rea...

Good Day Chefs and Buyers,   Are you ready for the weekend? With the weather predicted to be in the 70's people are sure to be out and about, and hopefully dining at your establishment. We have some great options for you to menu; many local, many sustainable, some unusual, and all of the highest quality.   Local:  Porgies, trap fish NY Fluke, short trip NY Monk, day boat NJ Black Sea Bass, trap and line caught RI Wild Striped Bass, tagged VA   Sustainable: Mahi Mahi, line caught Panama Sturgeon, aquaculture CA Halibut, pacific day boat BC Stone crab claws, trap caught FL Hiramasa, farmed Australia Unusual: Soft shell crayfish, hand selected LA Blowfish tails, expertly cut CT Oreo Roughy, turbot bycatch Greenland Shad Roe, artisanal fishery NC In addition to the listed items above we have a full line of fresh and frozen seafood to meet all your needs. We are on Facebook:...

Good day Chefs and Buyers,   This has got to be the best season for Virginia wild striped bass in years. We are getting new fish every day and they are spectacular. These Mid-Atlantic fish are big averaging 18 pounds with candy red gills and nice firm flesh. Local trap porgies are in today they are pristine and average 1-2lbs. We had a blowout on blowfish tails and so we have another 20lbs coming tonight. One chef said they were doing a take on osso buco, that sounds fun. What could you do? Pemaquid mussels were delayed a day and we will have them to ship Friday.   From Florida we just got in red grouper (5-10lbs), fancy snappers of all sizes, fresh shrimp, and medium stone crab claws. Mahi arrived this morning, still flush with yellow and gold reminding us why these dolphin fish are called dorado (gold) in Spanish.   Portuguese sardines have landed and we also have the local delicacy of shad roe from...

No it is not a typo in that headline. Crayfish molt like any other crustacean, and some good folks in Louisiana have perfected a system to harvest and package them at just the right moment. Production is very limited, and most of these little lovelies never get to travel very far before the local restaurants snatch them up. I was able to purchase a good supply for the New York market, and a few of my customers have decided to menu them this spring. I took a couple dozen home to try them for myself and I have to say they make eating crayfish pure pleasure. I just dusted them with flour that had been seasoned with a bit of Old Bay and fried them in vegetable oil. When cooked they turn from dark brown to cherry red in the flash of an eye. I served mine with an impromptu remoulade of mayo, capers, cornichon, and coarse grain mustard. The possibilities are endless with these bayou beauties. They would be great with tempura or panko, and in a po boy to die for. The greatest thing to me thoug...

Top of the morning Chefs and Buyers,   We have a nice selection of fish coming to our place overnight for you. High seas and gale winds are still keeping things tight on North Atlantic ground fish (cod, pollack, hake, monk, skate), and prices remain high in those categories. This is the usual trend in March followed by most of the fishing fleet forced to tie up because they have used up their allotted days at sea. We will begin to see more Icelandic cod becoming available to help offset limited Massachusetts fish.     Better deals are to be had on Wild Striped Bass which are currently coming from the Chesapeake Bay area from both Virginia and Maryland. These stripers are generally big and we are picking out the nicest lots with many fish getting higher than expected yields. Blues are again showing up from Virginia and they are nicely sized between 4-8lbs, this size fish tends to have a much milder flavor and lighter flesh. Fluke from our local coa...

Good day Chefs and Buyers,   Winds are blowing gale force north of us, but southern fisheries are experiencing bountiful catches and fine weather. As a result wild striped bass are at a seasonally low price and the fish are gorgeous and big to boot. Golden tile is from a Jersey boat that ventured a little further south and had a nice haul of these Continental Shelf dwellers. Black sea bass are also coming in daily and these are sharp and fresh with a look of surprise still in the eyes.   Wednesday is of course Saint Patrick's Day, so we wanted to showcase two fish from Ireland. We have a beautiful Irish organic (E.U. certified) Salmon; from the Mannin Bay Salmon Company of Ireland. Please specify when you order organic salmon. Also available is the pretty Irish Steelhead trout from the Emerald Isle (average weight 2#), this tasty cousin of the rainbow trout has a deep ruby colored flesh and a sublime taste, a great alternative to char.   We even have an o...

        Japan's famous Tsukiji fish market braces for tuna trade ban Calgary Herald By Shingo Ito, AFPMarch 14, 2010 Wholesalers check the quality of frozen tuna laid out in rows at Tsukiji fish market, Japan's largest fish auction house, ... See all stories on this topic UN trade conference to focus on dying fish NewsOK.com Raw tuna is a key ingredient in traditional dishes such as sushi and sashimi, and the bluefin variety of the fish — called "hon-maguro" in Japan — is ... See all stories on this topic New York Times Talks to Address Trade in Tuna and Ivory New York Times Japan opposes an effort to ban the trade of bluefin tuna like this one at a fish market in Tokyo. By NEIL MacFARQUHAR Marathon negotiations on protecting ... See all stories on this topic An upstre...

Good morning Chefs and Buyers,   Heavy winds in the area kept local boats in over the weekend, but with the exception of bluefish we were able to get product from other areas. The closest areas not affected produced nice black bass from Rhode Island and Fluke from Delaware boats. The forecast looks to be more of the same in the next 24 hours, so it is likely many local fishermen will choose to wait it out.   The weather has been much nicer in the south and we have in today a boatload of wild striped bass from Virginia. These particular bass are from a limited ocean fishery that catches well fed and rested fish. The end result are big and in rigor stripers that will all be over 28 inches long.   West coast halibut is available today with most fish being caught in British Columbia, Canada right now. Sizes are generally 10-20lbs with a few bigger fish around. Prices are pretty flat for the time being with expected catch volumes not being met. The quotas for t...

I just flew into Raleigh yesterday to spend the weekend with my parents as we celebrate all the March birthdays. This year is particularly important because it is Adam's first birthday on the 21st. In the interest of full disclosure 41 for me and my dad 70. The weather looks to be about the same as NY with rain on and off and maybe just a bit warmer. In today's Fayetteville Observer, seafood made the news twice with a brief about a shellfish habitat enhancement project slated to put 41,000 bushels of oyster shells near Morehead City. The project aims to help establish areas conducive to local fish spawning, and put $2.00 per bushel in the hands of commercial fisherman as part of a federal recovery grant program. A good thing on both fronts. The retail seafood sector is a bit different here. A story in the weekender section of the Observer highlights a nice looking mom and pop place by the name of Po Boy's only open Thursday to Saturday they feature local catch like spot, cr...

Good day Chefs and Buyers,   Lots of nice stuff in today. Take a minute and imagine these great fish gracing the tables of your restaurant.   From our guy in Florida we have fresh Mahi-mahi still gleaming with rainbow colors, American red snappers that look untouched by human hands, and of course the best fresh shrimp if we do say so ourselves.   Pemaquid mussels from Maine are back on-line, but they still sell out quick. These are the best mussels around with nice full meats they are heavy in the hand. Rod Taylor is sending us a special hand harvested batch of his iconic Naskatucket oyster.   Carolina shad roe are cut to your order and the colors on these seasonal delight span from bright orange to rich beet red.   We have plenty of smaller farmed bass, and just in today big firm mid Atlantic wild striped bass.     " Manhattan is a narrow island off the coast of New Jersey devoted to the pursuit of lunch." Raymond Sokolov, ...

Good morning Chefs and Buyers,   The Turbot has landed! Really high quality Spanish farmed Turbot is available today in leu of Chilean product that is still unavailable due to the tragic earthquake that caused so much destruction and chaos last week. We are working with our partners in Chile to get shipping flowing again, but we have no definitive time line at this moment. The same applies to Chilean salmon fillet.   Many of our customers have been asking about West Coast Halibut. Catches in B.C. and Alaska have been low so far and shore prices are higher than expected, so we do not expect any westies until late next week when we hope the market stabilizes. The quotas are reduced this year by roughly 3.5 million pounds so expect prices higher than last year. Until then we are offering both wild Icelandic halibut and Norwegian farmed halibut. Both come from extremely cold waters and make for superior fillet.   The new scalloping season is un...

Good day  Chefs and Buyers,   In addition to the sweet weather around us, we have Sweet Neck oysters available from Martha's Vineyard. These exquisite hand cultivated oysters will only be around for a few more weeks, and then we won't see them again until November. We have a few Pemaquid Mussels available for Wednesday with our next shipment scheduled to arrive Friday.   Lots of sharp fish today, but the real standouts are: Trap caught Long Island porgies large (1.75lb average) black sea bass from Rhode Island dayboat baseball bat Cod from Chatham short trip Jersey fluke (mostly over 2lbs, many doormat sized over 4lbs) and some desirable sized (2-4lbs) spotted tile from North Carolina.   Due in tonight: Icelandic cod and halibut, Irish organic Salmon (Loch Duart supplies remain low), Spanish Turbot, and Panama Mahi.   "I do not weep at the world I am too busy sharpening my oyster knife." ~Zora Neale Hurston   ...

Grimsby seafood firm Five Star Fish in administration BBC News Other sections of its parent company British Seafood went into administration last month. Matt Smith, from Deloitte, said: "We believe that Five Star Fish ... See all stories on this topic Diversified Business Communications Selects Taptopia to Provide Its Official ... CNNMoney.com (press release) The show is North America's largest seafood event, featuring more than 800 exhibits, offering a vast array of seafood , seafood products, seafood services ... See all stories on this topic KVAL Another company recalls Yaquina Bay oysters KVAL OM Seafood Company is issuing a product recall involving oyster meat and oysters in the shell harvested in Yaquina Bay, Newport, Oregon from February 1–24, ... See all stories on this topic NOA...

Good Morning Chefs and Buyers,   Sometimes there just doesn't seem to be  a valid explanation for shortages of product, much to our dismay. That seems to be the case with the past few days lack of skate. The best explanation we heard is that no one caught any skate. We will have skate for you Tuesday, but it appears to be running a bit tight and prices reflect that, so get your orders in early. Cod and monk are both big and beautiful, but we are seeing some price increases as catches taper off. Days at sea have just about been used up by most of the day boats and in the coming weeks we will see additional shortages. We are prepared for this annual event, and have some international contacts to keep up with the demand.   From Apalachicola Florida we just received a few strong amberjacks, super nice American red snappers with fire engine red gills, sweet and crunchy fresh shrimp tails (size 16-20), and some fresh medium stone crab claws.   Sh...

Dungeness crab prices are up substantially and we may see further increases. Crab season opens in November and December for Washington, Oregon, and California and runs until June, however an estimated 80% of the harvest has occurred by February. This trend results in higher prices during March, and April until the Canadian harvest begins in earnest mid May. Canada is a year round fishery, but most of the boats concentrate on Halibut during the spring. Matthew Hovey http://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewhovey 718-433-4321 ext.121 / fax 718-433-4616 cell 718-679-0641 "Hand picked specialties from the Seas" www.wildedibles.com http://sustainablefishmonger.com ____________________________________________________________ Weight Loss Program Best Weight Loss Program - Click Here! http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL2141/c?cp=6yIPF7tTi0qFUFvdoe9DTAAAJ1D0hWq1JtM-qQb80mj1NqLnAAYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAADNAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAEUgAAAAA=

Good day Chefs and Buyers,   It has been quite a turbulent week for salmon. Salmon prices are at all time high during what has become a perfect storm; the combination of Lent (we always see farms asking higher prices with the increased demand), less fish being placed in the water last year because farmers believed the economy would limit demand, and the recent earthquake in Chile has cut off a good third of availably, things could not be worse. We are using all of our purchasing channels and relationships to keep things in check as best we can.   Turbot shipments were cut off as well due to the situation in Chile, and we are not sure when everything will be up and running again, but we will have Turbot from Spain arriving Monday. This is at least as good if not better than the Chilean fish, however they are marginally more expensive. Contact your sales representative to order, fish will be limited.   Loch Duart salmon is due ...

Good day Chefs and Buyers,   Besides being one of the first harbingers of spring: Shad, and shad roe are quite delicious and we have both available from the Carolinas. Another late winter specialty is Crayfish from the bayou states. We have two great options for you: Live and vivacious red crayfish will be arriving overnight from our friends in Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana the heart of Creole Country. Of course we also have our exclusive soft shelled crayfish available as well just waiting for your culinary imagination.   From Florida we will be getting in American Red Snappers sized 2-4lbs from  a boat that is unloading this morning. Shrimp and medium stone crab claws will also be available. Stone crab season is winding down, so if you want these seasonal treats in your place take advantage of the price drop today.   Wild bass are looking like a good buy for either stripers coming from Maryland (6-...