"Local" Silver Dory

By -

Silver Dory, zenopsis conchifer (aka. American dory, local dory) is a deep water species of benthic fish that can be found in Atlantic waters, it is related to John Dory but differs in appearance being much more slender and compressed with monochromatic silver coloring in adults, and lacking the bold black "thumb print", although juveniles of this species may have similar light markings that fade with age. The dory is a good food fish with firm mild flavored white flesh and a fine flake. The fillets are rather thin and yield is only about 25% meat from whole fish.

The range of this dory in the Americas is from Nova Scotia's Sable Island and south to the Carolinas. The silver dory is a deep water species and is found from 60 meters to 600 meters depths, most being found in depths near 150 meters on or near the continental shelf. There is no targeted fishery for dory and most are caught as incidental bycatch in deep water trawls (ie. deep water loligo squid, monkfish, whiting, and skate). Adults are solitary feeding on small fish and wide range of crustaceans and squid. It is thought that they only come together at times to spawn from March through July. It is at these times that under the right conditions large numbers of fish are caught along with other targeted species. There is currently no regulations regarding this fishery as bycatch, and there seems to be insufficient data to determine the sustainability of the species.
So although the price and quality of the "local" dory is desirable the relative unavailability of the fish classifies it as an occasional treat.
sources:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Fish Yields - or - How Much Does This Really Cost Me?

By -
Image
I often find it necessary to explain the yield (amount of usable flesh) off of various fish. By knowing what percentage of meat will be available when a whole fish is filleted one can make an accurate analysis of; A. how much whole fish must be purchased and B. what is the true fillet cost. Knowing how to correctly perform these calculations will benefit not only seafood suppliers, restaurant chefs, but also the casual cook. Below is a list of some common fish and the net yield percentages. Actual percentages may vary depending on skill of the butcher. Salmon (head-on gutted) yields 75% skin-on fillet Snapper (head-on gutted) yields 40% skin-on fillet Mahi (headed and gutted) yields 65% skin-on fillet Monkfish (tail) yields 70% skinless fillet Cod (headed and gutted) yields 60% skin-on fillet Grouper (head-on gutted) yields 35% skinless fillet Halibut (headed and gutted) yields 66% skin-on fillet Tuna (headless bullets) yields 75% untrimmed loins Sword (headless bullets) yields 80% cen...
Read more

Flounder and Sole: or A Fish By Any Other Name Would Still Taste as Sweet.

By -
Image
Ever wonder what the differences are between Sole and Flounder? Some customers recently asked me the question so I thought I would take a moment to shed a bit of light on the subject. Here in North America we have no true sole only flounders. When Europeans came to the Americas they called flounders soles because they looked like the fish they knew in the "old world". This has led understandably to much confusion over the years. The only true sole would be Dover Sole, Solea solea . Lemon sole is one of the names given to winter flounder, Pseudopleuronectes americanus , (also known as black back). Usually at the retail level when multiple flounder sku's are sold; flounder is the name given to the refreshed less expensive product, and sole (or lemon sole) is the name given to the more expensive fresh cut product. Fluke, Paralichthys dentatus also called summer flounder can also be sold as sole fillet. Sometimes there is a distinction ...
Read more

Sugar Toads, What? : Blowfish Tails Check

By -
Image
So Friday morning I am on the phone with one of the good old boy fish sellers in Maryland, and after hearing about how the Maryland DNC might be the ones "poaching" all those rock fish (wild striped bass) in ghost driftnets he finally gives me his catch list, and he just says it 'sugar toads'. So I had to look at the calendar and make sure it wasn't April 1st, because I hate to admit it but I have no idea what this is. He says "..you know theses little puffer tails". The lights go on in my head: BLOWFISH TAILS.....send me 50 lbs to sell and a couple for testing. I have to say these are one of this Fishmonger's favorite appetizing seafood specialties, and no they are not poisonous that is a different fish. I cannot wait until these jewels arrive Monday. I did a little research and it looks like they are a 'micro-trend' according to a recent article in Grubstreet declares this, who knew. So if you get the chance try some at the next chance you...
Read more