fishmonger

I started writing here over four years ago about seafood and fish and sustainability. The content has sometimes been personal, and at times has also served as a way of letting customers know what wares I am selling. Lets face it at the end of the day I just buy and sell dead fish in boxes. Or is it more than that? With over 20,000 visits and counting to this site I would like to believe that some good information has been shared. I sit here today miles and years removed from many good colleagues back in New York; I remember you all well and sincerely wish you all a joyous and prosperous New Year and a Merry Christmas. Today's challenges are the same as they were those four years ago: secure the last wild food source from points distant, on routes you have little control over to clients that often don't know or don't care about real circumstances that make that desired fish unavailable. So after a brief stint at a position I had the luxury of dressing nice and working the ...

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...

All kidding aside there is actually a long standing festival in Louisiana that highlights the relationship between these two diverse industries and honors the hardworking men and women of both. Lets all hope that by the scheduled Labor Day weekend event that things are back to normal. Image from festival website. http://www.shrimp-petrofest.org/

It is not often that something new comes along. Alright, so maybe soft shell crayfish are not new, but it has been at least 5 years since I last saw them. In the early 90's more than a dozen operations were set up to produce these crayfish. Unfortunately the economics of it did not pan out for most. There is a lot of waiting and intensive labor involved to bring soft shell crays to market. The range of sales for them has been limited to a few hundred miles of origin because of low yields and limited marketing. I recently purchased a good amount from the producer being only second in volume to Buckhead Beef in Atlanta I was told. I took home a couple dozen in the spirit of quality control, cooked them simply and was very happy with the resulting dish. Soft Shelled Crayfish with Sun dried Tomato and Anchovy Mayonnaise 2 dozen soft shelled crayfish 1 cup flour paprika, old bay, salt & pepper as desired neutral oil for frying for the dipping sauce 1/4 cup mayo 2 pieces sun dried to...

As you may know I was a recent judge on 'Throwdown with Bobby Flay', but I did not get to judge any of these chowders. Judged as one of the cities' best from the following link is none other than Wild Edibles own Chef Paul Jambor. New York City’s 10 Best Bowls of Clam Chowder So if you are in the city stop in and check out Wild Edibles Oyster and Wine Bar in Murray Hill. I guarantee that all the seafood is definitely hand picked and of the highest quality. Posted using ShareThis

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 ...

The Monterey Bay Aquarium one of the driving forces behind sustainable seafood guides has just issued an updated list. Of particular interest is the downgrading of the Alaskan pollack fishery, and the the move of two farmed species: coho salmon, and shrimp. The changes do not come without outside criticism. As reported today in a SeafoodSource.com article highlighting the issue, the ratings were not entirely agreeable to Greenpeace, even if they did acknowledge the efforts and integrity of the MBA. Greenpeace spokesperson John Hocevar applauded the MBA’s decision. “I have a lot of respect for the work that the MBA put into their pollock report, and for the scientific rigor behind the Seafood Watch program in general,” he said. “While we don’t agree on everything, the aquarium’s recommendations are a valuable tool for seafood consumers. The MSC, meanwhile, is increasingly becoming a source of frustration as they certify, and re-certify, more and more fisheries that have significa...

I woke up and read an article in AM New York "How sustainable is your seafood?" that I was interviewed for. Overall a pretty fair take on the difficulties of the topic. I really liked the fact that they included so many good quotes from Kate McLaughlin of the Blue Ocean Institute. Not many people have such a good understanding of all the factors that go into rating the different species. (full disclosure; I have worked with Kate and the Blue Ocean Institute in establishing our signage system at our retail stores.) There is no one size fits all, the best thing is to get to know your fishmonger, and determine if they can be a reliable source of information.

Hello Chefs and Buyers, We hope you had a great weekend. The fishermen in Florida certainly did. This morning we received a great mixed shipment of fish and shellfish from the sunshine state. Starting off the list is mahi-mahi, the fish are weighing in around 12-15lbs headed and gutted and still showing off their iridescent yellow coloring that earned them the Spanish name dorado maveriko or 'golden maverick'. Speaking of Spanish, we also have sushi quality Spanish mackerel, these fish are around 2lbs each. Red grouper is available, these firm fish with the big white flake would make a great special if not already on your menu. We have a very limited quantity of a very special fish called trigger fish, also from Florida. Trigger fish is a cousin of the blackfish (tautog), and hog snapper, and a member of the wrasse family. Like their cousins these fish feed on shellfish and crustaceans. This diet imparts a very sweet quality to the meat and combined with the...

We have a really nice mix of specials for the weekend. One or more sure to fit your menu needs. The quality of fresh shrimp from Florida has been great all year, but todays shipment seems to be even more firm and sweet. And at these prices you cannot go wrong. Size is 16/20 per pound. And this is just the tip of Florida's bounty because we also have stone crab claws , black grouper and available Tuesday we are taking orders for diver caught live spiny lobster. Just landed at JFK this morning and only hours out of the water we have three specials from Iceland. Big sustainable Arctic char are here, they are running 4 to 6 pounds and we have a few hundred pounds. Get your order in early to get these bigger fish. Dayboat Icelandic cod is available as well as halibut from this island nation. We are always excited to get this shipment and the fish never disappoints us. This country's respect for the sea shows in their fish. Jersey boats are starting to produce an...

Now here is todays seafood news: We will be getting our direct Portuguese sardines that are always great and growing in popularity, thanks for the support. We also have some nice larger sized rouget they are running 1 to 2 per pound, and should have a good yield. We just got in a nice short trip Jersey boat with huge bloody monkfish, and technicolor golden tilefish (3-7 lbs each). Both are limited to a hundred or so pounds. Black sea bass finally made an appearance today so we have a small amount of mostly jumbo sized black sea bass for Thursday. Onaga came in like baseball bats, if you haven't tried this fish yet you will be not be disappointed. Wild striped bass had a few additional limited openings and along with Maryland we now have tagged fish from the PRFC (Potomac River Fisheries Commission), and VMRC (Virginia Marine Resource Commission). We hope the additional fish will start to bring prices down over the weekend. The National Restaurant Associ...

Just released by the National Restaurant Association "What's Hot in 2010; Chef survey" shows that local and sustainable seafood are high on the list of important issues for chefs. Here is a brief look at where seafood ranks: Top 20 Trends #2. Locally sourced meats and seafood #3. Sustainability #10. Sustainable seafood #18. Non-traditional fish (e.g. branzino, Arctic char,barramundi) Top Trends by Category Main Dishes / Center of the Plate #1. Locally sourced meats and seafood #3. Sustainable seafood #4. Non-traditional fish (e.g. branzino, Arctic char,barramundi) Breakfast / Brunch #4. Seafood breakfast items (e.g. smoked salmon, oysters, crab cake) Culinary Themes #1. Sustainability All data has been collected from www.restaurant.org/foodtrends For additional information see the Nation Restaurant Association website or Seafood Source .

Just passed in California is a bill that seeks to promote sustainable seafood. Assemblyman Bill Monning, D-Carmell who represents the area around Monterey Bay has penned AB 1217. Signed into law the legislation seeks provide consumers with information about sustainable seafood. The program will be voluntary and is expected to closely follow the Monterey Bay Seafood Watch List . Contra Costa Times Article

Every once in a while someone takes a look at something and sees it in a new light. When it comes to photos of fish in ways never seen, that man is Marc Dimov . Marc came to our warehouse last week with a vision and a proprietary system to create some intriguing photographs of fish . After seeing his final product I realized that these images capture what the fish would look like as viewed underwater with all the suns radiance lighting them from behind. Or simply sublime. Either way I think I need to get at least one to hang next to a Denton lithograph of fish from the turn of the century. Photograph courtesy of marcdimov photography

Here is the short list of my recommended sustainable seafood choices for Fall. These selections should be readily available until the start of winter. As usual the list has an East Coast bias, my apologies to the West Coast. So in no particular order: bluefish: wild line caught, USA clams: wild or farmed, hand dredge, USA mussels: rope grown, Canada wild striped bass: wild caught and tagged, USA bay scallops: wild and farmed, hand dredge, USA and Mexico coho salmon: wild caught, USA and Canada wild shrimp: wild caught w/excluder devices, USA arctic char: closed system farmed, Canada and Iceland catfish: farmed, USA sable fish: wild caught, USA

I grew up in Elyria outside Cleveland , Oh. Seafood experience was the Friday fish fry of perch and walleye. Many caught by my uncles and me. I attended Kent State I settled in Tampa , Fl. While there I worked in restaurants and kitchens including; The Tampa Convention Center (I helped feed 4000 Mary Kay ladies), Cafe Creole (long time Tampa favorite), a retirement community, and Executive Chef at the University of South Florida. My favorite memories of Florida are at a restaurant called Native Seafood. There I often went to the docks to pick up fish. I maintain relationships with the same guys that have survived. We grew fresh herbs in a garden alongside the occasional papaya, banana trees, and a stalwart kefir lime tree. After 10 years we reluctantly shuttered the restaurant and I enjoyed a brief stint as a full time fisherman (recreational) and part time beach bum. I moved to New York City to pursue my dream of filleting fish. My first gig was in Coney ...

A fair enough question. I was recently approached by an online forum to contribute to the site in some way and it opened up some interesting questions. "Hi Matt, Now doing a second look, I'm not sure myself exactly what your stance is on seafood. Are you for conserving marine life or are you for eating seafood for growth? Are you interested in fishing or are you a marine conservationist? (Nothing wrong with either of these stances, just asking for clarification.) And perhaps if you have a different viewpoint than what we are used to, perhaps you could share it on our site, make our readers understand why you feel the way you do. It couldn't hurt. Perhaps you've owned an aquarium in the past and would want to write about that? Well, first give me a little more clarification, I should better understand where you are coming from! Thank you , (name withheld)" So if you would indulge me for a bit I want to explain. I am involved daily in the seafood bu...

Wild caught has become the end all bucolic catch phrase for some seafood consumers and chefs alike. Although there is a vast amount of information about seafood sustainability in general and aquaculture specifically many simple gloss over the findings. In day to day talks with chefs and consumers I have noticed this tendency of people to lean toward wild and shun farmed seafood. I wonder why that is? The same person hardly bats an eye in purchasing other commodities like beef, pork, and chicken that have long been removed from the wild. Even the most organic and free range chicken is still vastly dissimilar to a wild bird. I have eaten pheasant, wild duck, and even crow and I doubt that those wild animals could support consumer demand for wild poultry. So why should we believe that wild seafood can continue to support an ever growing demand. Is our taste for these species so strong that we must fish them until supply teeters on the edge of deletion? What we need is a kind of paradigm s...

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I think this is brilliant, and a harbinger of things to come. Maybe some of our East Coast fishermen will try this here. If you are a local fisherman here in the Northeast give me a call I want your well handled hand-lined fish. Story below from Seafood Source. Tagged sea bass, lobster deliver price premium By Lindsey Partos, SeafoodSource contributing editor, reporting from Paris 8/5/2009 11:03:46 AM - South East England fishermen participating in a trial tagging scheme are receiving premium prices for their line-caught sea bass and pot-harvested lobsters . Under the aegis of the South East Seafood Group, the trial is designed to promote the region’s inshore fishing fleet as a source of high-end, locally caught seafood. “The main driver for the tags is full traceability,” David Marshall of fisheries consulting firm Fathom Marine, which is leading the initiative, told SeafoodSource. Consumer demand for traceable seafood products is accelerating, he added. “Up until now,...