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 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...

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...