fishmonger

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/

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 squi...

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...

Since it has been some time since my last post, and I have been neglectful with only sporadic information being shared I submit to you a list of things I should have written about. Ocean Acidification Jeremy Piven Mercury misgivings Bluefin Tuna depletion and politicking Greenpeace retail rankings and rants The TV show about Sword fishing Pollack and Hoki in crisis Lower than expected wild salmon catches (again) Economic factors in the seafood industry (hint it is the most expensive protein). Seals eating salmon, and sharks eating seals. Giant squid reports ( more than a few) Jellyfish More species misrepresentations. Various Seafood Festivals Water offsets in Aquaculture et al With apologies, Matt

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,...

The rule making boards of NOAA's Fishery Management Council are getting just a bit more diverse. In an effort to address some real or perceived bias on the board a small minority of seats have been recently filled by new members that have no financial gains to be realized or lost based on recommendations. One of these new appointments is Steve Schafer. I know Steve personally and I am confident that he will bring fresh insight and a new outlook to the council. He is a person of great integrity and reason. I think that any fears that might be raised by the commercial fishing industry will be allayed when they get to know this intelligent and thoughtful person. Steve's focus has always been to help to educate the consumer on the benefits of moving seafood to a more sustainable resource. Based upon the press release below from NOAA, I would say that Steve fills that role well. Congratulations are in in order and well deserved. June 25, 2009 The Commerce Department today ann...

Wild striped bass season opened July 1st for New York commercial fishermen. While we have had striped bass in the New York market for some time the opening of the local fish will help drive prices downward. Look for prices to drop after Independence day. Striped bass ( Morone saxatilis ), also known as rockfish to some are one of the east coasts most valuable species. Striped bass was once over fished but over the past ten years most states have implemented strict guidelines for the commercial sales of this fish as well as fair catch limits for the recreational fisherman. However this fragmented regulation from state top state has made enforcement difficult. Below is a list of some Northeast state regulations. Rhode Island trap: 26" min general category: 34" min New York 24" - 36" Delaware 28" min 20" special spring season 3/1-3/30 Maryland Bays and Rivers: 18"-36" Ocean: 24" PRFC ( Potomac River Fisheries Commission ) 18" min al...

SEAFOOD.COM NEWS [ASCRIBE NEWS via COMTEX] - April 21, 2009 - SANTA BARBARA, Calif., A major shift in ocean policy is strongly urged by a team of scientists who are calling for comprehensive, national, ecosystem-based ocean zoning for the United States. Newly emerging data on the combined effects of multiple human stressors on marine ecosystems are now available to support this shift in policy, the scientists say. The work, published in the Spring 2009 issue of the journal Issues in Science and Technology, was conducted at the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS) at UC Santa Barbara, with support from The David and Lucile Packard Foundation. Despite increasing emphasis in recent legislation on the cumulative effects of human activities, 'the oceans are still largely managed one species, sector, or issue at a time,' says Carrie V. Kappel, the lead author. Some promising new initiatives do take an integrated approach, but these tend t...

French fishermen protest quotas by blocking transit. Chinese could eat all of Florida's turtles. Shad and the wheels of politics, fortune wanes.

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.

From a New York fishmongers perspective, how things have changed. Since it has been nearly two months since my last musings here so much has happened. The market for seafood has gotten quite dismal with the wholesalers at the New Fulton Market in Hunts Point reduced to working on nickels and dimes when they can. Many companies have put crews on 4 day schedules, and games of cards and the occasional chess match fill the empty late night hours for lack of buyers. Not a day seems to go by that I here of fish being sold at ridiculously low prices, just so companies can avoid an outright loss. Many fish like Halibut have simply become too expensive an option for most, and restaurants have removed them from their menus. Back in favor Atlantic Salmon (a particularly great bargain with the ISA issues in Chile), tilapia, catfish, and skate. We are most of the way through Restaurant week here in the city (Restaurant Week is actually two weeks, many establishments are even extending it further.) ...

Striped bass ( Morone saxatilis ), also known as rockfish to some are one of the east coasts most valuable species. They are both a commercial fish and are regarded by sports fisherman as a desirable species. Sometimes these two agendas are at odds. This occurred last year when President George Bush signed an executive order against the sale of wild striped bass caught in Federal waters, and urging States to do the same. Striped bass was once over fished but over the past ten years most states have implemented strict guidelines for the commercial sales of this fish as well as fair catch limits for the recreational fisherman. However this fragmented regulation from state top state has made enforcement difficult. Below is a list of some Northeast state regulations. Rhode Island trap: 26" min general category: 34" min New York 24" - 36" Delaware 28" min 20" special spring season 3/1-3/30 Maryland Bays and Rivers: 18"-36" Ocean: 24" PRFC ( Potom...

If I haven't been looking for tuna these past weeks I have been fielding questions from my customers about the scarcity of said tuna. The perfect storm? While it seems that no single event has caused this supply problem a few combined may have made this inevitable. Mostly the evidence I present is purely anecdotal, so your comments are welcome. Fuel prices: The rise in the dock prices of diesel have forced a hard decision upon some of the tuna boats. Faced with the possibility of filling up the tanks and returning to port with less than a full hold of fish many fishermen choose to stay in port longer and cut their losses. Moon cycle; The current position of the moon and the effect it has on pelagic fish, as well as the bait fish it feeds upon makes finding large amounts of Tuna difficult. Last month many Asian countries announced what amounts to a nearly 40% reduction in the size of their fleets. They did not however make plans to reduce consumption. China comes on strong: Could ...

Yesterday National Public Radio aired a story highlighting the fuel cost problems that Northeast commercial fishermen are trying to cope with. Asian Tuna Boats are suspending activities for "a few" months in response to high fuel costs. This follows the same action by squid fishermen in Japan. This follows last months strikes in Europe , primarily by French and Spanish Boats. This article from Namibia , foretells of the possible crash of smaller fishing economies.

A recent article in the Canadian Paper Globe and Mail highlights the plight of B.C. sockeye. Trout Unlimited, an Oregon sport fishing and conservancy group has partnered with a supermarket chain to focus on the issue of Bristol Bay and a planned mining operation that could starve the areas rivers of water, and be devastating to salmon stocks. Marine Harvest doing something to protect wild salmon migratory routes . Wild Pacific salmon used to be easy, but now with news about bycatch in the pollack fisheries and these new stories we must take a new look. Just to keep you updated I will be taking home some Pacific chum salmon (aka: keta , dog, silverbright ) Oncorhynchus keta . I will be cooking the fish a few ways, and will post the results.

One of the MSC (Marine Stewardship Council) great success story has been the certification of the Alaskan Pollack fishery. Some 100 plus boats (factory type ships) harvest huge amounts of pollack under the watchful eyes of The MSC and the Alaska division of NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency). One problem is the huge amount of salmon bycatch that is inadvertently caught with the pollack. Strict guidelines currently have these boats discarding tons of fish. Surely there has to be some better way to handle all this bycatch. Below is today's AP article. Please cast your vote in the sidebar about bycatch. Associated Press/AP Online Enlarge Photo June 23, 2008 - ANCHORAGE, Alaska - Florence Johnson can rattle off myriad ways to prepare salmon. Drawing on a lifetime of fishing the Yukon River, she recommends canning, salting, or drying the fillets in her smokehouse near the heart of downtown Eagle. "I'd be very lost without it," Johnson said. "I ...

In the past month the rising costs of fuel, diesel in particular have caused an uproar from coast to coast and from sea to sea. Strikes in France, Spain, and Portugal. Work stoppages in Japan. Limited days at sea for struggling American boats, and the list goes on. So how is this good? It is not. But maybe it could be good for those threatened species you say. You know less fisherman out there catching fish from day to day, that has to take some pressure off of the reserves right? This line of thinking only highlights the problem with the perception of fishing today. Unlike what most consumers might think about the fishing industry; small boats and small crews hand lining fish, most fish is taken by larger vessels with high tech gear, and high yield fishing techniques. High fuel prices really only affect the small guys. So when fuel costs rise some of these old school artisanal fishermen are the ones most hurt. So despite what may seem like a panacea for ocean conservation, could actua...

Today Greenpeace released a report grading major U.S. supermarkets on sustainability. Most did not do well. The highest rated of the group Whole Foods received only four out of a possible 10. I was reminded about the presence of this report by an e-mail from Greenpeace despite the fact that I had not been a strong supporter of the group in the past. Hi Matthew! Over at Greenpeace I've been looking over tons of blogs on ocean conservation and seafood, ect., and yours has caught my eye. I thought you might be interested in our new report? From overfishing to bottom trawling to overcrowded fish farms, the seafood industry threatens our marine ecosystems to the point of collapse. Sustainable fishing is a key to maintaining healthy oceans which in turn help stabilize the planetary environment and the climate at large. Greenpeace has just released a unique report detailing the seafood purchasing practices of major American supermarkets, markets who make billions of dollars a...

One of my ongoing rants involves the menhaden fishery. This is by many accounts the largest fishery in the United States. It is in my opinion one of the most important in terms of environmental impact. Here is the wholesale removal of the most important food source for almost every kind of other fish up and down the east coast. In some online research I found that some of the most well opinionated and active people fighting to protect this fish are recreational stripe bass fishermen. Please visit the following sites to learn more, and to sign the petition. http://www.stripersonline.com/surftalk/showthread.php?p=4868342 http://laterallineco.com/