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 ...

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...

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

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 Artic Char comes tonight! The fish was featured in yesterday's New York Times and is hand caught by the Inuit Tribes in CA. Limited supply. Watch out for slight price increases in Cod, Sword, Wild Stp Bass, and Fluke. Weather is affecting the landings out there as whitecaps and wind prevent guys from going out. Right now the increases are weak, but could continue into next week. Onaga is in house today. The fish are running 2-4lbs and looking stunning. They are caught off of Hawaii and are sushi quality. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uFz9h_hin-8 Wahoo is in from Florida, we have one fish available, 35lbs Softshells are coming down in price, WhiteBait is available, and the Escolar is looking great Blackfish is in house, fish came in covered still in slime and rigor, Tile fish is running pristine and it is the Gray variety http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWPzGalENrY Wild Kings will not be available tomorrow, but we will have Wild Sockeye and Wild Steelhead available Scal...

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...

In no particular order, but with some leaning towards the northeast. All products should be consistently available fresh this spring and early summer. barramundi , farm raised, United States pollack , wild, mid-trawled, Atlantic and Pacific wild salmon , wild, seine net and line caught. catfish , farmed, United States pacific halibut , wild, line caught, United States and Canada mackerel , wild, net and line caught, Atlantic oysters, all varieties farmed and wild bay scallops, look for Taylor Bays and fresh Mexican bays Squid, wild, Worldwide clams and mussels, especially hand dug, or suspended, United States and Canada crayfish, wild and farmed, United States Arctic Char , farmed Canada and Iceland. This list should provide any creative chef or home cook a season of recipes. Your comments and questions are welcome. I have provided links above to help answer some questions you may have. For more about sustainable seafood choices please visit one or more of these sites: Blue Ocean Ins...

Today is Earth day. The Earth is composed of mostly water. Therefore today should be mostly about water. I hope you do not mind my philosophical stretch. But how can you blame me since the fishmonger must be focused on the seas and such? Let us not make light of today's significance, even though I may not agree with many that take a particular extreme view of today's environmental issues, PETA for one. I for one enjoy eating seafood, and I am especially invested in the seafood industry for my livelihood. I just believe that protection does not exclusively rule out enjoyment. If you are a first time visitor please take a moment to look around. I hope that you enjoy my musings and smattering's of actual information. I welcome, actually I encourage your comments and questions be they friendly or otherwise. Actually I hope to expand the content here with additional authors, so stay tuned. And happy Water, eh.. Earth Day.

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

I am always glad to see seafood sustainability in the public realm. I was inspired by this recent New York Times editorial .Like many issues today there is, as the author points out, a lot of confusion and bad information being bantered about. There is unfortunately a perception that farmed is bad (sometimes true) and that wild caught is better (not always the case). I am a fishmonger in New York and even some of the most savvy chefs are just starting to address this issue. Much of the problem of seafood sustainability I think is the general disconnect that the American consumer has developed with food. When I try to sell some sustainable species like mackerel (a small oily and relatively abundant fish) I hear that people do not like it. The truth might be that they won't try it. My advice: 1. Get a seafood guide for your local. Blue Ocean Institute is great for the Northeast. Monterey Bay is better if you live near the Pacific . 2.Get to know your fishmonger. Ask lots of questio...

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...

The last two weeks lack of tuna supply were like nothing we have seen in recent times. The compounded effects of the monthly lunar schedule , and the fisherman's efforts to squeeze the most out of a gallon of diesel led to something like a "perfect storm". I will be speaking this week to everyone I know in the tuna trade, and maybe we can come up with some predictions for next month. I doubt that the announcement last week by some Pacific Island nations to ban tuna fishing in their waters added to the low supply, but it makes an interesting side story.

A couple weeks ago I wrote that Copper River salmon would be in New York this week. I was wrong about that, but pricing predictions were more accurate. All seafood prices have been trending up, but with catches roughly one fifth the quota these fish demanded record prices. Prices in the pacific northwest, not including freight costs to the east coast were $15.00 to $17.00 wholesale for Sockeyes, and over $19.00 for Kings. With these kind of prices it had me looking for last seasons frozen production. Unfortunately most of the quality fish has been taken, and what little frozen wild salmon remains is dull, soft and tired fish. I have had some really nice frozen wild salmon to get me through the winters, but the probabilities are diminishing that we will see fresh demand at levels low enough to freeze and store this hot commodity.

I received word today that the opening day for the Copper river in Alaska will be May 15th. Prices this year are expected to be quite strong, due lack of fish from the rest of the coastal Pacific region. If you want some of these fish you might want to contact your fishmonger today, and place a pre-order as fish will be scarce to start. Copper river sockeyes and kings should be available for delivery in the New York area by Monday, May 19th. Then we will see an opening bi-weekly through mid June. Prices tend to fall off significantly as the season progresses, so if you can wait a week to buy some slightly more reasonably priced fish. Prices will not see last years levels, as fuel and limited production continue to drive prices despite lessened consumer demand.

California, and Oregon are acting to save the future of wild salmon. There is a big problem concerning the amount of water available in that area. Apparently too much water is being diverted to agriculture to provide the salmon with the river and stream beds needed to reproduce. I think that it is a good move to stop the harvest this year, but it is obvious to me that we need to think about the root causes of these problems. Attention government officials you need to relax your allegiance to Agra powers that be. Not only does this problem drastically affect the salmon, but it is a huge financial burden to the local fishery, and those people involved with it. This is one case where the lack of fish is not solely due to poor management. Today is Earth day and this should be a wake up call for everyone. If you want to do something write your elected officials and let them know you care. I hope that the closure is not too little or too late. Take a look at these related websites as well. h...

Northeast - Tautog Fishery Moratorium Ended NOAA Fisheries has announced the cancellation of the Federal moratorium on fishing for tautog in the State waters of New Jersey. NOAA Fisheries canceled the moratorium, as required by the Atlantic Coastal Fisheries Cooperative Management Act, based on the determination that New Jersey is now in compliance with the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission's Tautog Interstate Fishery Management Plan. For addition information, please contact Bob Ross , NOAA Fishery Management Specialist, telephone (978) 281-9327.

If you are a Chef in the great city of New York, I would like to extend an invitation to an upcoming event. For more information reply to this post, or use the contact the fishmonger link.

I hope that any readers of this blog will not take the last few posts as any indicator of the general tone I would like to portray. That being said there is definitely some reason for concern when it comes to seafood, its sustainability, and the future of the oceans. I for one have faith that together the industry, and humans will do the right thing. It will take some time for the public to get the message, and be the right kind of driving force. The future is aquaculture, but aquaculture done right. For so many years and just as many news articles the public has been fed a steady diet of the failures and problems of aquaculture, and the greatness of wild fish. Of course there is always some truth, and I am not going to argue that farmed salmon is the best thing since sliced bread, but I doubt that it has more impact on the environment than conventional land based meat production. At least the industry is having the conversation, and some farms are doing things to lessen the impact. On...

Another case of limited number of fish, and a bigger consumer appetite than it can accomidate. In todays dining section of the New York Times

The PFMC (Pacific Fisheries Management Council) claims that the reasons for the sudden collapse of the Sacramento fall Chinook stock is “not readily apparent.” “Ocean conditions have been poor, and there are a lot of things that can go wrong for salmon in freshwater, “ said David Artmann, Vice-Chairman of the PFMC. However, fishermen point to massive increases in water exports from the California Delta in recent years as the key factor in the decline, accompanied by dams, increasing water pollution, poaching, unscreened diversions, habitat loss and other problems. “There are many factors that went into our salmon decline, but none as significant as the loss of freshwater flows to the Delta and San Francisco Bay which are essential for maintaining the biological function of this estuary and sustaining native salmon and other fish populations,” said Zeke Grader, executive director of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations, in a press conference held by a coalition of...