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...

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.

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

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 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...

Would you pledge today to be a sustainable seafood follower? This is just my shameless plug to grow this site. Use the tool to the left of this posting to become a follower. If you enjoy the content available here, or have any suggestions to improve this blog please let me know.

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...

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...

It is estimated that in the near future ( some put the date at 2050 ) our oceans will no longer be able to support the growing seafood demand. In order to keep pace with demand fish farming (aquaculture) production is sure to increase. Now despite all the bad publicity that fish like farmed salmon receive, there are aquaculture operations that are on the cutting edge of sustainability. One in particular is Kona Blue Water Farms , where they raise Kona Kamapchi ( Seriola rivoliana ) a fish that would be known as Almaco Jack or kahala in the wild. I recently read a report they released that shows that the feed efficiency for farmed fish may in fact surpass wild fish. While the jury is still out because the report is subjective, I applaud the effort. Kona Blue is indeed doing the right thing and have received a lot of attention for the high level of stewardship they exhibit. What follows is the press release. Kona Kampachi® - 60 Times Less Impact on Stocks than Wild-Caught Fish S...

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.

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.

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...

Here is an idea for some domestic economic stimulus. Buy and eat United States produced Catfish. Not only will it keep those dwindling dollars here in the states, but it is delicious to boot. And pretty darn sustainable too. So there you have it just stop buying overpriced farmed salmon and give reasonably priced catfish a try.