Beaufort

Happy New Fishing Year

New Year’s Day may be the beginning of the new calendar year, but for fishermen around the country May Day is when things really get started. From Cape Cod to the Carolinas, along the Florida Panhandle, from Neah Bay to Bristol Bay, boats have been readied, nets have been mended, and fish cutters have sharpened their knives for the start of the new fishing year. Winter always feels especially long in the fish world, and as fishing season opens we’re looking forward to the new fish that warmer waters bring and the delicious dishes our chef partners are bound to cook up with what’s landing at the docks.

In the Northeast, May 1 marks the day when squid, black sea bass, fluke, scup, and bluefish quotas open back up for commercial fishermen. In the Chesapeake, blue crab season has been open for weeks, but things really get going when the waters warm up. Down in Beaufort, NC, grouper season has opened, and fisherman David Tucker tells us, “It’s getting ready to bust loose here with pinks, cobia, groupers, amberjack, mahi and wahoo.”  Salmon season is just around the corner, and the trolled king salmon have already picked up, with some starting to make their way to the rivers of the Olympic Peninsula.

Every season has its good aspects, but there’s no beating the time of year when the sun is shining and the fish are biting. Enjoy every moment.

Fish Fraud F***s Fishermen

A study released this week by Oceana has found that one in three fish sold nationwide in restaurants, markets and sushi bars is mislabeled. Seafood mislabeling can’t always be blamed on sellers trying to fool buyers, though this certainly happens. Fish fraud is symptomatic of a convoluted supply chain, in which 91% of the fish consumed in the U.S. is imported and over 50% of fish caught in U.S. waters is sent overseas. With this kind of paradoxical behavior, it’s no wonder seafood mislabeling is such a pervasive problem. But fish fraud not only affects the health and wallets of fish eaters, it hurts fishermen.

The experience of our fishermen friends in Beaufort, North Carolina is a good example of how fish typically gets to market. Jack Cox has been commercial fishing since he was 16. For years he would unload his catch into anonymous grey bins that would be loaded on a truck and driven all the way to New York's Fulton Fish Market, with Jack being unsure of how much, when, and sometimes if, he would get paid. There it was traded and sold again to wholesalers, resold to a processor, resold again, trucked back down to North Carolina, resold again, ending up a week later in restaurants and grocery stores just miles away from where it was originally caught. This tangled distribution chain detaches the fish from the fisherman, driving down the value that the fisherman receives for his catch and creating a nameless product that can easily be re-labeled at the consumer’s expense.

The fish we eat comes from fishing communities, from people who are proud of their work. They want to stand behind their product, and deserve to receive full value from their hard labor. When we shorten the chain between the producer and the consumer, we’re not only protecting our interests as diners, but also the livelihood of fishermen. Jack Cox has found a better solution than the old distribution system: the fish he lands today arrives in our chef’s kitchens tomorrow. Before we can trust the name of a fish, we need to know the name of the fisherman.

A Feast of Seven (Sustainable) Fishes

Among all the ways to celebrate the holidays, we can't help but be partial to the Mediterranean tradition of the Feast of the Seven Fishes, a seafood-centric dinner that takes place on Christmas Eve. Where we come from, any celebration is a good excuse to eat fish, and so come Christmastime we make a point to get in touch with our Italian side.

It's easy to eat fish, but not always easy to know what fish to choose, so we're offering up recommendations for a sustainable seafood feast. We planned this meal with special consideration for the hard-working independent fishermen that brave the seas to bring us our fish, and so each of our choices represents a fishing community worthy of our support and recognition.

Our hope this holiday season is that whether you're preparing a multi-course meal or a humble supper, sustainable and traceable seafood becomes a staple in your kitchen.

1) Atlantic Pollock from Portland, Maine

Though Atlantic Cod has seen hard times, there's plenty of sustainable species still swimming in the Gulf of Maine. One is Atlantic Pollock. A close cousin of Cod, our fisherman friend Terry Alexanderdescribes it as "a good eatin' fish." Best of all, this under-appreciated species drives profit back to traditional New England fishing communities.

2) Squid from Point Judith, Rhode Island

We love a good calamari, but why fry up the tasteless imported squid proliferating the marketplace when you could eat local? Frying up a sustainably managed fresh squid from the waterfront village of the Port of Galilee is a surefire way to rediscover a classic dish.

3) Blue Crab from Cambridge, Maryland

J.M. Clayton is the oldest working crab house in the country. During blue crab season, the fifth-generation family business picks thousands of pounds of crabs bought directly from Chesapeake watermen. No one does it better, and we wouldn't imagine getting our crab elsewhere.

4) Mahi-Mahi from Beaufort, North Carolina

Rapid growing and fast breeding, Atlantic mahi-mahi in many ways epitomizes the perfect sustainable fish. They're abundant along the East Coast, especially in the Mid-Atlantic off of North Carolina's Cape Hatteras, where the Labrador and Gulf Stream currents converge to create a wall of water that's ideal for fishing.

5) Gulf White Shrimp from Port St. Joe, Florida

Wild-caught domestic shrimp gets our vote for the fifth course of our fishy feast. Gulf Shrimp is unmatched in sweet, briny flavor and caught sustainably using special by-catch reduction devices. We especially favor the shrimp landing at Wood's Fisheries in Port St. Joe, Florida, a thriving family-run dock that welcomes the Gulf's best shrimping vessels.

6) American Red Snapper from Destin, Florida

American Red Snapper is one of our favorite fishery comeback stories. A mere decade ago the Gulf fishing community was in trouble due to poorly managed fish stocks and an influx of imported seafood. Now the fishery is sustainably managed using individual fishing quotas (IFQs), and Florida fisherman land abundant American Red Snapper four or five days a week.

7) Pacific Cod from Homer, Alaska

A sustainable alternative to Atlantic Cod on the east coast, Alaska's thriving Pacific Cod fishery is among the best managed in the world. Fishermen harvest Pacific Cod with pots, a method with zero by-catch that does no harm to the sea floor. That's a fish worth eating.

Shining Light on an Opaque Seafood Industry

Before any of us could sleep easy at night knowing that fish cops are keeping our waterways safe, the NY Times reports that 39% of seafood tested is mislabeled. The Boston Globe blew the whistle on yet another case of seafood fraud where one of New England's largest distributors sold mislabeled fish to many of Boston's top restaurants. DNA testing revealed that Pacific Cod was used as a stand-in for more valuable local Atlantic Cod, but in each case the distributor resorted to blaming the restaurant, saying that "they have no obligation to make sure restaurant menus are accurate."

Who's really to blame for the rotten situation here? Though we do need better seafood regulation, the real issue is the supply chain itself. It is constructed around a byzantine model in which suppliers hide their sources, dealers hide their markets, and fish becomes a commodity whose value is lost from the people and communities who harvest them. The current opaque supply chain needs accountability before we can have a real discussion about sustainable seafood.

If you were to track the history of one fish traveling through the traditional distribution channel, the journey might make you dizzy. Jack Cox, a fishermen we work with in Beaufort, NC, described a situation that is far too common. Fish caught in North Carolina is loaded into bins, sold and trucked up to New York's Fulton Fish Market, where it is traded and sold again to wholesalers, trucked back down to North Carolina, where it is bought and sold again before being sold to restaurants and markets miles from where it was originally caught a week earlier. This kind of distribution system is not only convoluted, but results in increased cost and food without a story, identity, or community to stand behind it. But the conversation is changing. Diners are realizing that food tastes better when they can name the producer, and in turn, producers treat their product with more respect when there's a face to the user. Most of all, a direct and transparent model allows for accountability -- something sorely lacking in current distribution channels.

Mislabeling fish is simply wrong -- suppliers do have a responsibility to educate their customers, and the system is responsible for connecting the beginning with the end. Fish from a warehouse with no name behind it, in an unregulated industry, will only perpetuate nameless products from nameless producers. It's not until we demand traceability behind the food we eat can we expect the food we deserve.

Fish Cops

Maintaining healthy fisheries requires three disciplines: science, management, and the third leg of the stool - enforcement. Marine mammal shootings and smuggling operations, international conspiracies and local fraud, paper trails and money trails: these are the kinds of issues NOAA’s Fish Cops confront every day. From busts where “16 federal agents in Crown Victorias and Ford Expeditions pulled into the parking lot, entered the building in pairs, wearing bulletproof vests and carring Glock pistols” to being part of a “Seafood Task Force that surveyed 103 restaurants and retail groceries and found 74% had some type of labeling violation in their seafood”, Fish Cops are looking to bring the bad guys down. "We found many had crawfish being sold as lobster; farmed salmon being sold as wild salmon; seabream and pollock being substituted for snapper; fluke being substituted for halibut; and imitation abalone, crab and octopus being sold as the real product," said Supervisor Michael Antonovich. NOAA’s Fish Cops have “opened 902 cases in 2012 so far”.

With 91% of all seafood consumed in the US in 2011 coming from outside America, and with traceability virtually impossible in our long-standing opaque seafood supply chain, it is good that attention is being paid to the well-being of both consumers and fishermen. Growing support for the Safety And Fraud Enforcement for Seafood Act (HR6200) is a big step in the right direction for traditional American fishing communities and jobs.

Our Nantucket Scallopers have been landing pristine bay and sea scallops almost every day this month, and will continue through until spring. About 50 nautical miles north, long time scallop man Jean Frottier died last week when his 40-foot fishing vessel, the Twin Lights, capsized and sank two miles off Provincetown. Kurt Schmidt, a lobster diver who partnered with Frottier in various ventures over the years, said his friend could have cut the line and saved his vessel, but he believes Frottier was trying to save the traps for the lobsterman. Fishermen are an amazing breed.

As fishing slows down in New England, the fishing is picking up in Beaufort, NC. Jack Cox and Dave Tucker are bottom fishing, while their buddies are Green Sticking for tuna and Pound Netting for flounder. They are landing lots of beautiful fish for this holiday season.

Don’t buy fish from strangers.

Who Caught Your Fish?

A NY Times article this week talked about the changing fishing culture in Greenland. Climate change has diminished commercial fishing opportunities, and mining is being considered as an economic alternative. While this might bring new jobs to the region, it's not a change that everyone wants. "It's about traditions, the freedom of a boat, family professions," says Greenland's housing and infrastructure minister. We've heard this sentiment before. Fishing is more than a business for our Maine fisherman friend Terry Alexander. "It's a way of life for us," he explains. Maybe it's time fishing cultures get more consideration.

The sustainable seafood movement doesn't seem to have taken off the way the local/organic food movement has, and we wonder if that's because the human component of fishing has too often been ignored. Local farms were recognized as a necessary part of our cultural fabric, and now chefs and home cooks alike take pride in knowing the name of the guy who grows their vegetables. We see restaurant menus that can name the person who produces their salt, but can't name the guy who catches their fish. Don't tell me about your warehouse, tell me about your fisherman.

Fish are jumping off Beaufort, NC, where Captain James Holden of the F/V Sea Mint is landing beautiful day-boat Wahoo and Mahi. Captain Dave “Grouperman” Tucker is bottom fishing for serious grouper, and the pound-netters are landing Flounder, Sheepshead and Drum. Two greenstick boats are pulling beautiful Yellowfin Tuna, and the day-boat Wahoo is $11.90/lb delivered, less if you are within 300 miles of the dock. This is the season to enjoy the incredible bounty from the bottom of NC’s Outer Banks.

PBS Newshour ran a frightening story this week about shrimp farmers from Thailand exploiting workers for cheap shrimp. Why would someone want antibiotic-filled imported shrimp that tastes bad, when they can have wild, sustainable, delicious shrimp and support Gulf Coast shrimpers? Beats me.

The fall season begins the end of the Northeast Striped Bass season. Please take a minute and watch this awesome 1956 newsreel about the passion of striper fishermen. Way cool.

Independent Fishermen on Independence Day

So what does sustainable mean? According to Wikipedia, it's the "capacity to endure". Over the past ten years we have seen US fish populations grow dramatically, from a point where their very existence was threatened to where we can see a sustainable future. “With annual catch limits in place this year for all domestic fish populations and the continued commitment of fishermen to rebuild the stocks they rely on, we’re making even greater progress in ending over-fishing and rebuilding stocks around the nation” reports NOAA. Although all is not perfect, this is great news for all, especially for traditional fishing communities whose extended families depend on healthy fisheries. Sea to Table wants to create better markets for the fishermen who feed these villages. Please take a minute and visit with a few of our friends:

John Bahrt  Sitka, AK

Chris Nicholson  Naknek, AK

Jack Cox  Beaufort, NC

Terry Alexander  Portland, ME

Vermillion Snapper season opens today in North Carolina, and on this holiday week FedEx will only be delivering on Tuesday, Friday and Saturday. Enjoy Fourth of July festivities. "It's our patriotic duty to eat mussels, clams and oysters," according to our friend Barton Seaver. "A dozen oysters, a six-pack of beer, and a bottle of Tabasco is the most patriotic thing I can think of".

It's not just about the fish

We applaud the folks at Whole Foods (who shot this video with us down in Beaufort, NC last month) in their efforts to protect fish populations, but traditional fishing cultures need protecting as well. We carefully follow the advice of the scientific community, but by-catch species such as triggerfish in the Carolinas and little skate in New England with healthy abundant populations remain “unranked”. These under-appreciated, under-utilized species mean a great deal to the fishermen. Taking care of the fish is not enough; this resource feeds a whole community.

May Day has been a tradition of festivities throughout the centuries; a celebration of Spring, a day of political protest, pagan festivals, a saint's feast day, and opening day for grouper season in the Carolinas. Dave Tucker will start dayboat fishing grouper, pink snapper, cobia and amberjack on the F/V Emily's Weigh. James Holden will be doing the same for grouper and triggerfish on the F/V Sea Mint. Ray, Ian, and Randy Gray will be gigging flounder from the F/V Flounder Hounder at night with lights shining in the water. Way cool.

The only guy tough enough to go out in the fierce winds off Beaufort last week was Captain Donnie White of the F/V Sea Wolf. He has been greensticking for mahi, blackfin, yellowfin, and wahoo. Greenstick fishing rigs consist of long fiberglass poles mounted to the stern with no more than 10 hooks attached. Hooks are baited with plastic squid and trolled across the surface, mimicking flying fish skipping across the water. The Japanese introduced the gear to Hawaii in the 1980’s, and the quick retrieval allows fishermen to bring better fish to market, while significantly reducing by-catch.

Good news and bad news from New England where herring populations are strongly rebounding, while yellowtail flounder quota was cut by 80%. Very bad news from further north in Nova Scotia where Cooke Aquaculture was ordered by the Canadian government to destroy their entire salmon farm population due to a reemergence of the dreaded ISA virus. Friends don’t let friends eat farmed salmon. Alaska wild salmon season is just around the corner.

The Whole Fish

The trend of chefs butchering and utilizing everything from snout to tail reaches from coast to coast. Now we are seeing some amazing dishes from parts of fish that rarely see the plate. Michael White is serving sablefish collars at Marea in NYC. Yoshi Tome, owner of Sushi Ran in Sausalito, describes the Japanese delicacy monkfish livers as "very rich and creamy, but yet at the same time very light and delicate, feeling silky and velvety to the palate". When grouper fishermen came in from sea, they used to put the grouper cheeks aside for themselves; the cheeks are that good. We like no waste.

Things have gotten very challenging in the tuna world. US imports of treated yellowfin tuna fell almost 30 percent last year. The word from Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam, is that the fish are nowhere to be found. Moon Marine USA Corp. of Cupertino, CA is voluntarily recalling 58,828 pounds of imported yellowfin tuna that has been linked with an outbreak of salmonella. It has sickened more than 100 people in 20 states, federal health authorities reported Friday.

Our boys in Beaufort, NC have been steadily landing line-caught yellowfin, but high market demand has been forcing prices steadily higher. The lack of fresh yellowfin has pushed prices of 2+ loins above $15/lb. As spring turns to summer the fish will migrate north, and we will see steady supply landing in Montauk, NY. We are grateful that the well managed US fishery is allowing a sustainable yield, and that our chefs can serve a safe and delicious product.

Cardinals fans should join us on Tuesday afternoon at St Louis’s Sidney Street Café where we will be hosting an event along with Chef’s Collaborative, enjoying Bristol Bay wild sockeye and Florida wild white shrimp with a glass of wine. Promises to be delicious and fun.

Crawfish season is back in swing, and we are shipping live bugs from Natchitoches, LA. From Martha’s Vineyard, MA we are landing live scallops and beautiful steamer clams. A golden tilefish boat will be landing in Portland, ME this week, and will be shipping whole fish at a special price. Beginning next week we will be working with a mid-water trawler from Prince William Sound landing twice weekly at Seward with the famous Alaska side-stripe shrimp. These are the super sweet shrimp that the Japanese call ebi, and most of his catch will be headed for Asia. They can ship together with beautiful halibut, pacific cod, or trolled king salmon.

“Stick to American fisheries, and ‘wild caught’ is best,” Fox News quoted 'Deadliest Catch' Captain Keith Colburn. “When you start buying from overseas without the same health regulations, the quality issues can become scary. There are places that raise chickens above the fish pans, and use the excretions as a food source.” Yum.

Carolina in My Mind

Sun was shining brightly in beautiful Beaufort, NC this week, and I was lucky enough to spend a day with Jack Cox and other fishermen there. Jack is a member of the South Atlantic Management Council and is most concerned with an inability to implement the catch-shares programs that have been benefitting traditional fishing communities around the nation. Still operating under the old “derby” style system, the Carolina grouper/snapper complex is closed to fishing until May 1. “I can’t make enough money to pay for gas keeping only trigger and amber” said F/V Sea Mint Captain James Holden, whose Lumbee ancestors have fished these waters for centuries. “I won’t even go back out until May”. Until then Captain Mike Santos of the F/V Iron Maiden will land summer flounder, and we will see a steady supply of sword and tuna from two boats that will head to their Montauk, NY summer home by June.

On our way home we visited the Raleigh/Durham area, home to a vibrant, growing food scene. We met a great group of chefs at Lantern Restaurant in Chapel Hill, where chef Andrea Reusing put her magic touch on some wild Bristol Bay sockeye salmon and some big wild Florida Gulf white shrimp. An impressive group in an impressive place enjoyed some impressive seafood.

Up north in the Gulf of Maine there is renewed concern for the health of Atlantic cod populations. A step in the right direction happened this week when Whole Foods committed to stop selling all “red-listed” fish by Earth Day 2012, a year ahead of schedule.

Just a few years back the Chesapeake blue crab fishery was in trouble, but strict management has lead it back to where they are now seeking MSC certification. Blue crab season opens today, and when you taste Maryland blue crab in comparison with the Asian product that has flooded the market, it makes you doubly glad that it will be around for our grandkids.

Down in Destin, FL, Chatham Morgan reports that in addition to the steady tuna, snapper, and grouper landing there, mullet, mackerel, pompano, cobia and sheepshead are now being caught within a mile of the beach. These delicious, under-utilized, under-appreciated species, next day from the dock, are a true chef’s delight. Your diners deserve them.

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