Wahoo

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.

It is hard for chefs to balance customer demands, costs, and sustainability. "It can be a struggle,” chef Andrew Carmellini says, to balance his desire to promote lesser-known sustainable fish with pressure to serve the standbys. “It would be easy to put tuna on our menu, but I don’t want to. Instead, I offer wahoo, which is tuna-like. People ask why we don’t just sell tuna instead of this funny fish that sounds like yahoo.” Our friend chef Rich Garcia is the fishermen's best friend, using all types of little-known, lower cost fish in his cooking, like sea robin, dogfish, and porgy. “There are a lot more fish in the sea, my friend." says Garcia. Another approach to controlling costs while supporting fishermen is by utilizing whole fish, creating interesting dishes from “scraps” as well as delicious stocks. For example, this week we will be landing Golden Tilefish in Portland, ME and are able to offer whole fish delivered at $6.90/lb.

"The key to sustainability is having the close relationship to those that are providing the resource” RI fisherman Chris Brown writes. “Ultimately my point is to know your fisherman, become aware of the current state of the species you are interested in, and generally become more educated. Lack of education and awareness are major hurdles to overcome." We need not only worry about the fish, but the traditional fishing communities the resource supports. Around the world, lack of fisheries management is not only devastating fish stocks through illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, but some of the largest US companies have recently been tied to allegations of slave labor practices on foreign vessels. Buy direct from the dock.

And to think that on Thursday night for only $35,800 a plate you could have joined the Obamas in NYC at ABC Kitchen and dined on some of our beautiful Yellowfin Tuna from Montauk.

Although fatty fish are rich in heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids, in recent years the government has warned pregnant women to restrict their intake to avoid exposure to high levels of mercury. But researchers at the Harvard School of Medicine have found a diet high in omega-3 outweigh risks posed by environmental pollution. Pregnant women who ate more than the recommended two servings of fish a week had preschool children who performed better on verbal, visual and motor skills tests than their peers.

There are big happenings in the Dimin family as Sean and Bethany will be making Michael and I grandparents for the first time in late September (it’s a boy!). Yesterday’s baby shower was treated to magnificent day-boat Yellowfin Tuna, Swordfish, and Scallops from Montauk, as well as Gulf White Shrimp from Port St Joe, FL. Everyone had a wonderful time, and we are going to have one real smart baby.

Last week the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council instituted annual catch limits for dozens of species including King Mackerel, Spanish Mackerel, Grouper, Wahoo and Mahi. The decision was hailed for being proactive in setting limits for fish species before they are in trouble. In the past, authorities had no standing catch limits for fish populations until populations became critically low, always in reactive mode. In a region of the country that has had the most difficulty in agreeing on proper fishery management, this is good news.

On Manhattan’s Upper West Side, Doug MacCash, a reporter from The Times-Picayune of New Orleans, stopped at the venerabe Zabar’s while visiting last month. Mr. MacCash discovered a fact of New York culinary life that New Yorkers had not: there was no lobster in Zabar’s lobster salad. It was made with Louisiana Crawfish. If others were troubled by what seemed like a case of misrepresentation, Saul Zabar, the 83-year-old president and co-owner of Zabar’s, was not. “If you go to Wikipedia,” he said, “you will find that crawfish in many parts of the country is referred to as lobster.” One observer commented " ‘Lobster salad’ made with crayfish is like making chicken salad with sparrow. Not quite right.”

For the first time in at least a century, U.S. fishermen won't take too much of any species from the sea, according to one of the nation's top fishery scientists. Steve Murawski said that for the first time in written fishing history, which goes back to 1900, "as far as we know, we've hit the right levels, which is a milestone”. Murawski, who retired this month as chief scientist at NOAA's Fisheries Service, said it's more than a dramatic benchmark - it also signals the coming of increasingly healthy stocks and better days for fishermen. "When you compare the United States with the European Union, with Asian countries, et cetera, we are the only fishing nation who actually has succeeded in ending overfishing".

Although “overfishing” is now ending, many of our nation’s fisheries remain “overfished”. Last year regulators said 37 stocks in US waters were being overfished; New England had the most with 10. But the new catch shares management systems are making a difference. Our friends at FishChoice have released a list of fisheries that have been recently revised in status. There is real hope that with vigilance over time many fish populations will rebound. This progress is encouraging for fishermen and chefs alike.

From Montauk, NY we are now working with Captain Brian Rabe of the F/V Sequel who is deepwater gill-netting Monkfish with minimal by-catch. Gosman’s dock continues to land a weekly Golden Tilefish boat as well as dayboat Fluke and Scallops. From Homer, Alaska Pacific Cod are now landing steadily. Snow and blowing winds off Beaufort, NC have been challenging, but Captain Mark Lewis of the F/V Helen W. Smith should be landing tonight with Triggerfish and Southern Flounder, while Yellowfin Tuna and Wahoo are expected later in the week.

Cold winds and high seas mean a slowing of activities at our docks, and we will only be shipping on Monday and Tuesday (and, if requested, Friday) this Thanksgiving week.

The Alaska Wild Cod season is just beginning, and will be in full swing by year’s end. As the Halibut and Sablefish seasons have closed, Winter Troll King Salmon has started slowly but steadily. We have a good supply of IQF Halibut Cheeks, Weathervane Scallops and Spot Prawns.

From Montauk, NY we will see a slowing of Swordfish, Bluefish, and Tuna. Golden Tilefish will land weekly and our pin-hook Fluke fishermen and Scallop day boat will continue year round, weather permitting.

The boys from Beaufort, NC will see the best weather and should return to port with Triggerfish, Grouper, Red Drum and King Mackerel until Christmas. Tuna and Wahoo should also land for the next month.

More interesting news about Bluefin Tuna from the New York Times and from our friend Bart Van Oliphant. This week Wired Magazine reports on the continuing controversy surrounding genetically-modified farmed salmon and Scientific American questions aquaculture in general.

We are not alone as the number of folks concerned with keeping our oceans healthy continues to grow. 52% of the restaurateurs polled by SeaFood Business cited sustainability among their biggest challenges, compared to just 39% the last time the survey was conducted in 2008.

A wonderful Thanksgiving holiday from our family to yours.