On March 13, an Antarctic and Patagonian Toothfish poaching ship was stopped in waters that were under control of the West African state of Liberia by local coast guards and the NGO Sea Shepherd. This ship, otherwise known as F/V Hai Lung or by its previous name Kily, was sailing free through Liberian waters when it was taken over by a Liberian coast guard team. The ship had operated under a long list of names, including Yele, Ray, Constant, Tropic, and Isla Graciosa, but this infamous vessel has now been black-listed by the CCAMLR and the North East Atlantic Fisheries Commission. Due to this, the ship has\ been denied access in Angola and Togo. Last year, it was detained in Nigeria for entering its waters without authorization.

Troublemakers: they’re everywhere.

This is just one instance of illegal fishing – one that shows how persistent the world’s pirates can be. They are almost as sneaky as their big-film cousins (think Captain Jack Sparrow here). While pirates call just about any corner of the world “home,” there are big oceans that need policing, and that’s no easy feat. That’s where the CCAMLR comes in; it was established in response to increasing commercial interest in Antarctic krill resources, a keystone component of the Antarctic ecosystem and a history of over-exploitation of several other marine resources in the Southern Ocean. Yes, the pirate police on the beat. This is exciting stuff! But this time, it’s not on the big screen – it’s taking place in our oceans and it has an immense impact.

Illegal fishing is a problem for a multitude of reasons. Obviously, this poses a challenge for traceability. If the fish is illegally caught, you’re going to have a hard time tracing it back to where it originally came
from. Poaching also puts massive strains on fish stocks, depleting populations rapidly and making it extremely difficult to impose accurate quotas on different fishing regions from year to year. Monitoring poaching ships is also highly difficult and they often come with big human rights issues, with poor working conditions and insanely low wages for fishermen. Clearly, the world needs amazing organizations like CCAMLR to help keep our oceans safe for our seafood, our fishermen, and our ocean environment. They do this by tirelessly monitoring the seas and barring ships from entering illegal fishing areas.

One thing you can take away from this recent pirate incident and help combat illegal poaching? Stay informed about where your seafood is coming from! Speak with your seafood distributor (yeah, us) about where your fish was happily swimming before it was caught. Oftentimes, it can be traced back to the exact ship, fishing location, and captain. Rest assured, we’re doing things the right way. Falling victim to the bad behavior of pirates is easy when you’re uninformed – so don’t be a scallywag or a salty dog!

Know your fish, eat your fish; it’s all part of the growing importance of ocean safety and security.

Lionfish

The Lionfish is a tropical fish and it is an established invasive species on the East Coast of the U.S. and in the Caribbean. It is fast-growing, an insatiable eater, reproduces year round, and has no known predators in the areas to which it has been introduced, so it is quickly becoming a threat to local ecosystems, especially along the central and south Atlantic coasts. One way to help save the environment: eat more Lionfish! In areas where it is native, such as the Red Sea in Greece and many islands in the Pacific, the Lionfish is regularly consumed. These slow-pokes are typically caught with spears or hand-held nets, a catch method that results in little bycatch or damage to the habitat. The fins of the Lionfish are venomous, but are easily removed after being caught and the poison is neutralized by heat, as through cooking. The Lionfish has a white flesh and is said to taste similar to certain Snappers and Groupers.

Spiny Lobster

Spiny Lobsters basically eat anything you put in front of them, but they’re mostly known for consuming small Snails and Crabs, decaying organic matter, and some plants. Incredibly hungry crustaceans, they have exoskeletons that do not expand and they must shed often in order to grow bigger. Before molting, a Spiny Lobster begins building a new, bigger skeleton inside the existing one. As it gets too big to be contained, it splits open the outer shell and the new exoskeleton hardens. Spiny Lobsters are more active at night and that’s when they go out to forage for food. These babies are super sweet; way sweeter than the Maine Lobster but you’re not likely to find it on your American plate any time soon. About 90% of the live Spiney Lobster market gets sold to China due to their insanely high demand and the percentage gets higher every year, while American consumers aren’t willing to pay the price for this unique looking Lobster. If you happen to find a Spiny Lobster on your menu down the line, be sure to give it a try (you might not see it again) – it’s chewy, nutty, and again, very sweet!

Sea Urchin

If you’re a big fan of sushi, you’ve probably already heard of Uni, the Japanese word for Sea Urchin. The gonads of the Sea Urchin is a delicacy in Japan, and often it can retail for as high as $360 per kilogram. It is served raw as sashimi or in sushi, with soy sauce and wasabi and it is imported in large quantities to Japan, mostly from America and South Korea. California Uni is abundant and especially delicious and most of it is exported to the Japanese market but it is enjoyed in the United States as well with many consumers loving the unique texture and the flavor is a surprising mix of sweetness and ocean brine. Don’t be scared to try new things! Uni is becoming more and more popular every day, so if you see it on the menu during your next visit to the sushi bar, give it a shot!

Nordic Wolffish

The Nordic Wolffish is a pretty scary looking thing but it’s perfect for frying or grilling! It kind of looks like an eel with a really big head. Wolffish has delicious, firm flesh similar to Monkfish (another ugly looking fish). Because they live on shellfish, the meat can also have a flavor reminiscent of Shrimp. This fish holds up really well in a fish stew, and it’s especially great when fried as cutlets. Most Wolffish are caught off the shores of Iceland near the Arctic Circle. This fish is super unique: they’re known by the natural antifreeze they produce to keep their blood moving fluidly in their very cold habitat and the large size of their eggs. The Icelandic Wolffish population success is also an important factor in the health of other bottom-dweller populations, such as Atlantic Cod. Important to the ocean environment, versatile in the kitchen, and super delicious? What a combo!

Mantis Shrimp

A marine crustacean named for its resemblance to the praying mantis, Mantis Shrimp are typically found as a sushi topping, are boiled whole, and eaten out of the shell. They appear in various Mediterranean cuisines (in Italy, they are Canocchie) and there are over 450 different species of Mantis Shrimp. The meat is intensely sweet, like Lobster, only even more tender than the most tender of tiny Lobsters. It is, by far, the most delicious of the squirmy crustaceans you’ll encounter at the local fish market. If you can get your hands on some Mantis Shrimp, prepare them as you would Prawns, Shrimp, and Langostinos: in pasta, linguine, paella, risotto, and anything else your heart desires. Or, just boil and get to grubbing.

Northern Pufferfish

Ever have a buttermilk fried Pufferfish with tartar sauce? We have, and let us tell you: it has to be tasted to be believed. Essentially, it’s the Kentucky fried fish you need in your life. Fry these guys up whole and you have yourself a party. The Pufferfish makes a lot of appearances in cartoons and sunny seaside town decals at seafood restaurants and beyond, but most people don’t know that you can actually eat them. The Pufferfish’s ability to “blow up” and appear larger is its way of communicating to predators, “Hey, I’m bigger than you! Don’t mess with me!” But make no mistake, they’re all talk and no action. The Northern Pufferfish inhabits bays, estuaries and protected coastal waters at depths of 10–183 m along the Atlantic seaboard and this particular species is non-toxic, in contrast to many other kinds of blowfish. The firm, tender, white meat along its stiff backbone tastes so much like chicken that you just need to give it a try and see for yourself that the Northern Pufferfish is the REAL chicken of the sea.

“Sustainability has always been important to the Alaskan people,” says Lasprogata. “Sustainability has been built into their state constitution to make sure we take care of these natural resources so they’ll be around for years to come.” With seafood being such a cornerstone to culture, economy, and the environment, it’s obvious that we need to pay closer attention to our impact on the world around us. With this understanding in mind, we can better enjoy our seafood in a sustainable way – one that doesn’t cause overfishing and other issues. The many species caught in Alaska are excellent choices for the conscientious chef, who not only wants to source responsibly, but also wants to add more seafood to the menu.

Soft Shell Crabs! Get your Soft Shells! Did you know Soft Shell Crabs shed 20 times in their lifetime? There’s a big shedding going on right now in New Jersey, so this is a great time to buy! We also have updates of Fluke, Black Sea Bass and an exclusive Skuna Bay Salmon deal.

A good tuna grading program always starts with sourcing.

When a tuna gets hooked, it starts to swim in circles to try to escape. Tuna can raise their body temperature 5-10 degrees higher than regular water temperature, actually cooking the fish from the inside out. As it starts to calm down, the temperature drops. And this is when you want to reel in the fish. Once the fish is pulled onto the boat, a method called Ikejime is used. Fishermen will stick a long metal rod down the spinal column to paralyze the fish and maintain the freshness of the meat. This ensures there is no lactic acid build up in the muscle when the fish is bled.

After the process of Ikejime, the tuna is gutted, and the fish is put into an ice hold with sea water. You want to bring the body temperature down just above freezing as quickly as possible. The fish stay in the slurry, belly down so the blood can drain out. If done properly with no fluctuations in temperature, a high percentage of the catch will be graded as #1.  Not only does this process ensure a great product for the end user, but it also behooves the fishermen to generate the best quality fish possible to maximize the value of the catch.

When the fish is off loaded from the boats, the head and tail are removed and the fish will undergo their first grading process. Each shipment of fish is sent with a grading report. The skin color and appearance can be some indication of quality, but more important is the quality of the flesh.

Finally, we receive the fish fresh at our doors here at Samuels and we begin the second grading process. After lining up all the tunas in our cutting room, we take a small half-moon shaped sample from the smallest diameter of the fish, the tail. The tail is the first place to chill down, so it should be the best looking part of the fish. Next, a core sample is taken from right underneath the fin all the way through the belly. This is the last part to chill and also the last to go bad, making it a great indication of quality. A long metal instrument called a “Sashibo” is pierced into the flesh to extract a sample.

What are we looking for? The Two C’s. Color and Clarity. A good base point is Red Gatorade or Red Jello.

#1:  Super bright red, super clear. Sashimi grade

#2: A slight loss of color and clarity. Good for poke, or other cured applications.

#3: A little more opaque, “grill grade”, can have a bitter taste if eaten raw. Stick to grilling.

All of this information is used to determine the final grade of the fish. Then the fish is packed up and delivered to our customers, for you to enjoy!