Eating less popular fish

[MakoMatt]

Nope, nowadays it's probably American Eel since they've banned elver harvest in both Asia and Europe since their native eels that spawn out in the oceans are endangered. AAMOF when you eat eel in Japan it may have originated in my backyard, which is one of Maine's biggest eel rivers. Japan has been working on starting the whole eel life cycle with roe and milt, but to my knowledge it isn't a major player in this business.

Maine is the only state with a major, regulated business of harvesting baby eels (Elvers, Glass Eels), FL and SC have much smaller harvests. The baby eels sell for over $1,000 a lb and they are shipped to Japan and China where they are grown to adulthood in Aquaculture operations. These are the eels that you'll eat in Japan.

WOW……. $1,000 +per pound for the baby eels??

60 years ago I would go jacking for eels with a friend just east of Goose Island in Massapequa. These were American Eels. We would use my grandmothers 16’ Cobia which was powered with IIRC a 60hp Johnson. She had a beachfront house down at the end of Division Ave, Jomar Court actually. We would usually go out on an early morning low tide when the bay would be flat calm, and get on the upwind side of the flats. We would raise up the engine and let the wind blow us across the shallow bay. Between the two of us we could fill up a garbage pail full of eels on one tide. Most were big too. We would sell them around the neighborhood 3 for $1. We made pretty good money for a couple of 10 year olds. LOL, at today’s prices we would’ve been a couple of 10 year old millionaires!!

My grandmother, who emigrated from Sicily, and a great cook, would fry one up for dinner. She taught me how to skin the eel too, like taking a sock off. She probably more than anyone else got me hooked on fishing.

 

[flounderbound]

anybody taste oyster toad fish? They`re kind of nasty looking but have a three fish catching limit for some reason

 

[Snapprhead27]

anybody taste oyster toad fish? They`re kind of nasty looking but have a three fish catching limit for some reason

Nope! I've only ever caught 1.

 

[BoatGuy]

OK, technically not a fish:
MSN

 

[Fishscale]

I brought a fresh caught fluke and skate to Whit’s End a few years ago and everyone went after the skate it was so good

Never thought a skate would be better than fluke but it was by far

 

[Fishscale]

I actually have the video of the sea robin catch and cook we did at Whit’s End

 

[Jaws1948]

I usually do not buy books anymore. But I do go to the library a lot. My most recent book was : The Fisherman's Wife: Sustainable Recipes and Salty Stories

I am enjoying it as they show you how to cook less popular fish like Sea Robins. However, they have a section on how to prepare Skate (as opposed to Stingrays)

I have eaten Sea Robins. I will say this. When we catch a “mixed bag” of Fluke and Porgy, I have fried up some Sea Robins, and nobody complained. The book has a chapter on eating Sea Robins too.

I have never had a skate. Have you? Tough to clean? Work the trouble? Or is this a must try. I do not believe the stories of restaurants replacing scallops with skate. I thing over 90% can teel the difference.

Back in the day, before I sold my boat, I enjoyed fluke fishing and after a successful day I'd bring some fluke fillets to my mother. She made it crystal clear that she only ate flounder fillet. I finally convinced her that fluke were actually summer flounder. She was good with this and really enjoyed them One day I was into some really huge sea robins from the outside FI reef. I had had robins many times before and really liked them. So I brought some bird fillets to my mother but didn't say what they were. The next day I asked how she liked the fish. She couldn't stop raving about how good they were. That's when I said, "So you really liked them." Her answer was "OK, what did I eat?" When I told her they were sea robins, she changed her mind and they were terrible. But her first response was that they were delicious. For her it was mind over matter. From that day on, she'd ask if I caught any sea robins that day. Fillet the tails properly and don't forget the pin bones and they are a delicious firm, white fillet.