Fresh Seafood Market Update
 www.fishwise.org |
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FishWise is a not-for-profit sustainability consultancy dedicated to raising awareness about seafood choices and ocean conservation issues among the consumer public. |
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Rating LEGEND: |
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NR = Not Rated |
Weekly Seafood Market Report:
Week of August 30, 2010
Wahoo is troll caught out of Hawaii and will be available throughout the week. Prices are stable. Our fish are air-freighted whole and cut to order to produce the highest quality product available. Hawaiian Wahoo carries a Yellow sustainability rating from FishWise and Monterey Bay Aquarium.
Fresh Albacore out of Hawaii and 
Fresh Albacore out of Fiji will be available this week and prices are stable. Fijian Albacore is long-line caught, bled live for the ultimate in quality and is flown in daily for top notch freshness. Longline Fijian Albacore carries a Red rating from FishWise, while Hawaiian Longline Albacore carries a Yellow rating.
Local Snapper and Canadian Snapper availability is stable. We should have plenty throughout the week. There should be some price relief by the weekend. We will feature both Canadian and Local product this week. Local, if available, will be from the fishing vessel Millennium caught off of Morro Bay. Local fish will provide the highest quality while Canadian fish will be the least expensive. Local product is rated Yellow for sustainability. Canadian Rockfish carries a Red sustainability rating.
Petrale is out of Canada and will be available throughout the week. Prices are stable. Dover out of Canada and locally caught out of Monterey will be available throughout the week. Both are rated Yellow.
Local Trap Caught Black Cod (Sablefish availability will be tight early in the week due to rough weather but should improve for the weekend. As always, our fish are caught and held live on boats until off loading. The quality is incredible and Black Cod is exceptionally versatile. Black Cod carries a Yellow sustainability rating.
Tuna will be available throughout the week and prices have stabilized. Quality and grade remains excellent. We are offering hand-line caught product from Hawaii for maximum quality, as well as sustainability rating and Troll caught product from Fiji due to the limited amount of Hawaiian supply. Central Coast Seafood does not sell Bluefin Tuna due to its poor sustainability rating and decreasing fish stocks. All of our Ahi is cut from Yellowfin or Bigeye. Hawaiian fish and Troll fish from Fiji carry a Yellow Sustainability rating.
Swordfish is available but supplies are very limited. The price is dropping. We will be flying in long-line Sword from Hawaii and New Zealand throughout the week and fish has been excellent in terms of quality and freshness. Local product could be available by the end of the week. Long-line Hawaiian Sword carries a Yellow rating.
Opah availability will be stable this week. We expect additional fish for the weekend but cannot confirm supply until mid week. Price has dropped slightly. Our product is long-line caught locally as a by-catch with sea bass. Long-line Opah carries a Yellow sustainability rating.
Escolar out of Hawaii will be available throughout the week and into the weekend with quality remaining excellent. Escolar, known and sold in Hawaii and Fiji as Walu, is exceptionally rich and versatile. Often marketed as White Tuna, Escolar is also often mistakenly called oil fish (a much lower quality and less expensive fish which is also misrepresented as Escolar). Escolar features a high oil content making it extremely versatile and forgiving. Escolar is not currently rated by FishWise.
Mahi Mahi availability has stabilized and the price is softening. Our product is troll caught out of Hawaii and long-line caught out of Hawaii. Mahi Mahi is rated Yellow for sustainability.
Australis Brand Barramundi is only available by special request and we do require a few days lead time. Fatty, moist and delicious, barramundi have been compared to sea bass, striped bass and Tropical snapper. Australis Barramundi understands the connection between quality stewardship practices and a quality product. Through their innovative, eco-friendly operation, they have successfully brought Australia’s premier fish to the United States. Prized for its exceptional taste and versatility, Australis Barramundi carries a “Best Choice” sustainability rating from FishWiseTM and the Seafood Watch program and carries a Green rating for sustainability.
Local White Sea Bass is available but price remains high. Average size is in the 20# range and fish are delivered daily to ensure top quality. Santa Barbara fishermen Pete Buompensiero, Manuel Martine and Tim Muichey will provide our product and all will be landed and delivered daily to meet our high quality standards. White Sea Bass is gill-net and long-line caught and carries a Green rating for sustainability.
Bluenose Sea Bass is currently available. Fish quality has been exceptional. Bluenose is long-line caught in New Zealand and carries a Yellow sustainability rating.
Fresh Alaskan Halibut season is open and prices continue to climb to record highs. Boats are catching 10/20’s, 20/40’s, 40/60’s. We will continue to defrost CCS high quality Alaskan Halibut this week with prices remaining reasonable compared to fresh product. Alaskan Halibut carries a Green rating through FishWise/Seafood Watch.
Yellowtail out of Mexico will be available throughout the week and continues to be an excellent buy. They are catching fish averaging close to 20# and are of exceptional quality. Our fish are long-line caught and handled with care. Yellowtail provides one of the best values available this week. Yellowtail is rated Yellow for sustainability.
California Halibut out of Baja is up slightly but still a great value and an excellent alternative to the higher priced Alaskan Halibut. We will also feature limited amounts of local product, which while more expensive is the highest quality product available and caught with far more care for the marine environment. California Halibut is rated Yellow for sustainability.
Local Sushi Halibut is available but very expensive. Local Halibut carries a Yellow sustainability rating.
Truecod out of Alaska will be available for the end of the week. Our Truecod is flown in whole and cut to order for the ultimate in quality. Truecod carries a Green sustainability rating.
Lingcod will be available for the weekend. Our Lingcod is long-line caught, purchased whole and cut to order to produce the freshest product possible. The quality is exceptional. Lingcod carries a Yellow sustainability rating.
Wild Sockeye Salmon will be available but as we are nearing the end of the season the prices will start to climb. Our sockeyes will be from Cook Inlet, Alaska and the price has dropped slightly. As always fish are being flown in for freshness. Alaskan Sockeye carries a Green sustainability rating.
Alaskan Wild Coho Salmon is available this week and remains an excellent buy. Our Alaskan Coho are from Cook Inlet and will be cut from over 6# fish providing an ideal fillet size. Quality is excellent and Coho provides an excellent value among wild salmon species. Alaskan Coho salmon carries a Green Sustainability rating.
Farmed Natural King Salmon out of Canada are available. Product quality is high and fish are hormone and antibiotic free. As with all farmed salmon, farmed kings carry a Red sustainability rating.
Troll King Salmon out of Alaska and the Columbia River, Local Troll King Salmon out of Fort Bragg and California Kings are available and have a Green sustainability rating. Prices are dropping.
Scottish Farmed Salmon and Huon Tasmanian Farmed Salmon are available and the market is stable. We are trying to source a good alternative which will still be held to CCSF high quality standards and offered at a fair price. Our product is from farms that are renowned for their quality and exceptional approach to minimizing environmental impact as well as being hormone and antibiotic free. As with all farmed salmon, Scottish and Tasmanian Farmed Salmon carry a Red sustainability rating.
Farmed Atlantic Salmon market is stable. Central Coast Seafood will not carry Chilean product as the quality of that fish does not meet our specifications. As with all farmed salmon, Canadian Atlantic Salmon carries a Red sustainability rating.
Farmed Steelhead out of Washington is available this week. They are a good alternative to Atlantic Farmed Salmon and are currently not yet rated by FishWise. However, they are recommended as an excellent alternative to Farmed Salmon due to their excellent farming practices.
Bronzini out of Greece will be available throughout the week. Prices have have stabilized and most likely will come down over the next week. The fish are chill-killed to ensure maximum quality and farmed using environmentally sound practices. Bronzini and Dorade are both not currently rated for sustainability.
We are proud to feature Regal Springs brand Fresh Tilapia flown in from Ecuador. It will be available for the weekend. This exceptional mild whitefish is very versatile and provides a consistent quality product that is available year round. Tilapia is rated Yellow by FishWise and provides an exceptional value.
Arctic Char will be available throughout the week and into the weekend. It is being flown in from the East Coast. Moist in flesh and delicate in flavor, Arctic Char is described as a cross between trout and salmon. Farmed Arctic Char is also rated Green for sustainability. Slightly more mild than salmon, Arctic Char can be used in all applications suited for salmon and is an excellent alternative to farmed salmon.
Thresher Shark out of Santa Barbara will be available throughout the week. While Shark is rated Red through FishWise/Seafood Watch, we try to use only common California Thresher and Mako shark which are from the best managed fisheries. We also only receive Thresher as an incidental catch species and do not ask our fishermen to target shark due to its poor sustainability rating.
Fresh Picked Dungeness Crab Meat out of Washington is available in 5# and 1# containers. Price has climbed slightly.
Laughing Bird Shrimp from Belize will be available throughout the week. Years of thoughtful environmental design went into producing this remarkable, candy sweet shrimp that is favored by seafood lovers. Processed and chilled moments after harvest, these all natural, hormone free, antibiotic free shrimp contain no preservatives. Each shrimp is hand peeled with care to ensure superior quality. Laughing Bird Shrimp is not currently rated for sustainability.
Scallops will be available throughout the week but prices have strengthened significantly on the largest sizes due to the limited supply that is typical with this time of year. We have also added ½ gallon containers (4#) for those customers needing an alternative to full gallon size containers. We have obtained a new supplier and continue to buy direct and fly our product in for top quality and value. We feature Dry Pack (no preservatives added) as well as Processed product.
Mexican Mano De Leon Scallops will be available this week but prices have taken a large jump as only limited production is available over the next 2 months. Quality and freshness have been excellent. These extremely large scallops are also dry pack and diver caught for quality. Mano De Leon Scallops are not currently rated for sustainability.
Fanny Bay, Chef Creek, Dabob, Royal Myagi, Blue Point, Kushi, Malpaque and Beausoleil Oysters will all be available this week.
Grassy Bar Oysters out of Morro Bay are available. They are similar in size to a Large Kumo and are excellent quality.