Local White
Sea Bass

 Green Rating by
FishWise & Seafood Watch

Local Season: 
June-August

Predominantly living in the kelp forests of Southern California, White Sea Bass is currently being caught between the Channel Islands and Morro Bay. Surprisingly, this “White Seabass” is not a seabass, in fact it’s a member of the croaker family. It’s sometimes called a King Croaker.

Prized for its large size and good flavor, this meaty, mouth-filling, muscular, firm fish is excellent for the grill, great seared hard in a pan, broiled or even slowly cooked in a barbecue.

An additional benefit to White Sea Bass is that it’s considered a “Best Choice” by the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch Program as the management efforts have helped California’s population recover.

There are 0.762 grams of Omega-3 Fatty Acids per 3.5 ounce serving of Cooked Sea Bass. Sea Bass is also an excellent source of Magnesium. 

What does
Magnesium do?

Magnesium helps maintain normal muscle and nerve function, keeps heart rhythm steady, supports a healthy immune system, and keeps bones strong. It also helps regulate blood sugar levels and promotes normal blood pressure.*

* Information provided by Answers.com

Try This Recipe! 

Central Coast Seafood is the leader in providing our customers with the highest quality seafood produced in a safe and sanitary environment, and sourced from environmentally responsible and sustainable sources. Our exceptional service is recognized through our desire to build our customers’ business by contributing responsibly to their communities and playing an integral role in their success.

Read more about our mission 

This is a question that all of our customers have asked at one time or another…

and often with panic or frustration in their voices. It can be maddening for everyone when we are unable to fulfill your order as requested. So, please allow us to explain ourselves and introduce you to the (mostly) wonderful world of seafood hunting.

We are Hunters!

We wish we could order our fish by making a single call to one, big, perfect boat that sails all of the waters of the world. It would set out every day rain or shine and bring back to port exactly what we need to keep you, our loyal customers, happy. Similar to the way a beef or chicken purveyor can call the slaughter house or chicken farm and make an order. Oh the simple life! 

The reality of ordering and purchasing 600 different types of fresh, whole fish and shellfish from points around the world is not so simple. Our buyer and thirty year seafood veteran arrives at the plant no later than 6:00 every morning and systematically checks our inventory, the world weather conditions, acts of God and Man (volcanoes, earthquakes, oil spills) and begins making his countless phone calls to all of his “suppliers” (fishermen) who, depending on literally everything, will dictate our stock for the following day. He then makes his order, e.g., to our supplier in Alaska who will be halibut fishing today and assures us that our 2000 lbs of whole fish will arrive tomorrow. Three hours later, he then receives a call from that same supplier with bad news that a bad storm blew through and no product will be arriving. He then scrambles, hunting for fish from other sources. Most of the time he can find another source, but sometimes he cannot, which then throws our sales department into a tail spin.

Solutions:

When making your order, always offer up a second and third choice. That way, your salesperson can make a note on your order and our cutting team can fulfill your order with your wishes. Or, if there is no second choice that will work for you, please let your salesperson know this so that we are not left to guess whether or not to send a substitute. We do our best to keep you in the loop and pride ourselves on keeping the line of communication open to you. You wouldn’t be our loyal customer if this wasn’t the case, but still, we feel your pain and we do our best to keep you happy!

Ask God to bless the bounty and to keep the fishermen safe as they bring us their catch. Remembering they are hunters and they never know for sure what they will bring home to offer up for tomorrow’s menu. So… next time you want to holler obscenities at your sales rep, try to keep in mind that what you were supposed to receive was a wild animal swimming in the ocean a day or two before, and he got away. And…when you DO receive exactly what you ordered which miraculously is most of the time, smile and give thanks, as we do!

Pan Seared
Sea Bass

with Warm Spinach Salad

compliments of Ken Foster

Ingredients

¼  cup olive oil
4 (6 ounce) fillets sea bass
¼  cup flour
Salt and pepper to taste
1 red onion, cut into thin strips
2 cups button mushrooms, sliced
1 pack grape tomatoes, cut in half
1 pound fresh baby spinach, stems removed
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

Preparation

1. Heat skillet with enough oil to barely cover the bottom of the pan.  Heat to med high.
2. Pat fish dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Lightly dredge fish in the flour.
3. Place fish in skillet top side down and cook till golden brown. Turn fish over and finish cooking until done. It should be firm to the touch and flake easily looking fully opaque.
4. When done remove fish and set on a paper towel to rest.
5. Add to the pan the sliced onion, mushrooms and tomatoes and sauté for 2 min.
6. Add vinegar and spinach and toss just till warmed. Season with salt and pepper.
7. Place spinach salad in center of plate and top with a serving of fish.
8. Drizzle a little of the vinegar dressing over the top of the fish

 Enjoy!

Looking for a Tasty Local Product?

 Try the Grassy Bar Oyster

Grown and harvested locally in Morro Bay, California, the Grassy Bar oyster is a premium gourmet oyster that is perfect for enjoying raw on the half shell, barbequed or any other style of preparation.

These oysters are cultivated and harvested by hand with careful attention and they are extremely environmentally friendly, low in contaminants, and a good source of Omega-3 fatty acids.