By Richard Stavis

Atlantic Monkfish (Lophius americanus)

 Atlantic Monkfish is a highly prized fish caught in the north Atlantic Ocean.  While it’s commonly found in upscale restaurants in Europe it’s often overlooked in America.  It’s mild flavor and dense meaty texture have earned this fish the nickname “poor man’s lobster”, but it’s more delicate and versatile in cooking than this name would suggest.   Monkfish’s ugliness is legendary.  One wonders how this fish was ever brought to the table.  Don’t get intimidated.  Here’s a how-to that’ll help you bring this tasty fish from the ocean to your table.

 

 

This is a whole Monkfish. Monkfish average 7 to 9 pounds.  They are wild caught in the Atlantic Ocean from the coast of Nova Scotia down to the Carolinas as well as on the European side.

 

 

 

The head of the Monkfish is disproportionally large.  We’ve separated the head from the tail in this picture.  There are 2 parts of the Monkfish which are used- the liver (which is primarily for export) and the tail. 

 

 

 

This is a picture of the skin-on monkfish tail.  This is also the form that we freeze Monkfish for off-season thawed production.  Leaving the skin on protects the meat and gives the monkfish tail a shelf life of 12 to 18 months.

 

 

 

This picture shows the a whole Monkfish tail with the skin removed.  If you look closely you can see a large cartilage that runs down the center of the tail.  The color of the fish’s blood is a good indicator of the freshness of the fish - the brighter the red the more fresh the fish.

 

 

 

The picture above is of a fishmonger cutting the two sides of the monkfish tail into fillets. There is only one bone (which is actually cartilage) that runs down the center of the tail. That bone is discarded, leaving two loins of meat - wider at one end and tapering down to a point.

 

 

 

Here is a finished Monkfish fillet. Each  fillet can run from 12 to 20 ounces. The fillet to the left is the inside and the fillet to the right is showing the outside skin side, containing the membrane that would be typically be removed before cooking.

 

 

 

 This picture is an example of a finished monkfish dish - scrumptious monk medallions. These monkfish pieces are sautéed in a lemon butter sauce and ready for any fish lovers’ enjoyment!

What's in a Name?

Seafood in the News

By Richard Stavis

 

Last month I stated that fishmongers should band together to promote seafood. Since then, seafood has been in the news consistently, but the news has been focused on crises rather than the positive benefits of eating seafood.  I’ve been called by local papers and radio stations to provide an expert opinion from the seafood industry on the impact of these various crises. First it was volcanic ash, then, the water main break in Boston, and finally, the attention settled on the Gulf oil spill. I am always happy to speak for the seafood industry in an effort to get the truth across.  This said I’m somewhat uncomfortable with the idea that these “crisis” stories are becoming bigger than they should be and that they might start to define seafood.  If all of the media attention is crisis related, will the public get the idea that seafood in general is in crisis?

 

I’m not naïve- I understand the appetite of the public for news about the disaster du jour.  I’ve been there scanning the internet trying to find out more about a situation, whether serious or trivial (I admit it- I followed the Jay/Conan debacle).  The media looks to meet the demand for content and it widens its net.  From some angles the situation can then seem larger than it is. Is that what I am doing?  Am I helping feed the flame?

 

I’ve done my best to provide the public with the relevant information they need. When talking about the volcanic ash, for example, I brought up the disruption in supply to the market of European Atlantic Salmon.  I also made it clear that while the price of Salmon was rising, the increase was not solely due to the ash, and buyers would still have ample supply to purchase from. When asked about the water quality problem, I shared the steps that Stavis took to ensure that all fish going out the door was safe.  When discussing the gulf oil spill, I highlighted the 2 seafood items that we source from the gulf, Oysters and Shrimp, but also confirmed that we would continue to have product to sell. I hope all of these comments were helpful to consumers and did not overemphasize the impact of these issues.

 

Maybe the best thing to do is to balance the scales.  More and more specie are being certified as sustainable.  Countries, processors, and individuals are making great strides every day improving the quality and the safety of the seafood that is getting to your table.  Seafood is saving lives every day by improving the health of its consumers.   Let’s focus on “good news” seafood stories.

General State of Seafood

Fishmongers: A Fractious Bunch
By Richard Stavis

Fishmongers are a secretive bunch, who primarily do not work well in groups.  Why is this the case?  It probably has to do with the sheer diversity of products, harvest methods, and regions of production, all of which limit consolidation in the industry and create small groups of marketers who are working at cross purposes. 

This isolated approach is the opposite of what we see with most major protein food groups, where the heavy hitter producers hang together.  For example, in the milk industry suppliers contributed hard earned money to pay for the famously successful “Got Milk?” campaign. While merchants might fight about whether Garelick Farms is better than Hood, they all work together and collectively reap the benefits.  Want a couple more examples?  Do any of you remember when James Garner said “Beef, it’s what’s for dinner”?  Maybe you’ve heard of “the incredible, edible egg” or been tempted to eat “the other white meat”?  These promotional campaigns are all great examples of companies putting aside their differences to promote their industry as a whole.

We had the opportunity to do the same to promote seafood, but we blew it.

The National Seafood Marketing Council was established on December 7, 1989 under the Fish and Seafood Promotion Act of 1986 (16 U.S.C. 4001 et seq.) to help the seafood industry promote the consumption of domestically harvested seafood. The Council was meant to act as an independently managed group representative of the seafood industry and funded by an industry wide assessment made at point of harvest or point of import.  The Federal Government even primed the program with money; some of it paid for national televisions ads.  The ads featured the national “Spokesfish”, a “Sturgeon General” who extolled the benefits of the wide variety of flavorful and healthy seafood.  So what happened?  The industry took the government money but voted against a mandatory assessment at the first receiver level when the money ran out.  The council was eventually disbanded.

What are the chances of getting a council together now?  Virtually nil.  We’re unlikely to see federal seed money to start this off again.  Additionally, the industry is so diverse that it’s doubtful that we could get enough of the major players together to make anything happen.  This is a real shame.  Our products are often under attack by well funded special interest groups that put out a stream of negative information about seafood, frequently focused on health and sustainability.  Is the information true?  Some of it is factually true, but it’s often given out of context or without a counterbalance.  For example, mercury is an issue in some seafood, but not all.  Consumers don’t understand how mercury affects their health.  As a result many adopt a “zero tolerance” approach and avoid species that contain mercury or even worse, all fish.  The benefits of eating seafood regularly outweigh the potential negative effects of the occasional consumption of seafood with mercury.  Similarly, the plethora of organizations promoting sustainability in seafood to the general public give a confusing mass of information that is often contradictory.  Some over generalize (looking at species instead of fisheries) and steer customers to a narrow band of a few species of seafood, suggesting that those are the only fish that may be eaten. Why do they do this?  In some instances product doesn’t meet their narrow definition of the word “sustainable” because of environmental effects rather than endangered fisheries.  In other instances the fishery just simply isn’t big enough to get on a top ten list.  The end result is still that customers are not comfortable eating sustainably harvested fish because of a lack of information.

What can we do?  Get the facts and communicate them as much as we can.  Offer our customers true, useful information.  Make responsible decisions about seafood by knowing enough about what we’re buying and selling to justify our actions.  Band together where possible, either along location, species sold, or with wider industry based organizations.  We are stronger together than apart!

General State of Seafood

What’s in a name? Grouper

by Richard Stavis

One of the biggest strengths of Seafood is also its biggest weakness- the incredible variety of species available.  A well recognized Seafood “name” is very valuable.  It has the power to drive consumption and to maximize its value.  In days past fishmongers would give these fish the name of the fish that they most closely resembled OR the name of a similar fish that had a high market value.  Thankfully this practice is behind us for the most part, but there remains a patchwork quilt of products that resemble “famous name” fish as well as some fish that are able to claim those names even though they may not taste or look as you might expect them to.  Our goal with this recurring column is to help consumers make informed choices, as well as, to make lesser known species more accessible.

The FDA defines Grouper as a number of subspecies in the Epinephelus genus of fish.  It has a mild white fillet that is moist, dense, and a bit chewy.  It’s a high value fish and it’s highly prized, especially in the southeast.  Demand for it outstrips supply.  It’s also the poster child for name fraud, and it’s rare in that the fraud still goes on to this day.   Sometimes the importer is in on the scheme, sometimes it is being scammed from the processor.  As this issue has come to the forefront most responsible importers (Stavis Seafoods included) have started DNA testing all incoming shipments of frozen Grouper to ensure that what they are selling is truly Grouper.  This is less practical on fresh fish as it is often harvested and sold in smaller quantities.

What are some of the more common Grouper imposters?  Historically exporters from Indonesia and Thailand have sold Sweetlip, Emperor fish, and Bonefish as Grouper.   Swai/Basa/Pangassius (a future “What’s in a Name” subject) from Viet Nam took the U.S. by storm in the early 2000’s.  One importer was convicted this past May of selling more than 1 million pounds of the fish as grouper, and that was just the tip of the iceberg.

A myriad of fresh fish have also been passed off as Grouper.  Some of the wild species used have included Tripletail, Corvina, KingClip, Snook, and Snapper.   We’ve also seen some farmed fish including Tilapia and Catfish being passed off as Grouper.

It is possible to ensure that what you’re selling can be or what you’re buying is legally Grouper, but is this the whole story?  What comes to mind when you hear the name “Reef Cod”?  Guess what- it’s a Grouper!  This fish has now become very popular because of its name cachet, but is it the best option if you want to replicate the experience of Atlantic Grouper?  Probably not- I’d go for Corvina! I ask again, what’s in a name?

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 What’s my fish worth?

I remember a conversation I had with my Uncle Eddie back in the late 80’s when I was a relative greenhorn in the business.  I’d had 3 or 4 years of buying experience under my belt and thought that I had a pretty good idea what this business was about.  Ecuador was king when it came to Shrimp, and shell-on was the only way to go.  The import cost of 50/60 count shrimp had just plummeted from 3.20/lb down to the unheard of price of 2.80/lb!  I tried to make the argument with Ed to take whatever capital we had and buy as many 50/60’s as we could lay our hands on because the item had gotten so cheap that it was selling below the base intrinsic value for the Shrimp.  Ed was very quick to point out to me that there is NO intrinsic value in Seafood.  Your fish is only worth what your customer is willing to pay you for it.

20 years later Ed’s words hold up better than ever.  Those 50/60’s that I would have felt safe selling at 2.95/lb are now worth 2.60/lb or less, and that size is one of the least affected by the deflation in the value of Shrimp.  Most sizes of Black Tiger Shrimp are at prices in the low end of the 10 year trading range.  Domestic Shrimp has taken a bigger hit, as it is now considered to be less valuable in the market than tigers, a total reversal in attitude!  Domestic Shrimp are selling at prices lower than they were in 1985, and that’s not taking into account the erosion in the value of a dollar.  In real terms the shrimp is selling for less than half what it did back then!

Let’s not limit our discussion to the value of Shrimp.  You can find similar examples with other species including Snow Crab, Warm and Cold water Lobster tails and meat, fresh Swordfish, and dozens of other products, all of which are trading at or below the prices that they’ve sold at any time during the last 20 years.  At the same point we have other items where prices are zooming.  Farmed Salmon fillets were worth 4.10/lb on average in September 2007.  They’re selling for 5.50-5.75/lb now.  Scallops are selling at or slightly ahead of the prices that they were at last year.  Frozen Swordfish prices have jumped about 20% in the last 2-3 months.  The general trend at the moment is deflationary, but there are items that are bucking the trend.

What’s the answer to the question up top?  Your fish is worth what your customer will pay for it AT THE MOMENT WHEN IT IS NEEDED.  If you’re a speculator in stocks or precious metals you may want to speculate in seafood as well.  This is perfectly fine as long as you follow basic rules.  Don’t invest before you research the market.  Be careful buying commodities that are not openly traded, where it is more difficult to establish a current market price.  Be realistic about whether you can sell your purchase when it comes time to liquidate- don’t buy more than you can move in a reasonable timeframe.  Don’t gamble what you can’t afford to lose. Finally, don’t forget- fish is not gold or even wine- it doesn’t get better with age!

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The Luxury Backlash

This economic disaster has created widespread commodity deflation. With the exception of Farmed Salmon, which is suffering from a major crop failure in Chile, we have seen prices drop. Sometimes these price drops can be good for a product. Lower prices, historically, have lead to increased consumption, and we’ve seen this on a number of items this year. There are a category of items however that have experienced a disproportionate drop in value and seen consumption drop to boot. I’m talking about luxury seafood items. 

What is a luxury seafood item? You’d think that it would be defined by price, but that is only part of the story. Perception is the other part of the equation. How many people are buying Hummers right now? Not a lot. It’s not solely based on the cost.  According to Carprice.com the base price of a Hummer is $32,345. The base price of a Toyota Avalon is $32,145, virtually identical. The Hummer is actually cheaper on the lot. People aren’t buying Hummers because of the message of “in your face” luxury and crass commercialism. Three years ago it was a status symbol. Now, it’s an embarrassment. This same thing is happening in Seafood.

What have been the biggest losers this past year in seafood? Jumbo Lump Pasteurized Crabmeat, Jumbo Shrimp and Lobster tails. These items dropped in value precipitously when the economy softened. The worst part was that consumption dropped more quickly than the prices, and no amount of discounting could bring that customer base back into the fold. We’re almost a year into the new economic reality and what do we see with these items? The pricing is still at or near historic lows and demand is still relatively low. What’s to be done?

We have to reposition these seafood items and make them accessible to a wider range of customers. We have to take the smaller sizes of lobster tails and sell them at retail as an affordable luxury. We need to get large shrimp on the menus of midrange restaurants in preparations that are not too “snotty” and at prices that are reasonable. We need to change customers’ perceptions of the position of these items in the marketplace.

It wasn’t just our 401k values that changed when the economy went south. We also have experienced a major shift in culture, away from flash and pretention and towards modesty and value. No one is sure how long the economy will be bad. Similarly we don’t know when or whether we will see a shift in cultural values. We need to live in the present and build our business based on current realities. If we do this, we’ll create a stronger and more stable base of demand for all products.

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Welcome!

 This is your place to learn about a wide variety of fresh and frozen seafood.  Posts will cover a variety of topics.  Expect to see focus features on individual species of fish such as Cod or Pollock.  You’ll also see articles comparing different species of Shrimp, Crab, or Lobster.  Some posts will have pictures of fish and will teach you how to handle and prepare them.  Other posts will focus on the seafood commodity markets, helping you to anticipate rises and falls.  We’ll explain the different species of wild Salmon, the different countries of origin for farmed Salmon, and how to choose which to use.  Additionally we will have a recipe section with our favorite seafood recipes and a glossary of fish terms that may stump you.  The seafood experts who will be contributing to this website have an average of 20 years of experience.  In general, our focus is on posting and publishing articles, as such we will be moderated and are not likely to post many responses.  We will review your responses however, and will do our best to reply to you off-line.  Feel free to email us with suggestions for future posts as well.  Again, this website is for you.  Thank you for your attention, and welcome to seafoodexperts.net!

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