Eat Like a Fish - Week 2: "No Data is Still Data"

It's what I tell my campers all summer long when they are working on their research projects... "No data is still data." Just because you went out looking for something and didn't find it, doesn't mean you throw everything out and give up. If your goal is to assess the population of spider crabs in a particular place and time, and you go out searching and find none, it doesn't mean to walk away. It simply means you found a place and time at which there are no crabs. Now keep going...

Week two came quickly on the heels of a delicious, successful week one. Monday's email arrived and my species this time were:

• Tilefish (any local species) (Lopholatilus sp.)
• Sea Urchin (Arbacia punctulata or Strongylocentrous droebachiensis)
• Blue crab (Callinectes sapidus)
• John Dory (Zeus faber)

I knew right away that I would easily be able to find blue crab, but that I wouldn't be able to find any that was local. Although at work we've been pulling up females one or two at a time in our trawls in eastern Long Island Sound, it's still too early in the season for this species to be here in large, fishable numbers. I also figured that I would have my work cut out for me looking for urchin, so my best guess was I would be find tilefish or john dory, but I was hopeful.

Along with hoping that my participation in this study introduces me to new species, I'm also hoping to find some new retailers and avenues for the procurement of tasty, saltwater animals to eat. My first stop was on Wednesday at Seawell Seafood - Mystic on Mason's Island. This is a small retail extension store of Seawell Seafood which has another reatil store in Pawcatuck and their wholesale operations on the dock in Stonington Borough. This small local operation has a pretty good finger on the pules of what it's clientele is regularly looking for, and as such only has a small selection of the bigger name species, so all four were out here.

The rest of my work week was pretty slammed, and then on Friday, my travels took my out to the Cape to do some work on the house. I saw this as an opportunity to scope out some more markets I wouldn't see quite as often. My second market for the week on Saturday morning was Catch of the Day in South Wellfleet. This was another small retailer and restaurant that typically only stocks a small amount of the big name fish that consumers typically steer towards. So again, a bust for me.

I then pointed myself down Route 6 with the beginnings of the summer Saturday Cape traffic and headed towards Eastham to Mac's Seafood Market - Eastham. Mac's is a small chain of seafood markets, restaurants, and seafood shacks on the lower cape that usually deliver. In the display there were blue crabs sitting on the ice, still kicking their legs, but of course they were from Maryland. No urchin, no tilefish, and tales of some John Dory around recently, but not reliably for a while. So that was it, week two was a bust and I was batting .500.

(My bluefish on the back counter after being filleted with 1.5lb lobsters next to some 8 pounders)

Instead of walking away with my tail between my legs, and because I still needed something for dinner, I decided to still purchase something that wasn't on my list. I usually choice species that I know are coming from a healthy fishery and are also easy on my wallet, so the decision this time was easy... Bluefish! The gents behind the counter pulled out a whole blue that had already been gutted but was waiting to be filleted. They were super helpful and happy to talk about what they'd had for sale recently and telling me to call ahead next week to double check with their boss about what would be for sale. I walked out with my half pound of blue and was ready to make dinner.

All I ever hear from people is they don't eat bluefish, "it's too oily," "it's too fishy, "or "I'll use it as bait." It drives me bonkers because bluefish is such an abundant fish, and with an extra two steps can be easily prepared and kept from being "oily" or "fishy." My expanded tips for preparation of bluefish will be in a blog post coming soon (REALLY soon, since I see many fellow citizen scientists who are also eating like a fish stating the same problems). But the long and short of it is to remove the skin, and use a couple lengthwise v-shaped cuts to remove the dark meat before cooking.

(Pinch the skin tight and pull away. Slide a sharp knife in to separate from the skin)

(Skin above and fish below, skin-side up)

(Skin above and fish below after removing enough dark meat)

I cleaned up my bluefish (as stated above), placed it in an aluminum foil boat, and just added touches of salt and pepper, garlic powder, parsley, paprika, and butter. I threw the fish on the grill with some baby bok choy and scallions (thanks for the idea Daryl Popper, eating like a fish in MA) and served with some Spanish rice and some Wellfleet oysters I picked off the flats earlier in the day. My hands were a bit fishy (had an interesting time holding my camera under my chin to take the picture with the knife) so I forgot to take a picture with the fish in the aluminum boat, so I only have an after.... it was delicious.