Credit: Duane Raver

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Bluefish are characterized by a blue-green back with silvery sides and belly, a pointed snout and sharp, compressed teeth. They are found along the U.S. Atlantic coast from Maine to Florida. Bluefish are aggressive predators and feed on squid and fish, especially menhaden.

Bluefish can live as long as 12 years, reach up to 39 inches in length and weigh as much as 21 pounds. They migrate seasonally according to changes in water temperature. During winter, large bluefish tend to remain in the mid-Atlantic region and then move south to North Carolina around March. Small bluefish will move farther south during winter. As water temperatures rise, they will migrate northward.

Bluefish are important to both recreational and commercial fishermen. Approximately 60 percent of bluefish are caught with hook and line, which has relatively low bycatch rates. This species is managed by the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council and the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission. In the Atlantic Ocean, bluefish populations are high and overfishing is not occurring.

For more information on bluefish, go to: http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/fishwatch/species/bluefish.htm.

Contributed by Barry Nash

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• Rinse raw seafood under cold, running water to remove bacteria.
• Always marinate your seafood under refrigeration, never at room temperature.  
• Cook seafood thoroughly with a continuous heat source because interrupted cooking could promote bacterial growth.  Keep hot foods at 140⁰ F or higher and cold foods at 41⁰ F or lower.
• Never leave cooked seafood at room temperature for more than 30 minutes.
• Cook seafood for 10 minutes per inch of thickness, and measure at the thickest point.  If baking, cook at 450⁰ F and deep fat fry at 375⁰ F.  Add five minutes to your total cooking time if your fish is cooked in a sauce or is wrapped in foil or parchment.  The U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) recommends fish reach an internal temperature of 145⁰ F for 15 seconds.
• The FDA recommends that in-shell oysters be steamed four to nine minutes or broiled three to five minutes after gaping.  Shucked oysters should be fried for three minutes at 375⁰ F; broiled, three minutes three inches from the heat source; baked, 10 minutes at 475⁰ F; or boiled, three minutes.
• Clams should be steamed for four to nine minutes.

From: Mariner’s Menu: 30 Years of Fresh Seafood Ideas

Contributed by Barry Nash

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Williston, North Carolina was once known as the “Clam Capital of the World.” Prominently located on the waterfront of this “Down East” Community in Carteret County, Willis Brothers Seafood was owned and operated by Elmer “Clam King” Willis.

His fish house was filled with women shucking clams, cleaning shrimp and grading fish according to size.  Willis Brothers was one of the largest suppliers of clams to the Heinz Food Company.  In fact, the company sold more clams to Heinz for its clam chowder than any seafood business in the country.

Four North Carolina Governors attended clambakes at Elmer’s clam house, highlighting the breadth and scope of his success. Not only did his business thrive but Elmer and his wife Pearl helped raise money by holding clam bakes for the community schools.

In 1967, Elmer Willis won the North Carolina State University Food Science Award given each year to a person in the food industry who had made contributions to the educational, industrial and business aspects of food production.  Though Mr. Willis had only an 8th grade education, he had the business acumen of Donald Trump as well as the work ethic of a Down East fisherman.

For more information on the history of our Down East communities, go to Core Sound.

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The area east of Beaufort, NC where a number of central coastal fishing communities are located is known by the locals as “Down East.”  Here the crabbing industry was once a primary source of jobs.  Unable to fend off threats posed by pollution, rising fuel costs and the global market, dozens of crab picking houses shut down over the past 15 years.  In 1996, the state’s fishermen harvested nearly 66 million pounds of Atlantic blue crabs, but in 2009 they caught slightly less than 29 million pounds.

Nicky Harvey of Davis, NC once made a good living as a supplier of brightly-colored crab traps, called “crab pots” by the locals, to the commercial fishing industry.  Nicky once sold 3000 crab pots a season but was now lucky if he could unload 300 pots a year. With deep roots in the Down East culture where “making do with materials at hand” is a strong tradition, Nicky searched for other products to craft to keep his family business growing for his sons.

He first experimented with creating miniature crab traps for coastal decor. Then he began experimenting with triangles of the coated wire mesh of crab pots, and the Crab Pot Christmas Tree was born.  Nicky continued innovating until he found a way to string lights on the tree so they could be stored in a flat position and then opened for display with the light strings remaining in place.  The unique artificial tree became so popular with friends and neighbors, Nicky soon gave up on his line of crab pots to further develop his new product line.

Crab Pot Trees come in sizes of 2′, 3′, 4′ or 6′ tall and can be used indoors or out.  They are outfitted with a variety of colored lights.  During the Christmas season, Crab Pot Christmas Trees sprout like mushrooms in homes across the central Carolina coast. However if you aren’t planning a trip to coastal North Carolina, you can also buy them online.

Contributed by Barry Nash

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Sea scallops are found in the Northwest Atlantic Ocean from Newfoundland, Canada to Cape Hatteras, North Carolina.  Sea scallops are very prolific.  A single scallop can generate up to 270 million eggs during its lifetime and live up to 20 years. 

Sea scallops spawn in late summer to fall, and larvae grow rapidly.  Between ages three and five years, sea scallops grow to 50 to 80 percent of their shell height and may quadruple their meat weight.  They can reach a maximum size of 6.7 inches in height.  Juvenile and adults sea scallops are a food source for cod, flounder, crabs, lobsters and sea stars.

Currently the Atlantic sea scallop resource is healthy and sustainable.  This fishery is extremely important to our country’s economy and is the largest wild scallop fishery in the world.  In 2009, U.S. fishermen harvested 58 million pounds of sea scallop meats worth over $382 million. North Carolina watermen participating in this fishery in 2009 harvested 382 thousand pounds of meat having a market value of over $2.3 million to commercial fishermen.

The New England Fishery Management Council manages the sea scallop resource in cooperation with the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council.

Atlantic sea and bay scallops are filter feeders, meaning they strain plankton and other food particles from water by passing it over a specialized structure that traps food.  Cilia move the food toward the mouth and into the digestive tract.

Bay scallops live up to 26 months and grow up to four inches.  Early in life, larvae attach to the leaves and stems of sea grass. As they mature, scallops sink to the bottom and continue to grow. Environmental factors such as temperature, rainfall, and sea grass health play a critical part in scallop abundance and yearly landings can vary a great deal.

According to the North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries, the status of the North Carolina bay scallop fishery is “recovering.”  The resource was compromised by a red tide in 1987 and several hurricanes in the 1990s.  Sampling in areas south of Bogue Sound in 2009 showed stock improvements in some areas.  Environmental disturbances and predation by cownose rays may still limit the spawning stocks in the central coastal region.

Contributed by Barry Nash

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How can you judge whether the retailer you buy seafood from is reputable?  In part, you can assess your retailer’s commitment to wholesome product by knowing the characteristics that reflect high-quality seafood.

When purchasing raw shrimp, you should look for translucent shells with grayish-green or tan coloration.  Shrimp should have a moist appearance, firm flesh and a mild scent.  Blackened edges or spots on the shell, mushy texture and a strong sour or “fishy” order are clear signs shrimp have excessive age or have been mishandled.

Shucked oysters should have a plump, cream-colored appearance.  They should be free of shell bits and sand and have a mild scent.  The oyster liquor should be clear or slightly opaque.  Avoid oysters that appear shriveled, dark or dry, have a strong “fishy” odor and are contained in cloudy liquid.

Crabmeat should be white with slight red or brown pigments and should have a mild scent.  Avoid product that appears dry or has a strong sour odor.

The flesh of raw fillets should be firm, even elastic when touched.  It should have a translucent color, moist appearance and mild scent.  Fillets that have a mushy texture, appear bruised, have a milky color, dry or brown edges and strong “fishy” order should be avoided.

For more information on the quality characteristics of fresh, coast seafood, click the “Assessing Seafood Quality” link to the right of this page.

Contributed by Barry Nash

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The rainbow trout is the best-known species of trout in the world. Beautiful iridescent colors, most vivid during spawning times, have given rise to this species’ common name.

The flesh is normally orange-pink in color due to a carotenoid pigment, astaxanthin, found in microalgae in the diet of trout.  Synthetic astaxanthin can be added to feed used to raise farmed trout.      

Trout aquaculture dates back over 400 years in Europe and over 160 years in the United States.  In 2000, rainbow trout aquaculture accounted for 10 percent of the $1 billion in farmed fish production in this country. 

Native to North American rivers draining into the Pacific Ocean, trout are now farmed across the United States for food and for sport.  North Carolina is the second largest producer of rainbow trout after Idaho.  They are grown in earthen or concrete, rectangular raceways supplied with clean, flowing water.  Without a good source of water, trout farming is impossible.

In North Carolina, Sunburst Trout Company  is among the top rainbow trout producers along the eastern seaboard.  Dick Jennings, a native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, began raising trout commercially on his grandfather’s land in the western part of the state in 1948. 

Initially Jennings began supplying trout to recreational fishermen, but as the health benefits of omega-3 fatty acids became better known, Mr. Jennings began selling to upscale supermarket chains along the East Coast and to high-end restaurants.

Besides boneless fillets, Sunburst also produces caviar, trout sausage, smoked trout spread, cold and hot smoked fillets and encrusted fillets for retail and mail-order customers. 

For more information on rainbow trout production in North Carolina, go to NC Department of Agriculture and Consumers Services.

Contributed by Barry Nash

Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar), highly esteemed and awe-inspiring due to their leaping abilities to reach spawning streams, are often called the “king of fishes.” 

They have long, sleek spindle-like bodies – rounded, broad in the middle and tapered at each end. Their heads are small, about one-fifth of their body length.

There are three populations of wild Atlantic salmon: North American, European, and Baltic. The North American group historically ranged from northern Quebec southeast to Newfoundland and southwest to Long Island Sound. Most adults migrate to feeding areas off the west coast of Greenland.

Atlantic salmon spend their entire adult life in the open ocean. Juvenile Atlantic salmon spend their first two years in fresh water rivers and streams.  Their life span is 4 to 10 years.

Since the early 1950s, the population of wild Atlantic salmon population has been very low, and commercial fishing for the species is prohibited. Almost all of the Atlantic salmon sold in the United States comes from aquaculture operations. 

The United States’ cultured salmon industry is relatively new and much smaller than similar operations around the world. Norway, Scotland and Chile produce more than 1 billion pounds of ocean-farmed Atlantic salmon each year.

Atlantic salmon aquaculture operations in the United States are based in Maine and Washington state and meet high environmental and health standards.  

Maine’s commercial production began in the late 1970s with the first commercial harvest in 1979. Since then, the eastern North America industry has grown to produce more than 70.5 million pounds annually.

For more information, go to fish watch.

Contributed by Barry Nash

Originally native to the Gulf States and the Mississippi Valley from Mexico north to Canada, the channel catfish is the most commercially important aquatic species cultured in this country.

In the wild, catfish thrive in fresh and brackish waters throughout the United States.  They inhabit large reservoirs, lakes, ponds and in sluggish streams where bottoms are sand, gravel or rubble.  They prefer clear streams but are common in muddy waters.

Catfish feed day or night near the bottom but will take some food from water surfaces.  Catfish primarily detect food with sense of taste, and taste buds are located over their entire external surface as well as inside the mouth.  In turbid waters where visibility is extremely low, taste is the primary way they find food.

According to the National Fisheries Institute, a global trade organization for seafood processors, catfish ranked fifth among the ten most popular food fish in the United States.  In 2008, there were 28 catfish producers in North Carolina with 1,944 pond acres under cultivation that produced 8.4 million pound of fish.  The retail value of catfish for a major North Carolina catfish processor was nearly $13 million, making it an important commodity to the state’s burgeoning aquaculture industry.

For more information on catfish production, go to NC Cooperative Extension.

Contributed by Barry Nash

North Carolina Fisheries

Wahoo are common to the tropical and subtropical waters of the Atlantic Ocean. The top half of their body is steel blue while their bottom half is pale blue in color. They have a series of 25 to 30 irregular blackish-blue vertical bars on their sides and a large mouth with strong, finely serrated teeth.

Wahoo produce 560,000 eggs (for a 13.52 pound wahoo) to 45 millions eggs (for an 87.1 pound wahoo). The spawning seasons is usually May through October; however, wahoo are believed to spawn year-round in the tropics. Wahoo grow rapidly during their first year or two and reach maturity at two years.

Wahoo commonly attain sizes between 40 and 65 inches in length and have a life span of five or six years. This species are common in tropical waters year round but will migrate to northern latitudes during the summer season.

Wahoo are frequently found alone or in small, loosely connected groups rather than compact schools. They are voracious eaters and typically prey on mackerels, butterfishes, round herrings, scads, pompanos, porcupine fishes and flying fishes.

Wahoo in South Atlantic waters is managed by the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council, but are not regulated in the Gulf of Mexico. The population of wahoo in both the South Atlantic and the Gulf is unknown.

Atlantic wahoo has historically been a recreational fishery, but are caught commercially by longliners fishing for dolphin or other pelagic species. Commercial regulations include a trip limit of 500 pounds and a recreational limit of two wahoo per person per day.

For more detail on this species, go to http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/fishwatch/species/atl_wahoo.htm

Contributed by Barry Nash