About your seafood — Sea Forager

Yellowtail Jack

We are in for a treat - yellowtail jack! This is the same species as farmed hamachi from Japan, but this is WILD and caught by hook and line. The stocks are doing very well. Click the info page for more fishery details.

Your fish will come skin-on. Perfect for the grill, sushi, or any other recipe with bold flavors, this fatty, firm fish is sure to please. Note: it's best to trim away the red meat as it's particularly pungent and not good for sushi.

ORIGIN: F/V Noelle May, Captain Bruce Derksen, caught off of the Channel Islands, CA

METHOD: hook & line

RECIPES: Check out this member recipe for Tahitian Poisson Cru, or pick your favorite marinade and grill it quickly over high heat, or enjoy as sushi!

PREP TIP: (optional) how to skin your fish fillet VIDEO

FishKirk LombardAugust 31, 2020Yellowtail Jack

Night Smelt

Just a reminder, when eating "night fish," just batter and fry whole. No cleaning necessary, but keep in mind that sometimes there are sand grains in the gills, so grab them by the heads, dip in sauce and scarf everything but the head and gills. That's what I do anyway.

Oh man, I love these little guys. KQED filmed a video of me going after them and the Fishwife frying them up - see HERE. Before that I've written passionately about them on The Monkeyface News over the years and made my own weird night smelt VIDEOS highlighting the insanity and the thrill of fishing for these fish. Much milder than anchovies and perfect for the fry pan. They are classically served fried, but the Fishwife likes to bake and broil them too, the way she does with surf smelt.

PREP

Be sure to wash and rinse them and then consider how to cook them. Virtually every fisherman on the coast and most of the chefs who cook these fish fry them whole: heads, guts and all. They do not as a rule feed while spawning so there's nothing in their stomachs. The only problem in eating them whole is that they tend to swallow a little sand, and also there may be a few sand grains in their gills. It's no more grit than what you get in an average oyster, but I want to point it out before you guys chomp down on whole night smelt. Personally I prefer them headed and gutted and that’s what I suggest you do. It will take you 15 minutes to clean your bag of fish (bags are 2.25 to 2.5 pounds), and this is a good way to practice your fish butchery skills. And BTW: night smelt DO NOT have to be scaled—which is always the hardest part of cleaning a small fish! They also keep well frozen if need be.

INFO PAGE: click for more info

ORIGIN: Dude Gifford, Eureka, CA

METHOD: A-frame dip net, based on a Native American design that has been used on the California coast for many thousands of years.

RECIPE: Night smelt fish fry (or, fries with eyes!)

More Night smelt madness HERE

VIDEO: Night smelt fishing in California, employing the use of traditional Native American A-frame dip net.

FishKirk LombardAugust 31, 2020night smelt

Surf Smelt

A few lucky Neptune's Delight members will enjoy surf smelt, caught using a small purse seine off of Crescent City. This is the kind of delicious, nutritious and sustainably harvested species, I really want people to experience, (like sardine, mackerel, night smelt and anchovy). These are small in size, affectionately referred to as “whitebait” and can be prepared like night smelt (fried and eaten whole).

Surf smelt are one of my absolute favorite little fishes, and we haven't seen them for about 5 years and now they're suddenly showing up. Captain Ken Bates F/V Ironic off the Humboldt Coast caught these with his purse seine. You can eat it whole like a small trout, or debone and then cook.

ORIGIN: Captain Ken Bates F/V Ironic off the Humboldt Coast

METHOD: Small purse seine

PREP: Be sure to wash and rinse them and then consider how to cook them. Here's a short video on how to clean these beauties in two easy steps: VIDEO, and a couple videos on frying and stuffing surf smelt too on the INFO PAGE

RECIPE: Fried fillets or stuffed surf smelt.

FishKirk LombardAugust 31, 2020surf smelt

Chilipepper Rockfish

Your beautiful chilipepper rockfish will be coming to us from Captain Fitz, F/V Mr. Morgan out of Half Moon Bay. Click the info page for more important details. Like many rockfish species these fish are long lived and slow growing, but the stocks are doing very well and the fishery is a model of good management.

ORIGIN: Captain Fitz, F/V Mr. Morgan out of Half Moon Bay

METHOD: hook and line

INFO PAGE: click the fish picture for more details!

RECIPES: rockfish tacos & Mexican slaw; rockin' rockfish cakes; poached fish with tomato and saffron, halibut with salsa verde, convict chowder, OR just pan fry it! Light marinade, squeeze a lemon on it and you're golden. Lingcod recipes would work nicely too.

FishKirk LombardAugust 31, 2020Chilipepper rockfish

Petrale Sole

These are the ONLY TRULY sustainable petrale sole available anywhere. This is because we get them from the F/V Mr. Morgan out of Half Moon Bay which uses a Scottish seine - a very rare alternative to destructive trawling. This is the only Scottish seine on the West Coast of North America. Click the fish photo for more fishery info.

Petrale sole are deep water, super delicious flaky white fish. They are great pan fried, sautéed, broiled of baked. Check out my petrale sole info page for lots of great info, and visit the Fishwife's petrale sole recipes for inspiration.

INFO PAGE: Click for more fishery info!

ORIGIN: F/V Mr. Morgan out of Half Moon Bay

METHOD: Scottish seine

RECIPES: Panko sautéed petrale sole; broiled petrale sole with lemon, mustard and thyme; Sauteed petrale sole with bread crumb batter, oven-poached petrale sole with lemon caper sauce.

FishKirk LombardAugust 31, 2020Petrale Sole

Bonito

These beautiful fish are rarely found locally, and we can thank global warming for their appearance in Moss Landing. Bonito are a smaller member of the tuna family and are excellent as sashimi, or seared. Your fish were reeled in by hook and line yesterday, and your fillet will come skin on (see how to remove your fish skin VIDEO).

FishKirk LombardJune 29, 2020Bonito

Ahi Tuna

Awesome ahi tuna is swimming your way! Your beautiful ahi tuna are reeled in off the Kauai coast by Captain Lanning, F/V Wahine Kepaloa II using rod and reel using troll gear as opposed to the gigantic Pelagic long liners that are so destructive.

Your ahi tuna loin will come skin off, blood line removed. Perfect for the grill, for searing, or sushi. Please note that the ahi is firmer than albacore.

This is the highest-grade tuna on the market, sustainably caught. Check out the info page for more details, and peep the recipes too!

ORIGIN: reeled in off the Kauai coast by Captain Lanning, F/V Wahine Kepaloa II using rod and reel

METHOD: trolling (not trawling), using hook and line

RECIPES: Pan-Seared Albacore Tuna Loin, Tahitian Poisson Cru, Tuna with red pepper sauce, Simple Poke, Albacore tuna skewers

FishCamilla LombardNovember 12, 2018Tuna, ahi tuna