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Friends, I’d like to share a new writing project I’ve started, called Better Know a Fish!
Better Know a Fish!
Ever since my very first pet fish (two swordtails and tiger barbs in a large jar… no they did not live long), I’ve been a huge fan of our finned friends. I admire the freedom that fish have as they swim and maneuver underwater, as if weightless. I’m fascinated by their tremendous diversity, and their contributions to our own species and society — even if they are frequently overlooked in favor of things feathered and furred.
As I write in the blog’s introduction, “Why Get to Know a Fish?”:
And now for something completely different on this blog…
The eyed-side (L) and the blind-side (R) fillets of a southern flounder (Paralichthys lethostigma) caught off of North Carolina. Image: Ben Young Landis
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00:00 — Preheat the oven to 400F. Move oven rack to the bottom-most slot. Spread foil over broiling pan.
00:30 – Drizzle about 2 tablespoons of oil onto foil. Take flounder fillets with your hand and dip onto oil, spreading the oil evenly over the fillets. Take care to flip fillets to rub oil both sides of fillets. Apply a touch more oil if necessary.
When finished, lay fillets on foil skin down (see photo). And wash your hands.
*If you’ve never cooked fish before, take the back of a fork and press it down lightly onto a fillet. Feel how the meat gives to the pressure, and its lightly rubbery texture. Remember this feeling when you check the meat for doneness later.
01:30 — Grind fresh black pepper and sprinkle over fillets. Don’t over do it.
02:00 — Take your bag of leftover corn chips. Use your hands to smash chips into tiny crumbs by crushing the bag bottom. Take any pent-up frustration out on the chips. Call it names. Periodically check inside bag to see if crumbs are getting tinier.
03:00 — Sprinkle chip crumbs evenly over fillets. Sprinkle densely, but don’t pile up the crumbs. Every crumb should be touching the fillet, not layered up.
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North Carolina Sea Grant (my current employer) has a little educational DVD called The Amazing Oyster. In it, oysters are touted almost as the miracle beast. They filter plankton and maintain water quality… provide crucial habitat and food for fish and other marine life… they’re harvested and cultured as valuable seafood…
And now, oysters also provide jobs.
I spent last Tuesday out on Cedar Island, North Carolina participating in a media outing put together by the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries, showcasing a federal economic stimulus project that’s creating jobs through oyster reef restoration efforts. Commercial fishermen and contractors are being paid to add oyster shell and rock substrate into inshore waters, to attract the planktonic larvae of oysters (much like how artificial coral reefs attract coral larvae).
Organizers say that the $5 million funding adds thousands of job hours to the Pamlico Sound economy, and biologists hope that the eventual reefs will serve as metapopulation sources for oyster populations throughout the sound.
For me, it was a gorgeous day out on the water. Click through the Facebook link for the photo essay I compiled at the end of the day. I would’ve live tweeted, but I could only shake my fist at AT&T, whilst the Verizon user next to me tweeted on our boat ride in the middle of the marshy bay…
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Spring is officially here. That means it’s time to switch over to the spring edition of your Local Catch: North Carolina Seafood Availability wallet cards!
You might be familiar with our abundant vegetables and crops, but North Carolina also is home to a unique and diverse range of fish and shellfish. Local and visiting food lovers can use the spring Local Catch card to explore our state’s spring seafood selection.
Click to download the Spring Local Catch wallet card (PDF)
Part of a four-season series, Local Catch listings are based on past commercial fishing landings in the state. These historic availabilities are determined in part by the natural migration and life cycle of each species, as well as ongoing federal and state fishery closures and limits.
So for any given year, your fish market visit might yield fewer or more species than we listed. To find updates on N.C. closures and openings for a certain fishery or fishing gear, visit www.ncfisheries.net/procs.
The Local Catch cards were developed in 2007 in partnership with the North Carolina Aquariums. They are a companion to the North Carolina Seafood Availability Chart produced by Sea Grant, the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF) and the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (NCDACS).
The public can order free copies of the Local Catch wallet cards and the seafood availability chart at ncseagrant.org/seafood
