Fresh Fish At The Grocery Store

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JD Spydo
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Fresh Fish At The Grocery Store

#1

Post by JD Spydo »

Well I was just glancing at some of the stuff said on the current fishing thread. It's really got my fishing fever going to be ready for the upcoming Crappie season here at a few of our local lakes soon. I love catching and eating the fish I catch.
Here locally we have Crappie and about 8 other really good to eat game fish at most of the lakes close by. I try to eat fish in my regular diet at least 3 to 4 times a week. I personally believe it is a very good source of protein and probably better for you than most store bought meat. However I'm getting frustrated and leery at the same time because I'm seeing some changes in the overall fish markets. Especially the fresh fish sold at my local grocery stores. I'm getting to where I just flat out don't trust them anymore. And I hope I'm not eating fish raised in a contaminated environment.

There is so much deception it seems in the sales of fresh fish. I'm really wondering if the labels and descriptions are accurate? Also after talking to a friend of mine who has been in the commercial meat business for quite some time who told me to really beware of the fresh fish I purchase and consume because there is a lot of fraud in the fish and meat business both at this time. First off I eat Salmon quite frequently and I'm very careful to only buy the Salmon labeled "wild caught"( fresh or frozen). And I'm hoping that the fish I buy really is caught in the wild and not farm raised. Because my friend in the meat business told me a couple horror stories of "farm raised" fish and how they are fed and handled ( especially Tilapia).

I'm sure I'm not the only one here who has gotten leery of the fish sold at our local grocery chains. I would like to talk to some of you about your experiences and what you've personally learned about the fish sold at a grocery stores. Are there any strict laws protecting the consumer concerning fresh fish and/or meat items in general? Is the fish that is labeled "Wild Caught" really what they say it is? OK let's talk about it.
Last edited by JD Spydo on Sat Mar 18, 2023 12:42 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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jpm2
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Re: Fresh Fish At The Grocery Store

#2

Post by jpm2 »

Unless you caught it yourself or buy it straight off the boat, there's no way to know.
Same with any food.
That's why I've hunted, fished and gardened all my life, with minimal grocery store visits.
JD Spydo
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Re: Fresh Fish At The Grocery Store

#3

Post by JD Spydo »

jpm2 wrote:
Sat Mar 18, 2023 12:41 pm
Unless you caught it yourself or buy it straight off the boat, there's no way to know.
I've been thinking along the same lines myself recently. And you may be 100% correct. But I am wondering if there are any laws protecting the consumer especially dealing with fresh fish? A good example of what I'm talking about is California's laws on "Organic" foods. They have the most strict set of laws for companies claiming that their product is "Organic"

I'm hoping that there are laws similar for fresh or frozen fish? There used to be laws protecting consumers from fraud. I'm wondering if that is really the case at this time?
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Re: Fresh Fish At The Grocery Store

#4

Post by James Y »

TBH, I don't eat much fish at all. Some people may think that's a weird thing for someone of my ancestry (Japanese) to say, but that's the way it is. I do eat meat (poultry), but not much, and I don't eat any beef or pork at all, and haven't since 1995.

When I was a kid, we used to eat fish for dinner every Friday. It was usually red snapper. I hated it. But my mom used to buy fish at a local fish market that, IIRC, was all caught by local boats.

I have heard that some fish sold in grocery stores are purposely mislabeled as one species, when in fact it's another.

Jim
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Re: Fresh Fish At The Grocery Store

#5

Post by JD Spydo »

James Y wrote:
Sat Mar 18, 2023 12:51 pm
TBH, I don't eat much fish at all. Some people may think that's a weird thing for someone of my ancestry (Japanese) to say, but that's the way it is. I do eat meat (poultry), but not much, and I don't eat any beef or pork at all, and haven't since 1995.

When I was a kid, we used to eat fish for dinner every Friday. It was usually red snapper. I hated it. But my mom used to buy fish at a local fish market that, IIRC, was all locally caught.

I have heard that some fish sold in grocery stores are purposely mislabeled as one species, when I fact it's another.

Jim
That's kind of discouraging Jim. Especially when I've heard that your home State of California has some really strict food laws on the books>> particularly in the "organic" food sector.

Speaking of you being Japanese and not eating fish I do find that somewhat interesting. Because I've seen two TV shows in the last ten years at Japanese markets. Both were on popular cable channels. Both of the shows were at Japanese wholesale fish markets. I was astonished at the prices people pay over there for fresh fish ( and whale meat).

I've heard for many years that fish is really a staple of the Japanese diet. Both shows were awesome and made me want to move over there (lol). Because I've always loved fish since I was a kid. But growing up me and my dad usually kept the freezer full most of the time. But I have grown leery of buying fish in the stores and I'm hoping my fears are baseless.
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Re: Fresh Fish At The Grocery Store

#6

Post by James Y »

JD Spydo wrote:
Sat Mar 18, 2023 1:00 pm
James Y wrote:
Sat Mar 18, 2023 12:51 pm
TBH, I don't eat much fish at all. Some people may think that's a weird thing for someone of my ancestry (Japanese) to say, but that's the way it is. I do eat meat (poultry), but not much, and I don't eat any beef or pork at all, and haven't since 1995.

When I was a kid, we used to eat fish for dinner every Friday. It was usually red snapper. I hated it. But my mom used to buy fish at a local fish market that, IIRC, was all locally caught.

I have heard that some fish sold in grocery stores are purposely mislabeled as one species, when I fact it's another.

Jim
That's kind of discouraging Jim. Especially when I've heard that your home State of California has some really strict food laws on the books>> particularly in the "organic" food sector.

Speaking of you being Japanese and not eating fish I do find that somewhat interesting. Because I've seen two TV shows in the last ten years at Japanese markets. Both were on popular cable channels. Both of the shows were at Japanese wholesale fish markets. I was astonished at the prices people pay over there for fresh fish ( and whale meat).

I've heard for many years that fish is really a staple of the Japanese diet. Both shows were awesome and made me want to move over there (lol). Because I've always loved fish since I was a kid. But growing up me and my dad usually kept the freezer full most of the time. But I have grown leery of buying fish in the stores and I'm hoping my fears are baseless.

Joe, if I lived in Japan, I probably would eat lots of fish in my diet. But I'm from here, and my preferences in tastes were formed early on, and fish (for the most part) wasn't one of them. Although I used to love H. Salt Esquire Fish & Chips.

San Diego used to be a big mecca for the tuna fishing industry. My dad and uncles worked on tuna boats here in the 1950s. A lot of my childhood friends were Portuguese; many Portuguese families lived here because of the tuna industry. Back in the '70s, I had a couple friends who chose to follow in their dads' footsteps, and went to work on the tuna boats rather than finish high school. That industry is all gone now.

I would imagine if you went to a highly-established and reputable local fish market that only sells seafood, you will most likely get what you're paying for. I don't know if I'd trust grocery store/supermarket fish very much.

Jim
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Re: Fresh Fish At The Grocery Store

#7

Post by twinboysdad »

I know I am weird but I love sardines and they are usually low mercury and wild caught. some of The lakes here in AL limit fish consumption due to contamination of the fish from industrial waste. What a shame
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Re: Fresh Fish At The Grocery Store

#8

Post by jpm2 »

Yeah water quality is a big question with fresh caught.
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Re: Fresh Fish At The Grocery Store

#9

Post by JD Spydo »

twinboysdad wrote:
Sat Mar 18, 2023 4:40 pm
I know I am weird but I love sardines and they are usually low mercury and wild caught. some of The lakes here in AL limit fish consumption due to contamination of the fish from industrial waste. What a shame
That's most interesting that you mention sardines because when I do go hiking for a whole day on occasion I usually take Sardines, Mackeral, Salmon or most any other type of canned fish. Ironically as repulsive as that sounds to a lot of people I've heard nutrition experts say that canned fish ( especially sardines) has a lot of vitamin A & vitamin D and is actually got some really good nutritional benefits to it.

The only bad thing about it is that I wouldn't do that where a lot of bears are present because even the empty cans would draw them in like magnet. There's no way I would ever do that in Grizzly Bear country. I would go the vegetarian route in that neck of the woods.

As far as contamination goes I used to have some friends who lived close to Lake Erie and for a long time you couldn't eat a fish out of that lake at all. Because the mercury poisoning was so abundant that you could get symptoms by just eating a small portion of one fish. Who the heck was watching the store when all that crap happened????
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Re: Fresh Fish At The Grocery Store

#10

Post by JD Spydo »

jpm2 wrote:
Sat Mar 18, 2023 7:29 pm
Yeah water quality is a big question with fresh caught.
Yeah that's why I mainly focus on stuff that is labeled "wild caught" and preferably from Alaska. That's probably one of the last places on the planet that you can be assured of eating fish that aren't full of chemicals. All of the Alaskan fish like Salmon, Cod and Alaskan Pollock and other Alaskan Native fish I've historically had good luck with so far.

I pretty much steer away from anything farm raised or anything shipped in from 3rd World Countries. I like eating fish because I don't feel stuffed or gorged like I do when I eat a big steak, pork chops or anything else from the farm kingdom.
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Re: Fresh Fish At The Grocery Store

#11

Post by James Y »

The fish I mentioned earlier that was mislabeled was in a news story I saw several years back. I don't remember if it was in CA or in another state. The reporter purchased some swordfish from a store and had a sample of it tested, and the result was that it wasn't swordfish, but some other species (I forget which species).

Jim
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Re: Fresh Fish At The Grocery Store

#12

Post by ChrisinHove »

twinboysdad wrote:
Sat Mar 18, 2023 4:40 pm
I know I am weird but I love sardines and they are usually low mercury and wild caught. some of The lakes here in AL limit fish consumption due to contamination of the fish from industrial waste. What a shame
Nothing weird about that, in my book. I do like sardines canned but especially love them fresh, grilled with lemon… :tonque-out

We’re close to the sea so have plenty of fresh fish options (at a price).
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Re: Fresh Fish At The Grocery Store

#13

Post by Manixguy@1994 »

We have a shop that specializes solely in fish products from Saltwater to freshwater . They have Salmon shipped from Alaska from the Copper River . which I have been to with family outside of Chitna. The local shop Salmon is definitely the the real deal if willing to pay the premium price . I like Salmon on a grill but my preference is Halibut . I love Sardines but in Bear country I will pass . MG2
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JD Spydo
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Re: Fresh Fish At The Grocery Store

#14

Post by JD Spydo »

ChrisinHove wrote:
Mon Mar 20, 2023 1:20 pm
twinboysdad wrote:
Sat Mar 18, 2023 4:40 pm
I know I am weird but I love sardines and they are usually low mercury and wild caught. some of The lakes here in AL limit fish consumption due to contamination of the fish from industrial waste. What a shame
Nothing weird about that, in my book. I do like sardines canned but especially love them fresh, grilled with lemon… :tonque-out

We’re close to the sea so have plenty of fresh fish options (at a price).
I've never ever had fresh Sardines>> but I'm sure I would love them as much as I like fish. Fish have so many good nutritional benefits providing they come from relatively clean water.

I never knew that about Alabama having toxic compounds in their lakes. I've got relatives in the state of Mississppi and they have never told me of any problems with their lakes and streams. But I'm certainly going to talking to some of them about it here shortly.
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Re: Fresh Fish At The Grocery Store

#15

Post by JD Spydo »

A few years back in this area I live ( Kansas City, MO USA) there was at one time several guys at roadside stands that were selling all kinds of seafood. I never trusted them and it turns out my gut feeling was right. I later discovered that several of them got busted for selling seafood from contaminated waters.

You would see these guys setting up at strip mall parking lots as well as car wash parking lots and various other places they could legally see their merchandise. I had been told two good friends to never buy fish or meat from any roadside vendor and that turned out to be great advice. Many of them got busted. But again it makes me wonder who enforces laws pertaining to fresh fish and meat items as well?
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Re: Fresh Fish At The Grocery Store

#16

Post by VashHash »

There was a Netflix special about fish a while back and if any of that is true good luck. Seaspiracy is the name.
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Re: Fresh Fish At The Grocery Store

#17

Post by MacLaren »

twinboysdad wrote:
Sat Mar 18, 2023 4:40 pm
I know I am weird but I love sardines and they are usually low mercury and wild caught. some of The lakes here in AL limit fish consumption due to contamination of the fish from industrial waste. What a shame
Me three.....I love sardines with vinegar and saltine crackers.
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Re: Fresh Fish At The Grocery Store

#18

Post by James Y »

Back before my gluten intolerance, I used to love sardine pizza. It sounds gross, but it tasted good, and I'm the only person I knew who liked it.

Once in a blue moon, I'll buy a little aluminum container of "wild caught" sardines, cook 'em and eat them with soy sauce and rice. Maybe once every couple years or so. I doubt there's any health benefit to it, I just like it.

Jim
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Re: Fresh Fish At The Grocery Store

#19

Post by SpyderGrill »

James Y wrote:
Sun Mar 19, 2023 11:27 am
The fish I mentioned earlier that was mislabeled was in a news story I saw several years back. I don't remember if it was in CA or in another state. The reporter purchased some swordfish from a store and had a sample of it tested, and the result was that it wasn't swordfish, but some other species (I forget which species).

Jim
That was going on here a couple years ago I read. People go into a restaurant or grocery store and buy Grouper and be served a lesser quality fish.

We go to a popular fish and chips place here thats been here for years. Ted Nugent stops in when he is in town. Deep fried fish thats suppose to be Grouper. If they threw in Cod one day how would I know?
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Re: Fresh Fish At The Grocery Store

#20

Post by SaltyCaribbeanDfly »

What Dan said above ⬆️…find a local small fresh seafood market that specializes in “WILD CAUGHT”… We’re lucky to have one nearby…I’ve gotten to know the couple that owns it and they call me in advance if they’re getting something in they know we like…Personally I try to catch and keep only fish that have large limits cause they’re plentiful like crappie/bream/white•hybrid bass/the occasional trout if it’s a stocker(not wild)/and sometimes little male bankrunner largemouth bass if the pond/lake is out of balance…I vacuum seal and freeze them…for seafood it’s a different story cause I no longer live near the coast ( I used to have a commercial blue crabbing business w/a friend of mine) and our fridge/freezers were always packed w/shrimp/crab/oysters/reds/trout/flounder/
sheepshead…we used to take seafood for granted 🤷‍♂️…never realized how good we had it!…thankfully I have a couple friends that live near the Gulf and I try to visit at least once/year (Mobile,Ala. and Venice,La.)…always bring a couple big a.. coolers w/me…and crawfish are dirt cheap in southern rural La. Sorry for getting long-winded but just kept thinking about how good we had it once upon a time…🎣👊
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