Choosing Your Fish

Rockfish masquerading as red snapper

Most fish stores in the Greater Vancouver Region carry "snapper" fillet, with the skin off.

The meat can range from a translucent white verging on light pink to a dull light ivory-brown. The reason for this difference is the fish specie being marketed as red snapper.

What is generally found in the market are fish fillet of the rockfish family (Sebastes), with the most impressive of them all is called the "Yelloweye snapper" (Sebastes ruberrimus) whose meat comes closest to that of the real red snapper, the Lutjanus campechanus, which is found in the warmer waters of the gulf of Mexico. In the first picture on the left, the yelloweye rockfish/a.k.a. pacific red snapper stands out as the bright red fish at the center, with the distinctive yellow eye. The second picture shows other rockfishes: canary, copper, tiger, china, yellow tail and black.

The real red snapper has whiter mild sweet meat, that remains moist after cooking. Of course, it costs much more than the snapper pretenders.

Here's the original red snapper: the Lutjanus campechanus

I used to do floating cage "traditional finfish farming" of the red mangrove snapper (see linked picture)(Lutjanus argentimaculatus) and the golden snapper (see linked picture) Lutjanus johnii. That explains my concern about pushing rockfish to customers as the famous RED SNAPPER. When the skin on the fillet is off, ask your fishmonger if you are getting a rockfish or a red snapper.

Winter Chinook Salmon

Whole Foods Market (West Vancouver, BC) has a limited supply of fresh winter chinook salmon. While most fishes in fish stores would be carrying the tag, "Previously Frozen", a special batch of chinooks are coming in fresh.

Salmon is available year round but conservation policies to achieve a sustainable supply of wild catch limits fishing season. Exception to the rule is fishing for Chinook (a.k.a., King or Spring Salmon) in the Southeast Alaska Region that is allowed during the period of November to mid-spring (mid-April). Only the Trolling method is allowed for catching the spring salmon. So you can imagine that only a very limited catch will result from what is termed as “Winter Trolling”.

By the way, the Chinook (native name; and scientific name: (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) is commercially known as “King Salmon” because it is the biggest among the 5 pacific salmon species. It is also known as “Spring Salmon” because it is the first salmon that arrives (salmon run) in spring and allowed to be caught from the wild.

The current fresh wild Chinook may be better referred to as: “Winter King Salmon”. The use of the term Spring would be inappropriate, even if that is how the consumers call it.

Chilean Sea Bass returns

There remains to be a current danger of poaching and overfishing of the Chilean Sea Bass (less known as the Patagonian Toothfish). This highly prized “white gold of the sea” is caught in the deep cold waters of the Antartic and Southern Hemisphere. Oceans Alive report that this fish is highly vulnerable to overfishing.

Whole Foods Market in West Vancouver, BC has brought back the Chilean Sea Bass in its seafood department after an MSC certified source was verified to comply with strict standards of sustainable fisheries.

About Halibut

Halibut is a premium whitefish, with a mild sweet flavor, low in oil, smooth well-flaked, firm texture that adopts to almost all types of cooking. It can grow to as much as 300 pounds and inhabits the deep cold waters of the pacific northwest.

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About Salmon

“Salmon is a healthy, savory, versatile, and exotic fine dining experience. In addition to being a delicious fine source of high quality protein, low in calories, and carbohydrate free, salmon has incredible cardiovascular benefits. Salmon is packed with heart-healthy essential omega-3 fatty acids.”

There are five types of Salmon found in the american northwest pacific region:

• Chinook (king or spring salmon): flesh is genererally red (occassionally comes in white or ivory color), delicate texture with a buttery smoothness because of high oil content, renders very well over the grill or under the broiler
• Sockeye: because of its widest migration route compared to the other salmon types, it has a deep red flesh color, firm texture, outstanding 'salmon' flavor, best condition when harvested in the ocean run as the fish starts to grow into full sexual maturity. Copper River run claimed to be the best.
• Coho: reddish-orange flesh color, migration route nearer to land, moderate flavour and medium texture compared to sockeye. Snow Pass coho run is distinctive for its high healthy oil content and harvest method is stress-free for the fish making it clean and well-bled during processing, touted as the freshest commercial quantity harvest to reach the market
• Chum
• Pink

From the atlantic side of the continent comes:

• atlantic salmon

BC wild salmon fast facts.

About Tilapia

Tilapia is a vegetarian fish that swims in the middle to upper water column. It has a white, firm, moist and flakey meat with a low fat, mild flavor. It absorbs sauces well and can be a good substitute for recipes calling for snapper, cod, grouper, or orange roughy. 

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