# When is fish or shellfish "In Season?"



## giggler (May 14, 2013)

I garden, and eat veggies "In Season".. ie. winter veggies in winter, etc.

is there certain Seasons for fish also?

I've heard the whole "eat oysters in months with an R", and wondered about other fish.

I bought some Halibut the other day. it was on sale and was excelent, and my fish monger said "it's halibut season now"

Cool, Eric, Austin Tx.


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## CraigC (May 14, 2013)

As a general statement, "season" when it comes to fish refers to the time period it is legal to harvest. Closed season is to allow for the fishery to recover. Without the closed seasons, the fishery will be devastated and possibly become none existant. Ask Haiti and Jamaica what happens if you just keep harvesting.


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## jennyema (May 14, 2013)

Some types of seafood have limits, others have physical characteristics that only take place seasonally -- like soft shell crabs.  Some people claim lobster is best in the early summer.

The oyster thing was more about refrigerated transportation and is no longer true.


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## olmoelisa (May 14, 2013)

Europe and USA Atlantic Coast:
Sardines: April - Mid July
Bonito (Tuna Fish): Spring-Summer, better from June to October
Scallops: November-February
Cod: April-September
Sea Bass: Winter
Crab: November-March

Shellfish: month with R (September-April), but in general, only eat them in cold months.


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## jennyema (May 14, 2013)

The "month with R" thing is no longer a valid concern.

Its fine to eat shellfish year round.

Cod is also fished and eaten year round


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## Addie (May 14, 2013)

jennyema said:


> Some types of seafood have limits, others have physical characteristics that only take place seasonally -- like soft shell crabs. Some people claim lobster is best in the early summer.
> 
> The oyster thing was more about refrigerated transportation and is no longer true.


 
Summer lobster is the worst time to eat them. The shells are soft or have just been molted. Thus the meat is very watery. The colder the water, the harder the shell and less watery. It may been harder to crack the shell, but the meat is more hardier. The same goes for shrimp.


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## olmoelisa (May 14, 2013)

I do not agree with you, Jennyema.
I used to eat every fish my supermarket was selling, till I went to live in a fishing place.
My neighbors are all fishermen and I learned from them fish has seasons, the same way fruit has.
Yes, cod could be OK all year round, but you cannot eat sardines in winter, for example. Yes, sardines are in the supermarkets in December but...the taste isn't the right one.
About the R rule for shellfish, it's a safety rule. Since we mainly eat shellfish raw, it's better to avoid them in summer.


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## Chief Longwind Of The North (May 14, 2013)

the shellfish rule came about because of red tide.  Red tide is cause by an algae, or phytoplankton bloom in the sea.  Toxins, and lack of oxygen are byproducts of red tide.  Shellfish are bivalves, and feed by filtering plankton and phytoplankton from the water.  They absorb the toxins of those micro critters, making them dangerous for consumption during those times of red tide.  This is the reason for eating shellfish in the cold months.  There was, and is a real reason to follow this rule.  

Today, shellfish is often harvested during safe times, and frozen, then made available year round.  In addition, shellfish are farmed, again isolating them from natural phenomena such as red tide.  And they too are made available year round.  Just remember that wild-caught shellfish has a safe season.

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


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## Addie (May 14, 2013)

Chief, I have lived right on the Atlantic or with walking distance of the ocean all my life. I was married to a commercial fisheman/shrimper. My first husband was a pro chef on oil tankers for years. And the Red Tide does not occur every year. Farmed shellfish are farmed far enough out to sea so that the Red Tide does not affect them. But you can taste the difference from wild caught. Inbreeding just like any other living organism affects the outcome of the product. Taste wild salmon and then farm raised. Even the color of the meat is deeper and redder than farmed salmon. And the "R" thing for oysters has more to do with refrigeration than anything else. The oysters are growing new shells in the summer and are hardier and tasitier in the winter months. Shellfish are just softer and mushier in the summer. The same goes for scallops, lobsters, clams, shrimp etc. I am not sure what time low tide is tomorrow. But if I go by there at that time, I will see all the clam diggers out there in the clam beds. In a couple of weeks, they will stop clamming and give the shellfish a chance to grow.


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## buckytom (May 14, 2013)

soft shell crab season is nearly here. in about a month or so.

and while harder shell lobsters taste better, i don't mind eating the softer shelled summer ones. the meat is easier to get to, and they're a few dollars less per pound so you get to eat more.

and the months with an r thing had to do mostly with refrigeration, or lack thereof years ago. while yes, there are red tides during the summer, any fishmonger would know about a bloom and stop selling the affected species. otherwise, we enjoy oysters all summer. besides, oysters can come from all over. from canada (pei malpeques), to new york (blue points), washington state (hama hama), france (belon), and japan/north pacific (kumamoto).

i doubt all of them are affected by blooms at the same time.


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## buckytom (May 14, 2013)

CraigC said:


> As a general statement, "season" when it comes to fish refers to the time period it is legal to harvest. Closed season is to allow for the fishery to recover. Without the closed seasons, the fishery will be devastated and possibly become none existant. Ask Haiti and Jamaica what happens if you just keep harvesting.



+1




jennyema said:


> Some types of seafood have limits, others have physical characteristics that only take place seasonally -- like soft shell crabs.  Some people claim lobster is best in the early summer.
> 
> The oyster thing was more about refrigerated transportation and is no longer true.



+1


oh, i just remembered one more seasonal thing: amaebi, or raw sweet shrimp for sushi/sashimi. you only can get them in january.


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## Addie (May 14, 2013)

buckytom said:


> soft shell crab season is nearly here. in about a month or so.
> 
> and while harder shell lobsters taste better, i don't mind eating the softer shelled summer ones. the meat is easier to get to, and they're a few dollars less per pound so you get to eat more.
> 
> ...


 
You are so right bt about the Red Tide. We will hear about it up on the North Shore around Ipswich yet it hasn't reached down here at all. In fact it may take as much as a week for it to come this far south. That is if it doesn't die out before then. 

I have to admit I am a bit jaded when it comes to lobster. I grew up on them and by now am sick of them. So if I should have to eat one out of politeness, I would rather it be a winter one. Come August, their shells are so soft, you can rip open the body part right up the middle with your hands.

FWIW, for Mother's Day, my SIL bought four lobsters for my daughter. Two went into the large lobster pot, and the other two were cut right down the middle and stuffed with the meat of the first two along with chopped shrimp, scallops and clams. She was one happy girl. Her husband did all the prep work and cooking. Now that is a Mother's Day she will remember.


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## Chief Longwind Of The North (May 14, 2013)

I am now more educated than I was.  Thanks.  Besides, I'm more of a Great Lakes, freshwater kind of guy, though I love me a bit of seafood, when I can afford to pay the outrageous prices around here.

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


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## Addie (May 14, 2013)

Chief Longwind Of The North said:


> I am now more educated than I was. Thanks. Besides, I'm more of a Great Lakes, freshwater kind of guy, though I love me a bit of seafood, when I can afford to pay the outrageous prices around here.
> 
> Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


 
Some of the happiest days I ever had were when my youngest one was just an infant. I had a neighbor who loved to freshwater fish. All I know is that he always aimed for the rocks with his line. Me? I just dropped my line in the water and what ever got caught he got to take home to his wife and family for supper. I had no idea what I was doing. I was just happy to sit on the bank and let whatever was going to happen, happen. I would have been just as happy with a bamboo pole and a safety pin. He was happy for the quiet company. And my son was getting plenty of fresh air. Now that is my idea of fishing.


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## jennyema (May 14, 2013)

olmoelisa said:


> I do not agree with you, Jennyema.
> I used to eat every fish my supermarket was selling, till I went to live in a fishing place.
> My neighbors are all fishermen and I learned from them fish has seasons, the same way fruit has.
> Yes, cod could be OK all year round, but you cannot eat sardines in winter, for example. Yes, sardines are in the supermarkets in December but...the taste isn't the right one.
> About the R rule for shellfish, it's a safety rule. Since we mainly eat shellfish raw, it's better to avoid them in summer.



I live in a fishing place.

It's perfectly fine to eat oysters in July.  It is not unsafe.

Cod is fished year round.


Seafood "seasons" sometimes involve governmental fishing rules and other times something specific to the sea creature in question - molting, feeding habits, etc.


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## buckytom (May 14, 2013)

and also what craig c said about breeding and recovery times.

he knows his fish.

that's why he's craig "sea"...


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## olmoelisa (May 15, 2013)

I live in Galicia, in northern Spain, and they fish for shellfish (mussels, clams, cockleshell) just in front of my house.
We are having a very bad Red Tide since mid March, so I don't think the 'R' rule has anything to do with the Red Tide.


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## Addie (May 15, 2013)

olmoelisa said:


> I live in Galicia, in northern Spain, and they fish for shellfish (mussels, clams, cockleshell) just in front of my house.
> We are having a very bad Red Tide since mid March, so I don't think the 'R' rule has anything to do with the Red Tide.


 
That is a long time for the Red Tide to last. We are right on the Gulf Stream so for here in Boston, it is pulled out pretty fast. Maybe one or two weeks at the longest. And you are right about the R rule. In fact, that is no longer a rule with todays refrigeration and fast transportation.


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## jennyema (May 15, 2013)

I'm having a dozen oysters tonight at ICOB before attending Biston Bites Back*

May doesn't have an R in it so if I don't check in here in awhile, you'll know why...



* organized by Ming Tsai to benefit the victims.  

Boston Bites Back | One Night. One City. One Fund. | A chef-inspired event to raise over $1 million for The One Fund.


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## olmoelisa (May 15, 2013)

Addie said:


> That is a long time for the Red Tide to last. We are right on the Gulf Stream so for here in Boston, it is pulled out pretty fast. Maybe one or two weeks at the longest. And you are right about the R rule. In fact, that is no longer a rule with todays refrigeration and fast transportation.



Yes, usually the Red Tide lasts 2-3 weeks, I don't know what's happening.

Refrigeration is good, but you cannot eat raw shellfish after they have been frozen! The taste is gone.


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## GotGarlic (May 15, 2013)

olmoelisa said:


> About the R rule for shellfish, it's a safety rule. Since we mainly eat shellfish raw, it's better to avoid them in summer.



We in the U.S. don't mainly eat shellfish raw. Oysters, yes, but not crabs, clams, scallops or shrimp.


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## buckytom (May 15, 2013)

gg, scallop sushi (hotategai) is delicious. very delicate and sweet.

and little necks on the half shell with a squirt of lemon and a cold beer is a summertime favourite here.

but yeah, except for shrimp in january, they're always cooked.

can you eat crab raw at any time?


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## buckytom (May 15, 2013)

olmo, have you ever had percebes?

i've wanted to try them for a long time, but have never seen them on a menu or in a store.


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## olmoelisa (May 15, 2013)

buckytom said:


> olmo, have you ever had percebes?
> 
> i've wanted to try them for a long time, but have never seen them on a menu or in a store.



In Galicia we have a lot of percebes, but I've tried them only a few times, at the restaurant.
They are INCREDIBLY costly. And I don't think they worth the money.
Also, they sell most of them to restaurants or abroad, so they are quite difficult to find at the fish market.
The flavor and texture is similar to escargot, but less tasty.
More, the fisherwomen (mariscadoras in spanish) have to climb on the rocks to take the percebes and there are 4-5 fatal accidents every year.
I do prefer berberechos.


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## CraigC (May 15, 2013)

So very sad, today is the end of stone crab season. No mas until October 15. Crawfish are still going strong, maybe they will last through June this year. Lobster season is just around the corner in S. Florida.


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