By Carolyn Twesten, Weaver Street Market Meat and Seafood Merchandiser
Supporting the local food economy is all about learning to eat seasonally, and it’s no different with seafood. One of the most exciting things about buying from Locals Seafood is seeing the fish change with the seasons.
Supporting a diverse catch is key to better ocean health and a stable fishing economy. Many underappreciated species of fish thrive in cooler weather. We saw a few new species (well, new to us) come through this past fall and winter, like triggerfish and scup porgy. If you didn’t get to try them this year, there’s always next season!
That said, the water is getting a little warmer, and some of your favorite fish will be available soon! Backfin crabmeat is already in stores and softshells are close behind. By the end of May, we should see plenty of mahi-mahi, and yellowfin tuna will make a return. Some of the new foodie favorites will arrive with the warmer weather as well, like sheepshead and pompano. Our selection changes weekly, so you never know what you might find! Follow us on Twitter for tweets about the week’s catch, which arrives in stores on Wednesday and Friday afternoons.
Shrimp season, which lasted far longer than expected last year, should start in late May with the “pink” shrimp species. Brown shrimp, NC’s most abundant shrimp species, will be harvested throughout the summer, followed by white shrimp or “green tails.” Much of our fresh shrimp comes via Locals Seafood from the Midgett Family of Stumpy Point, North Carolina. Our IQF (individually quick frozen) shrimp is available year-round and is sourced from Eddie Willis of Mr. Big Seafood on Harkers Island, North Carolina.
While summertime is a booming season for fishermen, with many popular species returning to the coast as well as the influx of tourists to purchase them, commercial fishing is a year-round occupation. Companies like Locals Seafood help provide fisherman with a year-round market for their catch.