Local White Seabass Season is officially Open! We have a few local fishermen who go out at the beginning of White Seabass season, which we love to support. Most White Seabass are caught by Gillnet, some by Hook and Line. Gillnet boats, like the Tytan featured above, are closely regulated by California Fish and Game to ensure the length and depth of their nets, as well as the size of the mesh, meet their standards, keeping bycatch at a minimum.
The beginning of White Seabass season is an exciting time for the Fish Market. We are able to greatly reduce the price of this Premium Grade fish during the first few runs of the catch. We put it on special this week at $14.95 lb. to allow you to experience the excellent quality this fishery produces and to generate future support of your local fishermen:
We pack up our offload of White Seabass on ice and store them in our deep-cold cooler to preserve maximum quality. While we love to filter as much local fish to our community of fish lovers in Santa Barbara, because of the large volume of the initial month of the season, we ship a lot of White Seabass to Los Angeles, which is then distributed across the country...we do have to share SOME of our local treasures.
Check out one of our favorite White Seabass recipes, Grilled with Garlic Butter (courtesy of About.com):
Santa Barbara Spot Prawn season has been open, but unpredictable. Spot Prawns are a delicacy of the ocean. They are caught all the way from Alaska down to Southern California. Very few permits are given out in California, and we have one fishermen in town that has one. And lucky for us, Santa Barbara Spot Prawns are the largest of their kind then an other along the Pacific coastline. Spot Prawns are brought in live and are best cooked that way.
Despite their name, Spot Prawns are not really prawns, they're shrimp. Their shells are pale orange and somewhat translucent, making their gills visible. Their white, tender flesh is as firm and sweet as lobster. Sauteing them in butter and garlic for a few minutes is all that is necessary, their natural flavor is buttery and speaks for itself. Their season goes from February to October, with a few month-long closures through the season. They are rare, trap-caught and hand-picked, making them a prize meal. Give us a call and see if our fishermen brought us some.
