A seafood question for Seattle hounds...

I am wondering.... do they fish local lobsters from the waters in Seattle?....like they do in Maine?
If so how are they?
I would love to know if there are local caught lobsters and shrimp.

Thanks

Joule:

Just so you'll be aware about our local Crayfish, Crayfish or whatever the Pacific Northwest is fortunate in having some of the best tasting Crawdads anywhere there are commercial fishermen who set traps in various locations on Lake Washington who do their collecting at night.

There are also Divers who collect them commercially in Burlap Bags as well. I generally buy my supply from them after they are fresh caught before being loaded into the pick up truck. They are delicious.

In Portland they are collected in the Columbia River and been featured at various restaurants for years.

I first started buying Lake Washington Crayfish shipped live for my restaurant in Honolulu where they were very popular.

There are also excellent varieties of Whelks available locally, Red Crabs and several varieties of Singing Scallops, Butter Clams, Sea Urchins, and Spot Prawns.

Hope you enjoy our Bounty.

Irwin

Thank you so much can you tell me where is the best place then to buy them from the fisherman?
I can't wait.

Joule:

They are not comfortable selling the Crayfish directly to consumers. It took over two years until they decided to sell directly to me after becoming familiar with my fishing where they brought their catch ashore.

They originally gave me a Bucket full at no charge, but I insisted on paying after that initial freebie.

Apparently the catch is already spoken for either by Restaurants or Retailers. Seems they only go out when they have orders to fill. They say that they have a license from Fish and Game.

Irwin

Thanks for all the info I really appreciate it so much.

Joule, Mutual Fish (in the Rainier Valley) often has live, local crawfish along with live Sea Urchins. My favorite find there--when they have it-is supremely wonderful fresh water perch. (Simply fry them with seasoned cornmeal and flour.) Mutual Fish is also one of the very few resources that offer fresh oysters kept in a flow of water instead of on ice--the only way to buy oysters.

Again, I say get thee to the Pike Place Market. Many of the fish vendors have live crawfish in season. And Jack's has tanks of live crabs, oysters and clams. It's a feast!

See the link below. No lobster or shrimp, but many others.

Link: http://wdfw.wa.gov/fish/shelfish/shel...

As Kathy says, there are no native varieties of lobster in Puget Sound or on the coast. I think the closest are in Mexico, although they are very different from Maine lobster.

There are in fact shrimp and prawns that are commercially fished in Puget Sound, but I believe the fishing season is very short. You can always ask in a restaurant or market if the shrimp is local.

Local Lobster - No
Local Crawfish - Yes, though this is not often apparent on local menus.
Also local = Dungeness crab, clams, mussels, Salmon

And how could I forget the grandaddy of all local seafood, the Geoduck (Gooyduck). I am still sore that Uwajimaya stopped selling little packages of deep-fied Goeduck a few years back...

What does that taste like? I have never had it but would love to try them.

Tastes like the giant clam it is. Living sometimes to 150 years, they are apt to be quite tough, but as with people, the flavors get more complex with age...
eric

wow...local crawfish? You mean like New Orleans crawfish? Do the seafood markets sell them live?

I've bought them at Mutual Fish and I'd assume some other markets carry them as well.

So ....are they live from washington state then?...or are they flown in from somewhere else?
I am glad to know they are avilable...because with the absence of lobster I'll boil them up and eat them with drawn butter...yummy.
But are they locally grown?

Lake Washington, for starters...

Uwajimaya sells them:
http://www.uwajimaya.com/seattle_seaf...

Few people know this, and we do not have local culture around crawfish, but Mudbugs on the Bayou, I think, started using them a while back, and there are surely more purveyors to be found...

Some of the fish markets in the Pike Place Market sell live mudbugs. It's a treat to watch the tourists scream as the crawl all over each other, occasionally pushing one over the edge and onto the floor, where it tries to run for cover.