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Get to know the ‘trash fish’ we’re now eating thanks to overfishing

July 19, 2024

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As a species, we humans as a species are hardly known for our restraint, much to the detriment of pretty much every other species we share the planet with. Because of this, contrary to the popular idiom, there really aren’t always going to be plenty of fish in the sea. While it can be difficult to pinpoint on a day-to-day basis, the species of fish we eat en masse have changed with the decades, due largely to the overfishing of critical species.

Restaurants, markets, and of course fishermen are increasingly turning to so-called “trash fish” as familiar species like sea bass and Atlantic salmon are placed on endangered and overfished lists. Get to know these trash fish, because you’ll be eating them for dinner in the years to come.

Monkfish

The sea monster-esque looks of this fish hide a delicious secret: monkfish tastes quite a bit like lobster. But preparing monkfish is decidedly more difficult than boiling it, cracking its shell open and dunking it in butter. Monkfish, which are also sometimes called sea devils and fishing-frogs, take quite a bit of skill to prepare. But chefs will have plenty of chances to perfect their craft, as monkfish is an increasingly popular fish on restaurant menus.

Taste: Delicate, “unfishy” flavor, and a texture reminiscent of lobster.

Squirrelfish

Owing to their ability to survive for days once captured within fishing traps, and their mastery of living in even the most polluted water, squirrelfish will likely be among the top fish at seafood restaurants of the future. Though they had traditionally lived in tropical waters surrounding coral reefs, rising ocean temperatures are drawing squirrelfish into unprotected areas where they are more easily caught for human consumption.

Mullet

Long used as bait when hunting for larger fish out on the Gulf of Mexico or Southeastern Atlantic, mullet have more recently been reimagined as a perfectly acceptable fish to be eaten in their own right. Sometimes called Biloxi bacon in the South, various types of mullet were once popular in parts of the Mediterranean. Though they fell out of favor for a generation or two, renewed interest in this fish has them back on menus once more.

Tastes: Nobody will ever accuse mullet of being an understated taste. Expect bold, sea-like flavor that you may want to mask by smoking the fish.

Drum

Here’s one you’ve likely encountered plenty of times in recent years: drum. Also known as sheepshead, these enormous guppies are known to fight back hard when caught on a line. You know what they’re also known for? Frying up excellently in an order of fish & chips. Described as similar to flounder, drum is the quintessential example of a fish that in just a few years has been able to shake its trash fish reputation.

Taste: Drum is quite similar to a fish with a much better reputation: red snapper. Big, meaty flakes of fish pull apart when cooked, making this fish perfect for frying.

Lionfish

Though their scientific name is actually Pterois, this stunner is colloquially known the world over as the lionfish. Except for the places that call it a zebrafish. Or turkeyfish. No matter what you call it though, lionfish are a venomous, invasive species that threaten delicate underwater ecosystems with their insatiable appetites and spines that can cause anaphylactic shock. Females can lay up to 15,000 eggs at a time, helping these invasive fish pretty much take over the whole world (minus their native Indo-Pacific Ocean). Lionfish are thus one species you can always feel good about eating when you see it on a menu.

See also Ugly Drum Smoker Plans (UDS Build)

Taste: Once the venomous spines have been removed from the body, cooked lionfish possesses a slightly sweet flavor, reminiscent of grouper and snapper.

Sardines

Before you reject these guys outright, consider the fact that sardines are among the healthiest fish you can actually put in your body. Because of their small size, sardines remain at the bottom of the food chain, preventing them from accruing the rampant toxins and plastics that larger species end up ingesting as they devour one another. They also grow quite quickly, meaning that populations can more easily sustain themselves, even as humans hunt them for food.

Taste: For such a small fish, sardines usually have a heavy, oily mouthfeel. As is often the case with fish, the fresher the fish, the lighter the flavor.

Scup

Sometimes called Porgy, this trash fish has made it all the way to the big leagues, and can now be bought from the fish counter at many Whole Foods stores. In 2000, Americans ate less than 3 million pounds of scup. By 2014, that figure had risen to more than 15 million pounds. But way back in the 1800s, scup was actually the most fished species in all of America, though perhaps not because it was being eaten. Porgy, after all, is an American Indian word meaning fertilizer.

Taste: Meaty scup fillets possess that slightly sweet flavor that snapper lovers seek out.

Gar

Delicious though it may be, gar gets a bad rap owing to the fact that its eggs are naturally toxic to mammals, including humans. But on the other hand, there are hardly easier fish to cook and eat. Gar can be laid whole over a fire and cooked until the skin pulls off with just a tug of its scales. The backstrap meat you’ve now exposed is ready to be eaten. Just make sure you don’t eat anything too close to those eggs.

See also .308 Winchester for Black Bear Hunting? Best Ammo (Round, Load, Cartridge) for a Successful Black Bear Hunt Hunting Calibers 04 Apr, 2020 Posted By: Foundry Outdoors Is the .308 Winchester a viable caliber/load/round/cartridge for black bear hunting? The accurate answer is “it depends”. However, the goal of this article is simply to address the question of whether the .308 Winchester is within the ideal range of suitable calibers to harvest black bear. As with anything, the devil is in the details. To answer the question completely, we would need to evaluate the downrange distance to the black bear, the bullet type, the grain weight of the bullet, the physical condition of the firearm, the size of the black bear in question, the shot placement, the local wind conditions, the expected accuracy of the shooter, the ethics of the ideal maximum number of shots – the list goes on. [Click Here to Shop .308 Winchester Ammo]What we can do is provide a framework to understand what average conditions might look like, and whether those are reasonably viable for a shot from the average shooter to harvest a black bear in the fewest number of shots possible, i.e., ethically. Let’s dive right in. In the question of “Is the .308 Winchester within the ideal range of suitable calibers for black bear hunting?” our answer is: Yes, the .308 Winchester is A GOOD CHOICE for black bear hunting, under average conditions, from a mid-range distance, with a medium grain expanding bullet, and with correct shot placement.Let’s look at those assumptions a bit closer in the following table. Assumption Value Caliber .308 Winchester Animal Species Black Bear Muzzle Energy 2620 foot-pounds Animal Weight 340 lbs Shot Distance 150 yardsWhat is the average muzzle energy for a .308 Winchester? In this case, we have assumed the average muzzle energy for a .308 Winchester round is approximately 2620 foot-pounds. What is the average weight of an adult male black bear? Here we have leaned conservative by taking the average weight of a male individual of the species, since females generally weigh less and require less stopping power. In this case, the average weight of an adult male black bear is approximately 340 lbs. [Click Here to Shop .308 Winchester Ammo]What is the distance this species is typically hunted from? Distance, of course, plays an important role in the viability of a given caliber in black bear hunting. The kinetic energy of the projectile drops dramatically the further downrange it travels primarily due to energy lost in the form of heat generated by friction against the air itself. This phenonemon is known as drag or air resistance. Thus, a caliber that is effective from 50 yards may not have enough stopping power from 200 yards. With that said, we have assumed the average hunting distance for black bear to be approximately 150 yards. What about the other assumptions? We have three other primary assumptions being made here. First, the average bullet weight is encapsulated in the average muzzle energy for the .308 Winchester. The second important assumption is ‘slightly-suboptimal’ to ‘optimal’ shot placement. That is to say, we assume the black bear being harvested is shot directly or nearly directly in the vitals (heart and/or lungs). The third assumption is that a projectile with appropriate terminal ballistics is being used, which for hunting usually means an expanding bullet.Various calibersA common thread you may encounter in online forums is anecdote after anecdote of large animals being brought down by small caliber bullets, or small animals surviving large caliber bullets. Of course those stories exist, and they are not disputed here. A 22LR cartridge can fell a bull elephant under the right conditions, and a newborn squirrel can survive a 50 BMG round under other specific conditions. Again, the goal of this article is simply to address the question of whether .308 Winchester is within the ideal range of suitable calibers to harvest black bear - and to this question, the response again is yes, the .308 Winchester is A GOOD CHOICE for black bear hunting. [Click Here to Shop .308 Winchester Ammo]This article does not serve as the final say, but simply as a starting point for beginner hunters, as well as a venue for further discussion. Please feel free to agree, disagree, and share stories from your own experience in the comments section below. Disclaimer: the information above is purely for illustrative purposes and should not be taken as permission to use a particular caliber, a statement of the legality or safety of using certain calibers, or legal advice in any way. You must read and understand your own local laws before hunting black bear to know whether your caliber of choice is a legal option.Foundry Outdoors is your trusted home for buying archery, camping, fishing, hunting, shooting sports, and outdoor gear online.We offer cheap ammo and bulk ammo deals on the most popular ammo calibers. We have a variety of deals on Rifle Ammo, Handgun Ammo, Shotgun Ammo & Rimfire Ammo, as well as ammo for target practice, plinking, hunting, or shooting competitions. Our website lists special deals on 9mm Ammo, 10mm Ammo, 45-70 Ammo, 6.5 Creedmoor ammo, 300 Blackout Ammo, 10mm Ammo, 5.56 Ammo, Underwood Ammo, Buffalo Bore Ammo and more special deals on bulk ammo.We offer a 100% Authenticity Guarantee on all products sold on our website. Please email us if you have questions about any of our product listings. Leave a commentComments have to be approved before showing up Your Name * Your Email * Your Comment * Post Comment

Taste: Gar is all over the place, when cooked. It has one of the meatiest textures of all fish, closer in mouthfeel to chicken than seafood, and tastes quite a bit like alligator.