November 28, 2005
Become A Florida Seafood Know-It-All
Everyone knows that Florida is world renown for the beautiful beaches that border almost 2,000 miles of coastline. The attraction to the sea and sand brings droves of tourists to the state each year. As a part of the sun and sea experience, if you ask any vacationer what they want to do while they are here, the response will be nearly unanimous: They plan to eat Florida seafood.
The question is, as a Floridian, could you guide them in this pursuit? Do you know enough about one of your state’s largest resources to carry a conversation over dinner with your out of state guests? If not, the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Bureau of Seafood and Aquaculture Marketing, wants to help you avoid going out to sea without a paddle.
For starters, you could tell your guests that, according the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, commercial fishermen landed (that's "fisheze" for "caught") over 110 million pounds of seafood in 2004. Guess how many fishing trips to sea it took to bring this much in? It was a mere 226,710 trips. Now that’s a lot of traveling to bring home the groceries. The wholesale value of all this seafood was almost $186 million in 2004.
There are over 80 different kinds of seafood in Florida. The top 10 species landed are many of your favorites, so you’ll be able to share recipes and menus using them. But if you want to throw around some eye opener stats, here’s a few you can use.
No surprise here: Shrimp is at the top of the chart with almost 28 million pounds caught from Florida waters in 2004. Don’t even try to guess how many actual shrimp it took to make up 28 million pounds unless you are having trouble sleeping and prefer to count shrimp instead of sheep. It’s a good thing the shrimpers harvest such large quantities because, according to the United States Department of Commerce, it is the favorite among consumers with an annual 4.2 pounds consumed per person in 2004. This consumption is up from previous years.
Grouper and blue crab come in as a not-so-close second and third, each with almost 12 million pounds harvested in the same year. The remaining top seven species, in order of ranking by pounds, are: mullet, spiny lobster, king and Spanish mackerel, stone crab claws, shark, and oysters.
However, if statistics put you to sleep, here are some fascinating little tidbits of information about the top 10 species as well as other seafood trivia.
Although you probably won’t hear this in your average social circle, seafood is generally referred to as either finfish or shellfish. Finfish have a backbone, fins and breathe through gills. Some have scales like a red snapper but some -- like catfish -- do not. Shellfish have, you guessed it, shells. Some are called mollusks, which are enclosed in a shell, i.e., scallops and oysters. Other shellfish are referred to as crustaceans because they have a shell-like exoskeleton. Shrimp and crabs are examples.
Top 10 Trivia:
-- The life cycle of a shrimp in the wild is only about 13 months. They reproduce rapidly which is a good thing since so many people like to eat them. Shrimp fishing is only done at night. In Florida, there are four shrimp species of commercial value in the Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic waters. They are categorized by four major colors: brown, pink, white and royal red shrimp. The majority of the shrimp harvested in Florida are the pink species.
-- When you order grouper in a restaurant, depending on the time of the year, you could be served one of many different kinds. In Florida, the main grouper species are gag, black, red, scamp, snowy, warsaw, yellowedge and yellowfin. It might be fun to see if you can stump your waiter or waitress by asking the name of the grouper they are serving.
-- How do you tell a boy blue crab from a girl blue crab? The tips of the female's claws are bright red. Blue crabs are found along Florida's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. As a shallow water crab, it can live in salt, fresh and brackish waters of bays, sounds, channels and river mouths. They are omnivorous, feeding on plants and animals. During the winter months, blue crabs move into deeper water and enter a state of semi-hibernation.
-- The mullet is considered a vegetarian and is the only fish that has a gizzard, much like a chicken, that grinds up and digests the plant materials. This is another species that we all typically purchase just as mullet but there are actually several varieties. The striped mullet is commonly called a black mullet, gray mullet or jumping mullet. The white mullet is typically referred to as silver mullet.
-- All lobsters do not have claws. The Florida spiny lobsters have long feelers instead. When caught by a predator, a spiny lobster has the ability to break off the appendage, escape and grow another one. Another interesting fact about spiny lobsters is that during seasonal migrations, they form a single line, called "marches," as they move from shallow to deep water.
-- Quite an athlete, the king mackerel is noted for its remarkable leaps, often clearing the water by 10 feet or more. This species are schooling fish that migrate from south Florida waters in winter to more northerly waters in the spring.
-- Spanish mackerel and snowbird tourists also have something in common. This species is a schooling fish that migrates northward in the spring and returns to southern waters when the temperature drops. The average catch is less than two pounds but a record weight of 12 pounds has been recorded.
-- The stone crab can regenerate its claws three to four times. Florida law forbids the taking of whole stone crabs. Fishermen are allowed to take claws at least 2 3/4 inches long and are required to return stone crabs safely to the water. Of course, they really do have to be careful when they are doing this because a stone crab’s claw is strong enough to crush a finger. Ouch!
-- Sharks are ancient creatures that have changed very little over millions of years. They are characterized by a cartilaginous skeleton (no true bones), five to seven pairs of gills and moveable eyelids. Except for the tail, sharks do not use their fins for propulsion but use their pectoral and dorsal fins for stabilization and balance. Sharks yield more marketable products than any other single group of fishes. The flesh is used for food; the liver yields oils and vitamins; they can be rendered into fish meal or fertilizer; the skin can be processed into leather; they are used for biomedical research and dissection in anatomy courses; and their teeth often become jewelry.
-- People have been eating oysters for a long, long time. The cultivation of oysters began more than 2,000 years ago when Romans collected oyster seed stock near the mouth of the Adriatic Sea and transported them to another part of Italy for grow-out. The Romans had such a passion for oysters that they imported them from all over the Mediterranean and European coasts. Today, oysters flourish in Florida estuaries where nutrient-rich fresh water meets the salt water. They feed mainly on single-cell plants. When feeding, the oyster can pump and filter 25 gallons of water in 24 hours. In Florida, where the water is warmer, they can reach marketable size in less than two years. It may take oysters as long as six years to reach marketable size in colder northern waters. When traveling along the Gulf Coast, you may see oysters being harvested commercially from small boats by fishermen using large, long-handled tongs to scoop clumps of oysters from the bottom.
If this small amount of Florida seafood trivia has been just enough to whet your appetite to learn more about the fascinating sea creatures your state proudly boasts, you can visit the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services’ Bureau of Seafood and Aquaculture Marketing website at www.FL-Seafood.com. At this site, you will find more information about these and other species. And if you are tired of preparing your favorite seafood the same old way, you can try something new by using one of the many recipes.
For more information:
Phyllis McCranie
(850) 488-0163
mccranp@doacs.state.fl.us
