Farm raised fish vs wild
 

I suggested to my friend that we should go to Sam St. John's Seafood Restaurant again, like we did last December. Later, I realized I never did find out if the flounder was farm raised or wild. I don't want farm raised anymore; my friend doesn't care as long as the food tastes good.

So I called the Restaurant and the woman who answered the phone said she didn't know. I asked her if I would be able to find out and she said I could ask the server when I come in. That's nice! We pick out a restaurant and may have to get up and walk out if the flounder is farm raised. Or, maybe not if my friend is eager for the flounder. In that case, I have to try to find something that is wild. And I have a feeling that anything wild is going to be a lot more expensive. The baked flounder, all you can eat, with a couple of side dishes, is $10.00. Very reasonable. Therefore, I suppose I shouldn't even have to ask if it's farm raised.

I then called Red Lobster to see if their fish is wild. A man answered and, without hesitation, said most of their fish is farm raised. Haddock was the one exception at $17.99. That's what I suspected; anything wild is going to be much more expensive, and I'm a thrifty ol' geezer who doesn't want to spend that much. I'm not even sure if I would like Haddock anyway.

This leads me to believe that there's no such thing as a healthy (wild) fish dinner that's going to be under about $18. If it's over $12, I would rather buy it in the supermarket and cook it at home.

Now I either have to talk her out of going there or else I would have to find something on the menu other than fish. :22yikes: What can I order in a seafood place other than fish? I don't suppose they have any vegan meals, do they? (I'm not interested in a high sodium vegan burger.)

I think I would rather go to Subway.

You might enjoy the haddock.....it's generally a sweet, tender, white fleshed fish. It is a bit pricey, but it is a special time of the year and maybe you could make an exception...:)

Something you might want to consider is buying some fresh fish from the vendor in Brownwood. He brings fresh caught Florida fish from their store in Lake Mary.
The fish is fresh, delicious and bakes quickly. You could prepare some of your vegan dishes to accompny the fish.

Did you check with Bonefish??? curious what their answer would be. I agree, I want nothing to do with farm raised fish. Sam's carries frozen Mahi and Salmon that is wild caught. They use to have wonderful tuna steaks as well, but haven't seen them lately.
If you are going out for seafood and want wild caught then you have to be prepared to pay the price or cook it at home yourself.

wild caught fish at market
 

Thought I would mention the flash frozen right on the boat fish that is sold at Brownwood Market on Saturdays. I bought a piece of haddock that was nearly a pound in weight for $6.75. I have also bought cod there. They flash freeze the fish right on the boat as soon as it is caught. I figure I can't get it much fresher than that! JMHO

LW888

Here is the link to their menu.
They do serve chicken, steak and salads.
Sam's St.johns Seafood menu - Summerfield, FL 34491 - (352) 307-7387

That is a good price. Haddock is the same family as cod and pollock. In UK haddock is probably the most preferred sea food and a mainstay in fish and chip shops.

We like both cod and haddock. Strangely, smaller sized pike can taste like cod depending on how it is prepared.

Some species of fish are almost entirely farm raised e.g. Atlantic Salmon.

I find that farmed Atlantic Salmon taste pretty much as good as the wild salmon used to. But, some farmed trout are have soft consistency in their flesh and don't compare to wild trout.

As far as I know haddock are not farmed, but cod are.

I'm sure you realize that wild caught fish that come from the oceans are subject to having mercury contamination.

And of course you will not eat lobster, oysters, crabs, clams, snails, shrimps, eels, and catfish because they are scavengers.


Of course, the chicken and beef products are permitted to have additives and beef often has been fed hormones. The salad ingredients probably were treated with pesticides.

There is also the issue of how clean the kitchen is at the restaurant and whether or not any of the food handlers have any illnesses.

If you overthink the whole issue you might never eat out again.

Carl, Carl, Carl!

Honestly, I don't think there is a big difference between farm raised and wild raised anything. I don't think organic veggies are much if any different either.

In our current over populated world, there has to be big farm raised animals, fish, and vegetables or there would be a lot more starving people in the world with giant depletions of "wild" stock that would radically alter the environment.

I agree.

My issue with farm raised is not the difference in taste, but how they are raised. Would rather risk a little mercury than the poop they swim around in. Maybe we can start a fish poop thread!

I get your point Carl, but I too would rather deal with mercury detoz than with the antibiotic and growth hormone issues of farmed fish. Incidentally, cilantro is a great chelator for mercury detoxing, so you could add it in the meal with fish as a precaution.

LW888

I myself, find a difference in farm raised and fresh caught (wild). I think farm raised is much more blah (bland) then fresh fish. Especially, when it comes to salmon!!!! I always look for sockeye salmon from west coast when having salmon. West coast salmon is so much tastier, and less oily. I always used to say (jokingly) that salmon only know how to turn right when coming back to spawn or lay eggs. So on the east coast, they turn right, and get lost at sea, (trying to find there way back) while on west coast, they turn right, and come right in without getting lost, using less energy (leaving more meat on fish). Of course, no proof to that!!!! I stay away from farm raised shrimp also. Like shrimp caught here in Florida. What's nice, we here in the USA have choices. By the way, Lopez Legacy, has fresh fish shipped to them.

You simply can't supply the worlds demand with only "fresh" catches. It's impossible. Just look at the number of people eating shrimp on 'all you can eat shrimp night' in the ONE Red Lobster you are sitting in than multiply that by just the number of Red Lobster restaurants around just the USA and than multiply that by all the people eating shrimp in other restaurants and meals on that day in the WORLD. It is staggering. That's just ONE day.

I am willing to bet a lot of the so called "fresh" catch is right out of the the "fresh" farm tank. It has to be.

I'm also willing to bet, if you prepared a "fresh" caught piece of salmon and a "farm" raised piece of salmon side by side in the same pan with the same ingredients and didn't know which was which, you would have a hard time telling the difference.

I don't believe anyone is suggesting they stop farm raising fish, but some of us prefer the naturally caught product. Also the bags of frozen clearly state if they are fresh caught or frozen; however, there are no guarantees anymore.