Where to buy fresh raw seafood?
 

Where is the closest place to buy fresh shrimp and seafood near the Villages?

Lighthouse Seafood on 466

We buy fresh seafood from Sam's Club. I have tried everywhere else and find they still have the best selection and price. However, they are not cheap. I have purchased from Publix which is very good, and also Fresh Market. I have also tried the stand aloe fish markets and found them to be extremely expensive, but the variety of fish available is excellent.

I also buy frozen specialties from Aldi's. This past week they had frozen Canadian Wild Caught Lobster tails and Black Tiger Shrimp and that is going to be dinner tonight.

I buy fresh swordfish at Winn Dixie and Publix when they have it available on sale.

Another vote for lighthouse seafood on 466. It’s just a little east of Morse Bullivard on the Westbound side of 466. They have very good seafood.

How do you know it's fresh, and not "previously frozen"? Where does it come from?

I heard advice that you should always buy frozen shrimp instead of previously frozen because it will be fresher when you thaw it out yourself.

Lighthouse seafood market's fish is fresh. They have another store on the coast. I only buy fresh shrimp and fish. I would never buy any farm raised fish or shrimp. I do not buy and fish from Asia. The royal red shrimp are excellent at Lighthouse Market.

We had, unfortunately no longer with us, a friend who was an international buyer. He traveled all over the US, Canadian Provinces (Lobsters) and the Netherlands and he recommended always to buy frozen on the ship where it is caught, anything else is several days old, unless you can buy it right from the guy pulling it out of the water! He also recommended only Florida Pink shrimp.

Either the Lighthouse Seafood on 466 or Sam's club.

I have wondered myself WHERE the fresh seafood comes from in Florida. We have miles and miles of sandy beaches, but I have never seen a fleet of fishing boats in Florida in all of the whole life time we have visited here. I have seen them up North in Massachusetts and in Maryland, but never here. I have become very squeamish of Talapia.

The best fish I have purchased here is the frozen Cod at Walmart. WITHOUT the breading of course. I just tried the frozen unbreaded Cod at Publix, (and I love Publix) but we both thought it was fishy, not nearly as good as Walmart's frozen unbreaded Cod, on the top shelf in the freezer case. It is often sold out. It is cheap AND good.

I am not really used to eating a lot of fish that coastal people are familiar with but have enjoyed good Catfish which they no longer serve at the Lighthouse. AND if you have not had catfish it is very mild, not fishy, has a firm flesh much like cod and can be either baked or fried.

I don't like to buy stuff from people in parking lots with Styrofoam coolers. But that's just me. AND a lot of "fresh fish" I have purchased at Fresh Market and Publix have been disappointing and fishy.

Just to clarify the term "fresh" seafood. The Food and Drug Administration is charged with ensuring that seafood labeling is not false or misleading, but the agency has no definition of “fresh,” and has no standards or criteria for using the term to sell seafood. The seafood industry says that almost all shrimp is frozen on the ship where it is caught. A more descriptive term to look for when buying any seafood is "fresh-never-frozen". But, even that term is not regulated by the FDA.

All shrimp from Sam's is farm raised, the Admiral bought some fresh Florida shrimp from Winn Dixie, they were soft and mealy compared to Sam's frozen Asian farm raised shrimp--they might have been fresh in name only

The frozen Florida shrimp from Publix is OK

I believe that all the shrimp sold by Publix is labeled as either frozen or previously frozen, which is appropriate labelling. But, to me, it make no sense to buy the previously frozen shrimp when you can buy their frozen shrimp and thaw it out in a few minutes under cold water. Even though it is correctly labeled, Publix must know that some people are confused into thinking the thawed shrimp is somehow better than the frozen shrimp. It's just the opposite.

Stokes in Leesburg. A true seafood market.

Stokes Seafood Market & More!

I would agree. Freezing stops the fish from deteriorating. Unfrozen fish is generally not as "fresh" as the product that gets frozen on the boat. Good refrigeration helps, but is no match for fish frozen soon after it is caught. It would be nice to buy fish right at the dock, but I don't happen to see any fishing boats around here.