{"id":6197,"date":"2015-09-01T13:40:00","date_gmt":"2015-09-01T17:40:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/coastwatch\/?page_id=6197"},"modified":"2024-08-30T16:18:44","modified_gmt":"2024-08-30T20:18:44","slug":"mariners-menu-food-fish-good-fish","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/coastwatch\/mariners-menu-food-fish-good-fish\/","title":{"rendered":"MARINER\u2019S MENU: Food Fish, Good Fish"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n\n\n
More than a century ago, mullet was vital to North Carolina’s economy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe common mullet, or \u2018jumping mullet,\u2019 is the most important food-fish of the Beaufort waters,\u201d wrote Hugh McCormick Smith, author of The Fishes of North Carolina<\/em>, published in 1907.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe mullet fishery is the largest industry in the State derived from saltwater fishes. The importance of the mullet to the fishermen is increased by the fact that it is taken during the summer when most other fish are scarce,\u201d noted Smith, then deputy U.S. commissioner of fisheries with the Bureau of Fisheries, a precursor to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n Today, mullet mostly are targeted for their roe, or eggs. In 2014, commercial fishermen harvested more than 1.8 million pounds of the fish, valued at about $1.1 million. That leaves a lot of mullet meat.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n Bill Rice, owner of Fishtowne Seafood<\/a>, smokes and sells mullet at his store in Beaufort. This enables Rice to offer his customers a new product. Smoking also prolongs the shelf life of the fish.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n Barry Nash<\/a>, North Carolina Sea Grant seafood technology and marketing specialist, adapted Joyce Taylor\u2019s dip and spread recipes for Rice\u2019s smoked mullet.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThis is a species that is relatively unfamiliar to visitors to the coast. It\u2019s not widely available in restaurants,\u201d Nash explains. \u201cI wanted to evaluate it in a preparation that wasn\u2019t deep fried or grilled, something other than the traditional way of cooking mullet.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n He will continue his analyses this autumn. Nash\u2019s goal is to develop new markets for this little-known fish.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n These recipes are adapted from Mariner\u2019s Menu: 30 Years of Fresh Seafood Ideas<\/em>. Look for a copy at local bookstores. To order from Sea Grant, contact Sandra Harris at 919-515-9101 or sandra_harris@ncsu.edu.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n Visit the Mariner\u2019s Menu blog at marinersmenu.org<\/a> for more kitchen-tested recipes featuring North Carolina seafood.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n Contact Rice at 252-728-6644 about the possibility of getting the smoked meat inland. To learn more about the fish, search for \u201cstriped mullet\u201d at portal.ncdenr.org\/web\/mf\/home<\/a>. \u2014 E.L.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\nCREAMY SMOKED MULLET DIP<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n