Ask Us Where Your Fish Comes From
November 04, 2011
This picture of our friend Andrew Cummings, a Wellfleet shellfisherman who supplies a good many of our oysters, got me thinking about how we really ought to take on the seafood fraud problem in this country: Forget about whether your fillet has had a DNA test. What's the chemistry between the people who harvest your fish and those who sell it to you?
At least for those of us who catch, prepare, and eat seafood in New England, it ought to be really good. As Alex pointed out to the folks at Talking Fish earlier this week, we have the advantage of being near the source. Our mission is to do right by that.
Even so, after the recent news about fraud in the fishing business, I've heard from customers whose sense of trust is shaken. They've heard us say, "Know where your fish comes from," but now they're wondering what that really means.
It means, for one thing, that we actually do know where our fish comes from. Pretty much down to the fisherman.
Take Andrew. We can––and do––actually watch him at work on the estuaries not far from the sandy beach at Mac's on the Pier in Wellfleet.
We've listened to Andrew plenty too, as he's gone through years of deepening his knowledge of healthy oyster cultivation. He's told us when they're spawning and when they're fat. He's shown us how he separates the growing clumps of shells to make each bivalve grow sturdier. He has, on occasion, pointed to holes made by oyster drills that can suck away an oysterman's livelihood.
We've eaten a few oysters with Andrew. When he shucks, he always turns the oyster over in its shell just before he hands it to you, a move I tend to forget when I'm at the raw bar. But he's right: the flipside stands high and round in the shell––it's the oyster's best.
Andrew can talk about "terroir," though I'm not sure he can really taste the difference between the oysters he grows on the flats near us and the ones he grows in deep water a mile over, near Egg Island.
The man works hard. He knows his stuff. He knows how to eat. We have something with Andrew that business school books might call "shared values." We call it trust. And it's not the blind kind.
There have been a lot of calls for more regulation of seafood since the Boston Globe published its disheartening findings of widespread fraud in the business. But let's face it, no amount of regulation will ensure the real traceability and quality that comes with this kind of relationship, built as it is on knowledge and appreciation of the product and its provenance.
The Globe printed our letter to the editor, which explained the importance of being able to look our fishermen in the eye. But they didn't really buy it. The next day, they called for "the clout and resources of the FDA and the National Marine Fisheries Service" to prevent fraud.
Don't get me wrong. There are regulations we believe in and follow because we think they're important. We support fishing quotas because we know things are different from what they were a generation ago. And we think they are already proving important to restoring stocks. We're HACCP certified, which means we use the FDAs strict food safety system for monitoring all the fish we handle.
But there's something missing in all the clamoring for new rules. Liars and cheats are bad. But they are mere bottom-feeders in a seafood industry whose supply chain has grown way too long. The goal has got to be for all of us to get closer to the source.
We source from many others besides Andrew. And I'm determined to tell you about more our fishermen and women over the coming months. Meantime, there are a couple of things I wish everyone knew about where our fish comes from:
We do not ever buy fish from huge corporations. Instead, we buy from fishing families we can relate to directly. Doing this is a little like signing up for a "CSA" (Community Supported Agriculture). It means we get top-quality, super-fresh fish. But it also means we have to learn to roll with the changes each season brings: we can't just cherry-pick only the most popular fish. Alex explains this in greater detail in the interview in Talking Fish I mentioned earlier. I hope you'll have a look.
And almost everything we buy comes to us whole. In fact, it drives Alex crazy to hear about fish buyers needing DNA tests to tell a cod from a haddock. That just seems shocking to someone who knows them as animals, literally, of different stripes.
It's true not everyone on our team has spent as much time around fish as Alex has. We really do want you to ask us where our fish is coming from, and we want the people who are serving you to know the answers. To get there, we'll have to become better teachers. I'm thinking now about how to help everyone on our staff know as much as they can about what makes the seafood they're working with every day something truly awesome.
From there, we're one step closer to introducing all of our customers to some of the great privileges of being so close to the source. There are Andrew's oysters, of course. Barbara's clams. There's the cod our spit of land is named for. And there's so much more. Like Alex told Talking Fish: "Yes, the cod out here is fantastic, but so is the pollock, the hake, the mackerel and the squid."
This Sunday, November 6th, Alex is teaching a fish filleting class at our market in Truro Center. Come join us, there from 12 noon to on o'clock.
Off the Hook Blog
Latest Posts
- February 17, 2021
Temporary Pause of Mac’s Online Seafood Shipping - September 17, 2020
ALL YOU CAN EAT FISH & CHIPS - September 08, 2020
SUMMER DELIVERED Mac’s Online Shop - September 03, 2020
Mac’s Lobster Clambakes - August 17, 2020
A message to our valued Mac’s On the Pier customers - August 03, 2020
Mac’s Cocktails To Go - July 31, 2020
Mac’s Shack Update - July 29, 2020
A Health & Safety Update from Mac - July 22, 2020
Mac’s Lobster Clambake TO GO - June 29, 2020
Mac’s fried seafood is now GLUTEN FREE! - May 27, 2020
More Mac’s Meals - May 19, 2020
Sushi at Mac’s On the Pier & Mac’s Chatham Fish & Lobster - April 08, 2020
Introducing Mac’s Meals - March 26, 2020
MAC’S SEAFOOD MARKETS OFFER LOCAL HOME DELIVERY FROM HARWICH TO PTOWN - March 17, 2020
Mac’s Seafood is Open for Take Out - November 25, 2019
Feast of the Seven Fishes Holiday Wine Dinner - November 12, 2019
All You Can Eats Fish ‘N Chips - September 30, 2019
Oct 30 Wine Dinner - NOPI - August 28, 2019
Mac’s Lobster Clambake TO GO for your Labor Day Celebration - August 08, 2019
The New York Times Loves Mac’s Shack! - April 12, 2019
The Shack is Back! - March 08, 2019
A Taste of South Africa Wine Dinner March 13 - February 14, 2019
A Taste of Italy Wine Dinner Feb 27 - January 28, 2019
A Taste of Mexico Wine Dinner Feb 6 - January 10, 2019
A Taste of France Wine Dinner Jan 16 - December 18, 2018
New Year’s Eve at Mac’s - August 22, 2018
Book your next event at Mac’s Fish House in Provincetown - May 29, 2018
Wellfleet Restaurant Week at Mac’s Shack - January 10, 2018
Mac’s Winter to Spring Wine Dinners - January 03, 2017
Mac’s Fish House Provincetown Winter to Spring Dinner Series - September 19, 2016
New Year’s Eve Dinner & Live Music at Mac’s Fish House Provincetown - June 28, 2016
Story of a Fishing Family - January 04, 2016
All You Can Eat Fish & Chips $15 Every Thurs at Mac’s - December 16, 2015
New Year’s Eve Menu + Other Holiday Happenings at Mac’s - November 06, 2015
Get Your Thanksgiving To Go at Mac’s - October 23, 2015
Support our local Fishermen at the Dish On Fish Benefit - Mac’s Ptown - Nov 4 - October 19, 2015
Devil’s Purse Beer Dinner Oct 21 at Mac’s Ptown - RESERVE TODAY! - September 29, 2015
Wine & Swine Dinner Oct 7 in Ptown - Reserve today! - September 23, 2015
Fall Dinner Series at Mac’s Fish House Provincetown - RESERVE TODAY! - July 17, 2015
Introducing our Small Batch Label - a new way to try a little taste of Mac’s
Comments
Fish Talk in the News – Friday, November 4 | says:
Nov 04, 2011 at 03:31 PM
[...] interviewee of our new “Ask an Expert” feature. Today, Alex’s brother, Mac Hay, blogged about how important it is to have a close, trusting relationship with the people who supply your seafood [...]
Barbara@getyourlaughback.com says:
Nov 05, 2011 at 01:43 PM
Very cool post. I am constantly amazed and impressed with Capt. Andrew’s vast knowledge base—all from years of paying attention, putting in the time and work, and “being there”. I worked by his side one day and it was the hardest day’s work I’ve ever done! He’s good people.