Summer is the perfect time to enjoy the bounty of local seafood produced in our New England waters. Take a note from our citizen scientists and enjoy local seafood at home and with friends!

Julek Chawarski from Maine

Friday night crew enjoying steamers out on the porch

“I got the crew over for a Friday afternoon seafood feast! Round one started with steamers dipped in lemon-cilantro butter. Round two was grilled halibut and monkfish with grilled zucchini, broccolini, and corn. I paired it with whiskey cocktails, white wine, and a killer sunset. I offset my luxurious spending by eating kippers for lunch for a couple days, which were also caught in Gulf of Maine.”

Craig Gogan from Rhode Island

Enjoying the summer weather with a meal outside

“We knew swordfish would be easy to find, we just weren't sure how easy it would be to find local sword. Thankfully we found local sword at our first stop. We just salt and peppered it and threw it on the grill. Very easy to cook and always super tasty.”

Brian Haggerty from Rhode Island

“A New England staple, linguine and clams is full of flavor and can feed a lot of people. Being sure to save some clam juice from the cooking process to finish the dish is imperative.”

Elizabeth LaDuca from Massachusetts

“Scallops are one of my favorite seafood items, so I was excited to have it this week! I pan seared them in a very hot pan with a little butter and olive oil, and served it over the first zucchini harvested from our garden. They were delicious!”

Mary Tanzer from New Hampshire

“I've been waiting for lobster to be on the list! I was hoping there would be local squid at the supermarket since I've never made fried calamari. No such luck but I can't complain. I was lazy and had the fish monger steam the lobsters for me. So easy to just have to extract the meat when I got home. I highly recommend this - I will be buying lobster more frequently since usually I've had to bring them home, heat up the kitchen with the lobster pot, steam and humidity. This was like cheating but I'll do it again. I couldn't decide - lobster salad? lobster pie? lobster mac and cheese? Something else? At the last minute, I went simple with lobster salad- -- served it with slices of avocado on toast points. So decadent and so yummy!”

Deborah Mager from Connecticut

“This week’s fish list included Butterfish, grey sole, razor clam, and weakfish. I thought I would be a little adventurous and look for Butterfish, but first I wanted to do a little research. I was a little concerned when I read information about Butterfish versus Escolar. I figured if I did find Butterfish I would ask a bunch of questions of my fishmonger and make sure it is exactly that, Butterfish. I was somewhat relieved when I did not find Butterfish at two places I stopped. Well, one possible problem averted but I was presented with another. I found Razor Clams at my second stop. Although grey sole was also available I thought I would give Razor Clams another try. My husband and I had eaten Razor Clams once in a restaurant last year and vowed we would never eat them again. I surfed the Web for recipes. I found out that there are two types of Razor Clams (Pacific and East-coast). I needed a recipe for my East-coast clams. Thank goodness I ran across how to prepare the species before cooking them. Razor Clams are very sandy (as my husband and I found out when we tried them at the restaurant as we crunched on sand) and need to be soaked in salted water for a couple of hours. Prep time! Razor Clams are beautiful to look at (before soaking) and are an amazing species. I was prepared from my research that these guys are really alive and I shouldn’t be surprised if I see them spitting, but I was not prepared for when I put them in salted water and watched them emerge from their shells! I am no “shrinking violet” when it comes to cooking seafood or killing insects but when the species exceed certain parameters of size, for some reason, my conscience kicks in and I have reservations of “doing the deed”. Thankfully, the Clams stopped getting bigger after some minutes. I prepared them by using a basic recipe for fried clams with tartar sauce and a wedge of lemon. They were tasty but not my favorite. I think I’ll pass on razor clams next time.”

Maggie Heinichen from Massachusetts

“When I was at Cautamet fish, they said they did carry black sea bass but it is for wholesale, not the public. They also carried wild mussels from Canada. The fluke was excellent. I liked that the fillets were small so I could get the perfect amount for just me. I cooked it with lemon and herbs and paired with cauliflower and mushrooms. It felt like a very healthy meal and I'm proud of that. It was also something I was able to put together in less than 10 minutes which was awesome. If I was craving fish, this would be a species I would go for again.”

Michelle Nelson from Connecticut

Broiled monkfish plated with zucchini lasagna, confetti salad and garlic bread

“Monkfish has a texture similar to lobster tail. I broiled it with butter and lemon. We had 10 for dinner and everyone enjoyed it. It was a first experience for a few people and they were pleasantly surprised.”

Rachel Hutchinson from Massachusetts

“When I got my list I saw that lobster was on it and I didn't really look any further. It was actually the only fish I found this week from my list. I wanted to try the whole live lobster and taking care of all of it myself, the last time I bought lobster I had the store kill it and steam it for me. Since it is the summer I wanted to try and grill lobster, I had to search if this was possible and read about killing the lobster prior to grilling it. The lobster still moving on the grill after I believe I killed it was a little disconcerting. The lobster was good, but its hard to eat since you have to pick through the whole animal, I would rather just sit down and eat my dinner then pull each piece of meat out one by one.”

Pamela Corcoran from Maine

“I made this into an omelette filling with green garlic and yellow cherry tomatoes from the garden. Happily surprised how much a small amount of crab add so much to the flavor profile. I was able to serve four folks for less than the cost of bacon. Delicious, affordable and easy. I am so grateful that our local co-op is committed to supporting our local fishery and another co-op (Port Clyde Fresh Catch)”

Kim Gainey from Massachusetts

“So quick and easy to make and what an amazing flavor very rich you don't need many!”

David Ford from Rhode Island

Grilled cod with red wine and miso butter

“Since I had not grilled cod in some time, I decided I should give it another try. I won't try this again anytime soon. I found it impossible to prevent the cod from breaking apart on the grill. I made a glaze of red wine, red miso, butter, soy and shallots. I coated the filet with the glaze before grilling and spooned additional glaze on the filet before serving. I served the cod atop a bed of wilted spinach that I flashed sauteed in olive oil. The miso-butter-red wine-soy sauce married perfectly with the sweetness of the cod. I plan on using miso more often in fish recipes.”

Rachel Fecteau from Maine

“Swordfish, weakfish, conch, yellowtail flounder. I was hoping to find conch since I have seen whelks for sale in Maine before. I had eaten a lot of conch when I lived in the Caribbean. I was excited to try some recipes with New England whelks. No conch in the market. The fishmonger hadn't seen weakfish or yellow tail flounder in the store so swordfish it was. I marinated the swordfish in a citrus marinade for about 30 minutes and cooked it on a hot grill. Totally delicious. I forgot how much I love swordfish.”

Taylor Feuti from Maine

“Fish is a big part of my diet and my life. As an avid fisherman ( use to be commercial fisherman) I enjoy all things that come with consuming fish. One thing I am surprised by is the actual lack of knowledge of some of the shop workers I buy the fish from. None of them knew what tautog was (which I find is common north of cape cod) or Conch, which is one of my favorites and another one I have trouble finding.”

Sarah Bjorklund from Massachusetts

“We found a fish on our list! Hanafords had Pollock from the coast of Maine! "

Meggan Dwyer from Maine

Sausage stuffed squid (and a rogue scallop)

“The only thing available on my fish list this week was squid so we got down to business stuffing a pound of squid with sausage and panfrying it and then finishing it in the oven. The result was like eating sausage but with a thicker casing. I think next time we stick with plain old fried calamari as I don't think squid tastes like much and might as well be fried.”