In today’s 2008 Status of U.S. Fisheries report to Congress, NOAA gave notice of four different fish being cleared from overfishing:

1. Atlantic bluefish,
2. Gulf of Mexico king mackerel, and
3. two different stocks of monkfish in the Atlantic

While that of course is good news for long-range fishing and our marine habitat, four others appear to be overfished at the same time:

1. thorny skate,
2. Atlantic blacknose shark, and
3. Atlantic shortfin mako shark

These were added to the list of those being fished unsustainably just this year, and a fourth stock, Gulf of Mexico pink shrimp, was also listed as subject to overfishing but it’s still being reviewed.

With these fish being replenished, it proves NOAA officials are doing the best they can for all of us – the fish, the fisherman, and all my fellow seafood lovers out there.

Sure, it’s easy to tell the difference between a tuna steak and a fillet of salmon, and even easier, shark vs. grouper or trout, but what about halibut and turbot?

Turbot? Huh? Exactly. That’s what a fish broker just got arrested for after an investigation by NOAA’s Office of Law Enforcement. Turns out he was selling turbot – a flatfish native to marine or brackish waters of the North Atlantic – as halibut.

I haven’t tried turbot myself, but fortunately for us here on the East coast, most of his sales took place in Utah and Texas, so it’s a pretty safe bet you’re getting what you pay for here on Shem Creek – and I’ve never heard otherwise.

But I’m gonna go out on a limb and assume that the buyer was getting packaged fish, because as soon as I saw what turbot looked like, I knew I’d never confuse it with halibut, but flounder? Now that’s a different story!

Hi-Res Halibut
(Credit: Wikipedia)

Turbot
(Credit: Wikipedia)

Flounder
(Credit: Wikipedia)