STT - Where do you buy fresh fish for meals?

There's usually a stand on the road beside the Fort Mylner Shoppping Center.

Smith Bay, right outside LoneStar superette, corner of road to Coki Beach. They're usually gone by late afternoon, Maybe just drive by and, if they're not around, check with Lone Star to ask about their schedule.

Thank you dntw8up and STTResident. I will check out both locations. You are both a wealth of information.

If you please, would you answer one other question: What kind of fish can I expect to find? What is typical?

Wahoo, Tuna, grouper and mahi-mahi are typically sold fresh. Use caution when buying any other fish caught in these waters as many varieties of reef fish contain parasites that are not recommended for humans. (Many locals have built a resistance to the critters over the years but you may not be so lucky).

peace.... bert

Blue: I have never purchased from the roadside stands. I worry more about the methods that they use (or don't use) to keep the fish cold. I always see the fish lying out on the tailgate with no ice. Ugh. I am not sure that you can get mahi and tuna from those guys. They tend to pot fish, so you might get hind, yellow tail, gutu, hard nose, old wife and all of the various "local" fish. Bert was talking about ciguatera. The locals don't become resistant, do they Ronnie? I buy my fish from Marina Market.

Sapphire marina, or american yacht harbor. Late afternoon when the fishing boats get in.

On STX you can sometimes get Mahi or Tuna or Wahoo from the fish market or the guys with ice chests alongside the road. Most of them are pretty good about keeping their fish on ice when they aren't actively hacking off a chunk for someone. It's generally freshly caught that day.

Thank you all for these recent posts and warnings. I am now worried about the roadside stands/trucks. I am not interested in pot fish, but would like to buy wild salmon, tuna, snapper, wahoo and mahi-mahi.....plus conch and lobster.

Sounds like many of you do this differently than the others.

EE, do you know where Marina markets gets their fish from and how fresh it is?

we don't have salmon in the USVI. You can get tuna, snapper, mahi, wahoo, conch and lobster.

As JR said, the deep sea catch (wahoo, mahi, tuna) are brought in to the marinas late afternoon and most of the captains have deals with local restaurants but locals can certainly also buy from them as obviously they want to unload as much of their catch as possible to avoid the cost of freezing.

As far as the roadside stands are concerned, I can at least vouch for the fact that the local Frenchies who sell at the Smith Bay site next to LoneStar which I mentioned, have been doing their business at that site for many many years and their fish (snapper, ole wife, hind etc.) is always fresh and clean. There is also another "off the back of the truck" Frenchie setup next to Lionel Roberts Stadium downtown which again has been operated for years.

Cigituera (sp? don't have time right now to look it up and East Ender's spelling may well be correct!) is carried predominantly by the larger reef-feeders with barracuda being the most suspect, "Cuda isn't sold anywhere here although a lot of the Frenchies, knowing exactly where they caught it, eat it with no problem. Too bad that it has the cigituera stigma as I ate it fresh caught while sailing in the Grenadines (where cigituera isn't a problem) years ago and it's flesh and flavour are simply wonderful!

Just my two cents again and a thumbs-up for the Frenchies who sell off the back of their trucks some of the most flavourful and fresh local fish you could hope to eat, earning their living by bringing in fresh fish using methods handed down through the generations. Cheers!

Best place to find fresh fish is Frenchtown. They bring their catch in every morning. Saturday morning there is a big fish market in Frenchtown as well. Get there around 5 AM and you will see.
As far as the keeping them on ice bit, I know they do, and some of the guys who have fish on the back of the trucks do ice them down. Sometimes they lay in a bed of melting ice that they refresh every now and again.
In regard to the fish poisoning from ciguetera, which I have had, let me say there is no immunity build up. It is a toxin that is in all, yes all fish. Some not as much as others. The toxin builds up in the individual. As it reaches the point to make you sick, you get sick. It takes about 6 months for it to leave your body. If you are an occasionall fish eater, chances are that you won't get poisoned. If you fillet the fish and cook it off the bone, you will miss most of the toxin, as it lies in the bone and the head of the fish. Many stories have been told how many people ate from the same fish and only one got poisoned. Well, his number was up! It is possible that barracuda has more toxin than most fish. It is also possible that fish caught in certain areas have more than other areas.
The gentleman from the US Food and Drug administration that I heard speak on the subject a week after I was poisoned told a lot of facts and myths. It has stuck in my memory as I had just experienced it! The reason they tell you to wait for 6 months is that any new ingestion could trigger a reaction right away. I have heard of folks that eat fish one week later and no problem. It wouldn't be me! He said that every year a team is sent down from headquarters, where I don't remember at this point, and they collect at least 800 pounds of fish from around the areas known to be more apt to have the 'poisonous fish'. They take this back to their lab and try to extract the toxin. He says that in 800 pounds of fish, they can hardly find enough to put on a microscope slide to study and duplicate! That's how small it is.
There have been isolated cases of death, blindness,and hair loss. I have not heard or met any around here. You may be sick for a week, vomit, diarrhea, bone aches, cold sweats, and reversal of senses. Things cold you touch or taste may appear hot and visa versa! You will certainly dehydrate.
I would not worry about the casual eating of pot fish while on vacation. Ole wife is my favorite! Doubt I would eat one a day for any long periods of time though!

RL

Blue: As people say, the salmon is shipped in, probably frozen, as it is everywhere else in the US away from the source. I am not sure where Marina Market gets it, but it seems to be the most consistent. As Ronnie says, you can get pot fish, and I am with him, a LITTLE Old Wife occasionally is great. But not plate sized 😉 right Ronnie? Also, the pot fish are sold whole- bones and eyes and fins and all.

Thanks all. I eat wild sockeye salmon almost every day, in some form, so the lack of fresh wild salmon will be felt . Though, I'm sure I can plan a menu around the local catch. I really appreciate the feedback on this. I guess the plan is to stay away from the reef fish and stick to the deep catch.

Do the Frenchies at the Stadium or in Frenchtown (most convenient to Peterborg) offer deep catch or do they only offer pot fish?

Thanks again. Very interesting info. Ronnie, has your local fish consumption been cut back since the poisoning?

I know nothing about fish, but wanted to add that hubby went to Frenchtown one Saturday morning at 5:00 or 6:00am.
He said it was an experience not to be missed.

The Frenchies will sell what they catch. If they get something big, rest assured they will sell it! They mostly have pot fish though. Some do fish with lines as well. You would quicker find them in Frenchtown.
Steph, I don't eat as much as I used to, not because I don't want to but because I don't help out at Cuzzin's anymore where they had it every night. I still do eat fish maybe 3 or 4 times a week however.

RL

Now I am sorry that my flight is coming on late on a Sat morning. I'll have to wait til the following Saturday to visit the Frenchies and have this experience. I'll check out the other sources as referenced here.

Thanks all! Hope to say "hi" to at least some of you next month.