Thursday, Nov. 05, 2009

Anglers are getting taste for raw fish

And they're doing it while still at sea

Hungry fishermen with a taste for fluke and gustatory adventure have raised the concept of fresh fish to a new level -- they slice up their catch and eat it, raw, before the boat even returns to shore.

Inspired by Korean fishermen who prepare their country's version of sashimi right there on deck, the practice is now embraced by an increasing number of anglers on New York charter and party boats, local captains said. It's particularly popular among those in search of fluke, known formally as summer flounder.

"Ninety percent of the people do it now," said Captain Ed Beneduci, who runs fluking trips out of Montauk on his boat, the Marlin Princess VI.

But self-serve sashimi at sea also carries legal risks -- particularly this year, when New York anglers face the strictest limits yet on fluke. Recreational fishermen are allowed to keep two per day, and each must be more than 21 inches long.

Last month state conservation officers busted Beneduci and another Montauk captain, Jamie Quaresimo of the Miss Montauk, for allegedly letting their customers keep and eat undersized fluke, then telling them to throw the bones overboard.

"We are getting more complaints, mostly from other clients who are going home with their legal limit of fish, and here are a bunch of guys up in the front of the boat who are eating everything they pull up and still going home with coolers full of fish," said Capt. Dorothy Thumm of the state Department of Environmental Conservation's marine enforcement unit.

The captains and several customers were issued 53 violations, including taking more fish than they were allowed. Each carries penalties of up to $250 each, according to the DEC.

Anglers are allowed to fillet fluke on board, but the DEC requires them to keep the carcasses to prove that fish cut up for bait or consumed on the boat were of legal size.

Quaresimo did not return calls seeking comment.

Beneduci -- who has no prior violations with the DEC -- said he grew so tired of telling disappointed customers to throw their undersized fish back that he just snapped.

"I didn't break the law, the law broke me," said Beneduci, 71. "It's killing all the business on Long Island."

What happened aboard Beneduci's boat is commonplace in Korea, where sliced raw fish is traditionally served up with a spicy red sauce made from chiles and soybean paste.

"That's the most fresh way to eat it," said Harry Lee, a cashier at H Mart, a Korean-owned grocery store in Great Neck, N.Y., that stocks Asian foods. "Some Americans think eating raw fish is dangerous. It's not, it's very safe, and it's good for your health," he said, so long as the fish is caught at sea.

Some local sushi chefs expressed their doubts, saying raw fish can sicken people if it's handled improperly.