Fish in DR

sayanora

Silver
Feb 22, 2012
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Hi guys..

I'm a very amateur fish eater.. just started after 30 years of only eating shrimp/lobster.. On my recent trip to Miami I had some great mahi mahi, red snapper etc but I feel everything here in the DR pales in comparison.. rubbery, weird texture, not great flavor dunno just different. I want to learn to start cooking and eating more but being a fairly decent cook I know it all starts with high quality ingredients..

What I really want to know is what high quality good tasting fish is available in the DR.. I bought mahi mahi but from Bravo frozen but after defrosting it .. it was grey and smelly and I just ended up throwing it away.. I've never cooked fish and really want to get started but if the raw ingredients aren't good enough quality here I won't even bother..

Thanks in advance as always!
 

SKY

Gold
Apr 11, 2004
13,470
3,604
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If you can find the frozen Sea Bass in a blue package try that. Pola has them, but not all the time. No fishy smell.
 

zoomzx11

Gold
Jan 21, 2006
8,367
842
113
Stay clear of the frozen imported trash sold in supermarkets. For example, Talapia from Asia is farm raised in ponds and fed pig and chicken excrement. To reduce diseases antibiotics are added to the ponds then the fish are shipped out. There is very little in the way of health inspection os Asian seafood entering the US. You may well imagine what the standards are in the DR. Buy only fresh fish and you will be fine.
 

jd426

Gold
Dec 12, 2009
9,512
2,781
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Stay clear of the frozen imported trash sold in supermarkets. For example, Talapia from Asia is farm raised in ponds and fed pig and chicken excrement. To reduce diseases antibiotics are added to the ponds then the fish are shipped out. There is very little in the way of health inspection os Asian seafood entering the US. You may well imagine what the standards are in the DR. Buy only fresh fish and you will be fine.

This right here.. very on point..

I agree,
Stay away from Frozen and you will be ok.. are you near the coast ? Lots of Locals spearfish to make money. thats as fresh as it gets.
Fish should never have a smell other than fresh, like the ocean. If you are buying whole, Fresh (best way) , look at the eyes, they never lie.
Clear, and that fish is super fresh.. the more cloudy the less fresh. Look for firm meat. If its been in the sun and the flesh is soft, not good.
Dominicans dont seem to understand that if u put something on ICE right away it will keep a lot longer. Thats cuz usually they consume it the same day.

Definitely stay away from imported frozen Talapia,, as Zoom just said its the most disgusting fish on the market.. fed Excrement.
 
Jul 28, 2014
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I actually made Frozen Mero from Supermercado Playero for the Novia and myself, baked it until it was just barely cooked through with lemon juice and a ton of garlic butter, she just about passed out it was so good...
 

jstarebel

Silver
Oct 4, 2013
3,330
333
83
Hi guys..

I'm a very amateur fish eater.. just started after 30 years of only eating shrimp/lobster.. On my recent trip to Miami I had some great mahi mahi, red snapper etc but I feel everything here in the DR pales in comparison.. rubbery, weird texture, not great flavor dunno just different. I want to learn to start cooking and eating more but being a fairly decent cook I know it all starts with high quality ingredients..

What I really want to know is what high quality good tasting fish is available in the DR.. I bought mahi mahi but from Bravo frozen but after defrosting it .. it was grey and smelly and I just ended up throwing it away.. I've never cooked fish and really want to get started but if the raw ingredients aren't good enough quality here I won't even bother..

Thanks in advance as always!

You can find all of the fresh fish you want simply by going down to the boat docks or mooring areas. If you want snapper, Grouper, yellowtail, or any other reef fish, go down in the early morning, because they have been fishing all night. If you want Wahoo, kingfish, Tuna (and I won't eat black fin ), or Dorado (mahi) Then go around 3 in the afternoon. From 3-5 is when the guys out trolling come back in. That's where you get good fish and buy direct. There are also guys all over POP, and Cabarete by the restaurants and beach or in POP, on the Malicon selling fish.

You can go to www.fishcards.com to see what fish are what, and what you expect to find here in the DR. This time of year, the yellowtail tuna are starting to come in so if you happen to be lucky and come across some, buy it and try it. Raw, Seared with black pepper or Wasabi, or grilled medium, it is fabulous and I highly recommend it.

The fish in the grocery stores can be ok if you know what you are looking and smelling for.. Stick with the fresh fish because buying frozen fish is a lot like playing Russian Roulette. You never know what you're going to get.
 
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ROLLOUT

Silver
Jan 30, 2012
2,198
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48
Nailed it, Rebel. Why anyone would buy frozen fish from a super in this country is beyond me. When I'm in country, and decide to go to Macao for fish dinner, I pick the fish from the cooler; be it parrot, hog, lane, or whatever. They clean it in front of you, so there's never any illusion about what you're getting.
BTW, I used to think that parrotfish was for poor island people, and wouldn't touch it, until I had it cooked properly in the DR
 

chic

Silver
Nov 20, 2013
4,305
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lake fish////yummy and usually available fresh frozen near the lakes...
 

jstarebel

Silver
Oct 4, 2013
3,330
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83
Nailed it, Rebel. Why anyone would buy frozen fish from a super in this country is beyond me. When I'm in country, and decide to go to Macao for fish dinner, I pick the fish from the cooler; be it parrot, hog, lane, or whatever. They clean it in front of you, so there's never any illusion about what you're getting.
BTW, I used to think that parrotfish was for poor island people, and wouldn't touch it, until I had it cooked properly in the DR

My boy, the islanders eat everything including ballyhoo which is bait to me. Now we have eaten flying fish, and they aren't bad. Parrot fish, old wife, white backs, and the entire snapper varieties are all excellent eating fish. Gaby catches them right over the side of the boat. Ya never know what you're going to get when you get home. But I aint eating bait.. jajaja..
 

chic

Silver
Nov 20, 2013
4,305
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i went fishin one night in p.p....3 of us in a small boat..of course im payin...bottom fishin....using battery powered lights...
man was i tired at the end of that outing... of course i caught a couple of small ones and was going to throw them back but i was seriosly
discouraged...they caught a few larger ones...i went home empty...but full of memories...
 

jstarebel

Silver
Oct 4, 2013
3,330
333
83
i went fishin one night in p.p....3 of us in a small boat..of course im payin...bottom fishin....using battery powered lights...
man was i tired at the end of that outing... of course i caught a couple of small ones and was going to throw them back but i was seriosly
discouraged...they caught a few larger ones...i went home empty...but full of memories...

They say that catching fish is an added bonus to fishin.. Don't feel bad. Gaby always catches more than me and refuses to use a pole. She uses a hand line and you aint going to believe this, but she uses Dominican salami for bait.
 

ROLLOUT

Silver
Jan 30, 2012
2,198
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Tried the handlining thing once, and it ain't no joke. I'll stick to spinning tackle. Went out with a few guys from Grand turk in about 100 fathoms. They used rebar for weight, and you could smoke a cig in the time it took to reach bottom. When they did bring it up, there were 2 or 3 black snapper on the line each time.
 

dv8

Gold
Sep 27, 2006
31,266
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going down to boat docks? at the crack of down? are you folks obsessed fish worshipers?

33yj98m.gif


but frozen from the supermarket, there is no reason to dedicate few hours a day to goddamn fish shopping.
 

Neargale

Active member
Jul 4, 2013
347
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Those night fishermen are often looking for square groupers, or at least that is what it was called in my days of sailing the out islands of the Bahamas!
 

Tamborista

hasta la tambora
Apr 4, 2005
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Those night fishermen are often looking for square groupers, or at least that is what it was called in my days of sailing the out islands of the Bahamas!

Little secret, the night fisherman are usually trolling for square "white" fish, usually of the 2.2 LB variety!
 

jstarebel

Silver
Oct 4, 2013
3,330
333
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going down to boat docks? at the crack of down? are you folks obsessed fish worshipers?

33yj98m.gif


but frozen from the supermarket, there is no reason to dedicate few hours a day to goddamn fish shopping.

No dv8. I'm not a fish worshiper. I'm a boatie.. I'm always around boats, docks, and the ocean. I'm in the Caribbean. Why not enjoy what is here??
 

jstarebel

Silver
Oct 4, 2013
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83
Those night fishermen are often looking for square groupers, or at least that is what it was called in my days of sailing the out islands of the Bahamas!

In the DR, the fishermen catch whatever they catch. They do bring in some good fish though. Yellow Tail, the odd Grouper now and again, and my favorite reef fish, Queen Snapper. However, you would be surprised how many times they try and sell me grunts as snapper.. I turn Gaby loose on em.. jajaja. The guys out trolling are who I see if I'm buying fish. Kingfish, Dorado, Wahoo, and the odd yellow fin tuna every now and again. Lots of Black fin, Spanish mackerel, and bonito but I don't buy them. Spanish mackerel is great. If we catch it.. The other two, we toss back or use for bait.