Butterfish

Delicate. Buttery. Fatty.

Atlantic butterfish, Dollarfish, Shiner, Skipjack, Sheepshead

The name says it all. Texture and taste are selling point. High fat content in coldwater butterfish add to flavor. salting nad curing and cooking under close heat. Rich buttery flavor and delicate texture.

Butterfish are short-lived, few live to more than 3 years of age, and grow rapidly.

A brief history

Monkfish had long been considered a nuisance by fishermen because they were too often pulled up in the nets with more marketable fish.

According to food historian Sandy Oliver, scallops were not the popular shellfish choice amongst settlers in New England. Creatures like oysters and clams were far more popular than scallops. But tastes change, and an appreciation for scallops in the US gradually increased throughout the 19th century. By the 1920s, they had become a regular part of the American diet, especially in coastal communities.

The largest wild scallop fishery is for the Atlantic sea scallop off northeastern US and eastern Canada. In fact, New Bedford, Massachusetts is the U.S. most valuable fishery port, with $451 million worth of seafood coming into the port—Atlantic Sea Scallops accounted for 84% of the port's value. Most of the rest of the world's production of scallops is from Japan and China. In fact, in 2005, China accounted for 80% of the global scallop catch, according to a Food and Agriculture Organization study.

Butterfish are typically 6 to 9 inches in length, though some individuals can reach 12 inches. They can weigh up to 1.25 pounds. Butterfish are short-lived and grow rapidly. Few live to more than 3 years of age.

Size

Butterfish are deep-bodied, flattened sideways, and somewhat circular or rounded, with blunt noses, and small mouths with weak teeth. The body of a butterfish resembles a flounder swimming upright. Butterfish lack ventral fins, and instead have one long, continuous dorsal fin with long pectoral fins. Butterfish are dull blue on the top, with pale sides and a silvery belly. Numerous irregular dark spots fade after they are harvested. 

Body

Butterfish shift their distribution in response to changing bottom water temperatures. During summer, they move northward and inshore to feed and spawn. During winter, they move southward and offshore to avoid cold waters. They are semi-pelagic, and form loose schools that feed upon small invertebrates. The butterfish prefers sandy-bottomed areas to muddy ones, and often coming close to shore. During summer months, butterfish remain shallow, but in the winter, they can be found 100 to 115 fathoms (200 to 230 m) below the surface.

Habitat

Small fish, crustaceans, and annelids.

Diet

Spawning occurs from during June and July. Butterfish begin spawning in the Gulf of Maine in June, shortly after they arrive in the region. The peak of the reproduction activity is usually during the month of July, and their eggs have been taken throughout August. The Butterfish appears to spawn a few miles out to sea and returns to the coast when finished. They appear to reach maturity at about two years of age.

Spawn

Snake Mackerel.

Family

The butterfish has a wonderfully delicate, buttery, oily texture that flakes easily when cooked. It can be prepared in a variety of ways, including being baked, seared, or pan-fried. Can be dipped in flour and deep-fried; can be split, then broiled, baked, grilled, or sautéed.

In the Kitchen

Be careful to not overcook the butterfish, as it can quickly dry out and lose delicate flavor.

alternatives to: Cod. Flounder. Pompano. Scup.

Facts: B-12: 25.42%; Selenium 21.27%; Isoleucine 15.25%; Lysine 15.19%; Tryptophan 14.09%. 3 oz serving has 19 grams of protein. Good omega 3 fatty acids.

The Whole Fish

This tiny fish doesn't yield big steaks or filets, so it is easier to cook whole. It is usually steamed, baked, fried, broiled, or sautéed.

The bones of the butterfish are edible, and become dry and crunchy when cooked. Thus, many recipes call for the fish to be gutted and cooked whole.

Butterfish can also be butterflied, cured, and broiled.

The Whole Fish

Butterfish bones can be reserved, and serve as the base of a flavorful fish stock. 

Bones

The Atlantic Sea Scallop fishery is one of the most valuable fisheries in the US. Production and suppliers exist throughout the states along this species range with most of the harvest landed in New Bedford, Massachusetts. Beginning in the 1990s, scientists and harvesters have worked side-by-side to restore the fishery, which was becoming overfished, and have transformed it into the largest wild scallop fishery in the world.

Atlantic sea scallops are found in the Northwest Atlantic Ocean, from Newfoundland to Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. In 2022, the commercial landings of scallops totaled 31.6 million pounds of scallop meats, valued at $478M.

Fishing & Sustainability

Harvest Methods

otter trawls. jig and trap.

U.S. commercial fishermen harvest sea scallops year-round primarily dredges that are dragged behind a boat. The most common dredge type used is a turtle deflector-style dredge that catches scallops much like rakes collect leaves. These dredges are either used singularly, or paired with another dredge. The turtle deflector dredge excludes sea turtles from being caught in the dredge and prevents serious injuries to turtles.

To a lesser extent, and mainly in the Mid-Atlantic region, the scallop fishery uses tawl gear.

There is a very small market for ultra high-end scallops collected by scuba divers, choosing only the larges ones by hand between December and February. 

Managers and the fishing industry continue to collaborate to redesign scallop dredges allow juvenile scallops and groundfish to escape dredges, mitigate damage to the seafloor, and avoid catching sea turtles.

Harvesting Scallops

Most vessels land scallops as shucked meats (the adductor muscle) but some vessels also land whole (in-shell) scallops.

When the dredge is hauled back and its contents are deposited onto the deck of the fishing vessel, the crew manually sorts the harvest by size into buckets. The buckets are taken to a cutting room where the catch is manually shucked. The meats are washed, placed in 50-pound cheesecloth bags, and iced.

Fishing vessels will deliver their catch to the shoreside processor that owns that vessel or, as is the case for much of the harvest, the catch is delivered to an auction house in New Bedford, Massachusetts. There, the bags are opened for quality inspection. Processors bid through this electronic auction to obtain a fishing vessel’s whole catch or a portion of it. Fishermen decide on the price they will accept.

A federal Atlantic Sea Scallop Fisheries Management Plan (FMP) was implemented in 1982. Further, states, such as Maine, have enacted similar management plans for vessels harvesting scallops in state waters. While most fisheries are regulated by how much they catch, the Scallop fishery is regulated by effort control, and harvest area rotations. 

This means that each vessel has a limited number of crew allowed to work onboard. Further the harvest area rotation maximizes scallop yields while protecting beds of young scallops. Areas closed to harvest allow resident scallops to grow larger and reproduce more often before being subject to a harvest. In Maine waters, the scallop season is restricted to "zones" with certain areas closed as they approach unsustainable harvesting levels. Offshore scallop fishing areas (beyond three miles from the shore) are opened and closed on a rotational basis, with a limit on total annual catch and limits on bycatch of yellowtail flounder. Each scallop vessel must carry a tracking device, which plots the area from where scallops have been harvested

Environmental Impact & Efforts

  • Federal and State regulations are in place to minimize bycatch of species such as yellowtail flounder.

    Managers determine a total allowable catch for the scallop fishery based on estimates of the scallop population. They allocate this catch amount to different groups in the fishery, depending on their permit type and historical catch, through days-at-sea and number of trips to special access areas.

    Other management includes:

    • Limits on crew size

    • Areas closed to scallop dredging to allow young scallops to grow large and reproduce, and to reduce bycatch of non-targeted species

    • Vessels harvesting scallops must use vessel monitoring (a satellite communication system used to monitor fishing activity)

    • Managers have implemented a variety of measures to protect habitat from potential impacts on fishing gear.

    • Several areas are closed year-round to harvesting scallops to protect sensitive habitat.

    • Fishermen use 4-inch rings in their scallop dredges that increase the dredges' efficiency, catching larger scallops and allowing smaller scallops and other small marine life to return to the sea floor by passing through the dredge rings. The 4-inch rings reduce the amount of time dredges contact the bottom.

    • Managers seasonally prohibit fishing in areas where finfish species congregate, reducing catch of these untargeted species

    • Area closures and gear restrictions protect habitat that are affected by some kinds of trawl and dredge gear

According to NOAA, the U.S. wild-caught sea scallops are a smart seafood choice because it is sustainably managed and responsibly harvested under U.S. regulations.