Buying the Best Grouper in Florida

When ordering your best Grouper, or any seafood for that matter, a must for any buyer is quality. A product with high quality is more robust in flavor and provides certain standards for the methods of its catch. Wild Seafood Co. is no stranger to these parameters and goes beyond to provide unprocessed, locally caught, and sustainably sourced Grouper right to your table.

Fair Shipping

Wild Seafood Co. is an astounding group of professionals that work together to provide the highest quality service and product. Right off of Johns Pass in Madeira Beach, Florida, their boats travel out deep into the Gulf of Mexico for the freshest possible fish. Consequently, they’re able to provide reduced-priced shipping for residents of the sunshine state by way of ground shipping. However, even more accessible is their local market. This market is located in the same area where the company’s boats depart the dock. The space is open during regular business hours and provides secure in-person pickup for online orders or you can order right there in the market and watch as they fillet your fish on the dock.

Sustainable Fishing Practices

Now we’ve mentioned that Wild Seafood Co. implements environmentally conscious fishing methods, but not the what or how. For starters, they integrate a system called Gulf Wild and their various standards or methods during daily catches. Gulf Wild is a conjoined sustainability effort and acts as an industry and leadership-based direction for environmental stewardship, focusing on the Gulf of Mexico. The program was developed by The Gulf of Mexico Reef Shareholders’ Alliance, a non-profit organization created by fishermen with a shared belief in conservation.  The owner of Wild Seafood Co. is a member of this Alliance and was a key leader in the Gulf Wild initiative.

Gulf Wild has whats called Conservation Covenants that work to continually analyze species populations and enhance traceability standards. These Covenants have two approaches, both of which Wild Seafood Co. proudly adheres to. The first is Base Accountability which is simply complying with existing national and international fishing regulations. The second is Above and Beyond Accountability, which does exactly that. In other words, this approach raises the bar for sustainability. For instance, it adds requirements such as video monitoring systems, Bird Excluder Devices, tagging of all retained catch, and more.

Grouper, Grouper, and More Grouper!

There are various types of Grouper right off the Gulf of Mexico and below we’ll describe a few that Wild Seafood Co. has to offer.

Scamp Grouper

This species of Grouper is a mild white fish with firm flesh and an irresistible sweet flavor. As all groupers, it’s a species of marine ray-finned fish and goes through a total of 4 color phases throughout its natural life. Furthermore, it generally lives within the Atlantic Ocean from North Carolina south along the southern Atlantic coast and into the Gulf of Mexico. Scamp Grouper can reside in depths up to 328 ft, though on average adults are found up to 98 ft. Additionally, spawning occurs in groups or aggregations from February to July, with peak spawning in March to the middle of May. It’s rumored the species gets its name from its skill at snatching bait right off a fisherman’s hook without being caught.

Red Grouper

Red grouper is also a mild white fish, but produces large flakes when cooked. It is also the highest volume catch in the Gulf. Generally, this species is a dark reddish-brown on the upper part of the head and body that fades to a paler pink on its under parts. The coloration continues with lighter spots and blotches across its body, with darker tones along with the fins. On average they are around 20in’s long with a max weight of 51lbs. Furthermore, they’re demersal fish, meaning they remain close to the ocean floor and reside along the coastal western Atlantic. Their spawning however occurs offshore from January to June with a peak period in May. Lastly, when aggravated they are able to actually change coloration in order to express their displeasure.

Gag Grouper

This species creates a delicious firm mild fillet and resides within the warmer parts of the West Atlantic. Appearance-wise they generally retain a mottled-gray color, with a pattern that resembles the box-shaped spots of black grouper. As for their size most Gag Grouper are found at 20ins long with a max weight of 80lbs. Furthermore, their habitat differs depending on the organism’s current life stage. In other words, as juveniles they reside in estuaries or seagrass beds, preferring shallower waters. However, as adults, they live offshore over rocky substrates up to 499ft. They’re the most common grouper on the eastern Gulf of Mexico living either solitary existences or in groups up to 50.

Yellowedge Grouper

This species is a deepwater grouper and is known to be the mildest, sweetest grouper of the bunch. They’re a lean fish with the outward appearance of a Snowy Grouper. In addition, their name derives directly from the bright yellow coloration along the edges of their fins and in their eyes. Much like the Gag Grouper, Yellowedge Grouper they’re able to change sex as they grow and reside from North Carolina to the coasts of Florida. Their appearance is that of a tan to grayish-brown on their back and sides fading to a pale white along their stomach. Furthermore, the maximum weight of this species is found at 50lbs, with a maximum length of 45ins. They’re generally solitary fish that prefers soft bottoms for digging and occupying burrows.

How Wild Seafood Co. Beats The Competition

As a company, Wild Seafood Co. does more than just provide wild and fresh-caught fish for your table. They’re able to provide much lower prices than most of the seafood competition on the market. Largely this is due to the fact that they’re the supplier selling directly to you, the buyer. In other words, there is no middle man, no supermarket you must go through to buy from them. Though they do sell wholesale to these entities, it’s not their sole avenue of business. They sell across the United States, as well as provide ground shipping for Florida residents and direct pickup. All around there really is no competition when it comes to selecting your Grouper provider.