11/14/2023 0 Comments Fish store miamiNative range: Atlantic slope of Central and South America Captain Isackson points out another good reason to target them: “If you find one, 50 or 60 more of his hungry friends are likely to be lurking in nearby vegetation.” MAYAN CICHLID Small jigs with cut bait or flies are a good start. This opportunistic cichlid has been known to bite even a bare hook that finds itself remotely close to them, the size of their mouth being their only limitation. “A two-pound oscar would kick the butt of a six-pound peacock, no contest.” “Pound for pound, in my opinion, they are the toughest-fighting Florida exotic,” Wheeler comments. What this sportfish lacks in looks, it makes up for in feisty temperament. OSCARĭocumented as one of the first reported exotic fishes in Florida, the oscar made its debut in the late 1950s and has since made a home of warm, marshy waters south of Lake Okeechobee. To my surprise, the findings were not exactly what I anticipated. Brett Isackson of provided some additional insight. On the hunt for answers, I reached out to long-time FWC personnel, non-native fish and wildlife biologist Kelly Gestring and regional freshwater fisheries administrator Barron Moody. For those of us lucky enough to live here year-round, a drive to our local spillway, backyard canal or residential pond can make short work of a fresh fish dinner.Īs an editorial team member at Florida Sportsman, I’ve been equal parts intrigued and concerned at the number of non-native species being reported to us in recent years. We now have people traveling to Florida just for the chance to lay claim to our exotics. Other options, like bottom-feeding tilapia and ditch-dwelling black acara, would soon have most anglers turning up their noses at the prospects.Ī lot has changed over the years. The oscar was among the first to become established, a tropical species which, anglers soon learned, doesn’t give up its tasty fillets without a worthy fight. They looked forward to dinner that night at their home in Orlando: grilled lobster tails, along with shrimp and bream steamed in soy sauce and garlic.Tilapia (introduced in the 1960s) have little reputation as gamefish, but don’t tell that to Trey Wheeler and other enterprising fly fishermen. Zhao, who were both born 30 years ago in China, put on disposable plastic gloves to browse the seafood displayed on tables along two walls inside the market. They were on vacation in Miami, and found the market through an internet search. Pace through the plastic curtain that covers Plaza’s front door, were first-time customers. Wendy Liu and Yang Zhao (above left), who followed Ms. Pace, 57, has been shopping at the market since it first opened. I know I’m guaranteed to get what I want.” On this day, that included yellowtail snapper (second from top), live blue crabs and Gulf shrimp. “My sisters come here, everyone comes here,” said Ms. One customer, Arnita Pace (above right), drove that morning from her home about a half-hour north of Plaza Seafood. Though it’s housed in a low building, with face masks and social distance required, breezes blow through the many doors and windows, and much of the business transpires outside. Today, when so many of the city’s food businesses are hamstrung by closings and restrictions related to the coronavirus, the market is busier than ever, seven days a week, as it continues to foster community around fresh seafood. It’s on a stretch of Miami’s Allapattah neighborhood known as Little Santo Domingo, where fish cutters have been butchering whole fish for home cooks at Plaza Seafood since the early 1990s. The sounds of half-shouted Spanish, car horns and crushed ice being shoveled over mutton snapper mingle with the chopping after you enter the compact, one-room market. The rhythmic thud of long, heavy knives cracking fish spines, landing hard on a cutting board, grows louder when you reach the parking lot, provided there are no motorcycles revving nearby, drowning everything else out. MIAMI - Customers traveling by foot or convertible will hear Plaza Seafood Market shortly after it comes into view.
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