Frequently
Asked
Questions

Fish

When we say it is fresh we mean it, and if it has been frozen we will always identify it as such. We've worked hard to gain the trust of our customers, and we'll never take advantage of it.

Of course, the answer to this depends on the person eating, but we typically recommend an 8-ounce portion per person.

This depends on the fish you are buying. It’s always a good idea to check any fillet for bones, even ours. We do inspect each fillet thoroughly, but we are only human. Some fillets are cut so that bones are included. The nape and first 3 to 4 inches on most fillets is where you will find bones. Some fish do have pin bones that run down the center of the fillet, and these can be easily removed with tweezers.

PBO is a term that means “pin bones out,” commonly used when talking about salmon fillets. If you catch a fish yourself and fillet it you will find a pair of tweezers useful at getting these bones out without destroying the fillet.

Scrod is a word that has had many meanings. At Harbor Fish, it simply refers to a small- or medium-sized fish, usually only used in reference to haddock or cod.

No, it’s simply a name for a particular species of flatfish (Microstomus kitt), like Grey Sole or Dover Sole. In fact, it’s a misnomer, as Lemon Sole is technically not a sole! It’s similar enough to sole, however, that the name is there to stay.

Although haddock is everyone’s favorite, it can flake into small pieces. For a more "meaty" textured chowder, you could consider hake or cod, which have bigger flakes and similar flavor.
More economic options include hake and pollock, but keep an eye out for our chowder fish mixture. This item is a mix of any whitefish that may have broken apart during skinning, and we sell it at a discount!

Yes! Hake is a very good candidate, cusk is another, as are halibut steaks or fillets. There are others, but these species are often more available.

Steaks are made when we cut a whole fish horizontally, creating sections along the fish, bones and all. A fillet is made when we cut the fish from the head to the tail and remove the meat in one long piece.

Yes, indeed. All of our fish is fresh, all natural, with no chemicals added, unless specified. If you order a previously frozen product from us, we wouldn’t recommend freezing it again.

We regularly post excellent recipes here on our web site. You can also purchase our cookbook on our online store.

Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point is the FDA’s system for preventative food safety, which we follow carefully.

Most seafood—if stored in proper conditions—can be held for a couple of days, depending upon the harvest date. This is where it helps to have a good relationship with your seafood dealer, to be sure of the freshness of your fish!

There are several factors that go into the storing of each type of seafood. In general, the best way to keep most seafood is buried in ice with the melt water drained off. If we’re trying to keep fish fresh at home, we typically put the plastic-wrapped (watertight) package in a bowl of ice in the fridge. If we are trying to keep shellfish (such as mussels, clams, oysters, or hard-shell clams) we’ll ring out a wet towel and place it over a bowl containing the shellfish, and put the bowl either in the fridge or packed into a cooler, sitting on a bed of ice. The most important factor is a cold temperature, but it’s also important not to allow the shellfish to sit in fresh water. It also seems to help to allow a bit of airflow around the shellfish, so don’t pack mussels or clams, etc. in airtight plastic.

Lobster

As a defense mechanism, Lobsters can release or throw their claws (and also grow them back). Most likely, the lobster dropped its claw in transit. You may cook and eat the claw (make sure it has not spoiled) as though it were still attached.

The important factor in keeping live lobsters is temperature. We recommend that the lobster be stored in the crisper drawer of your refrigerator. If your lobster was shipped, or packed to travel, you can use some of the seaweed in your package to cushion and cover the lobsters. Optionally, you can add a small damp cotton towel to the drawer to keep the environment moist (not drenched). Under no circumstances should you place the lobsters in standing water of any kind.

It’s always best to get your live lobsters the same day they are going to be cooked. Once out of water, hard shell lobsters have a life expectancy of 24 to 36 hours, and soft shells can live anywhere from 2 to 12 hours. Obviously, these are estimates, not guarantees.

A soft shell lobster is a lobster that has, as a normal function of its growth, shed its shell. This tends to happen sometime in early- to mid-summer. Most soft shell lobsters have typically become hard shell by November or December. During this period, known as soft shell season, hard shell lobsters are still available (though less plentiful). Soft shell lobsters generally contain less meat per pound than hard shells, though that meat is a bit sweeter and more tender. Soft shells are not recommended for travel, nor can we ship them, as their life expectancy is much shorter out of water.

Of course this depends on a lot of factors. Just as a guideline, you could serve two small (1 lb.) or medium (1.25 lb.) lobsters per adult as a main course. You could serve one large (1.5 lb. or larger) lobster as a main course. Or skip the sides and dessert, and add a lobster!

Yes, we will happily steam your lobsters for you, at no extra charge (for orders of a typical quantity). Please call at least one day in advance to place your order. In store, last call for hot pick-up is 5:00 PM. We can also half-cook your lobsters, which will cut down your cooking time and allow you to serve them hot.

The most common preparation is to simply steam the lobsters. You’ll find instructions here in our recipe section.

At the very least, you’ll need some heavy-duty nutcrackers. We also use specialized tools to get at the meat once the shell is open. We also recommend keeping a mug of broth nearby so you can give the meat a quick rinse before you dunk it in butter or vinegar. You’ll find everything you need in our shop.

That is the tomalley, or liver of the lobster, and it’s delicious. If you are not a connoisseur of tomalley, simply rinse it off.

You have a female lobster that is starting to form eggs (or roe). They are edible and, like the tomalley, are considered a delicacy. If you are not interested in eating them, you can remove them with your fork or simply rinse them away.

We cannot guarantee the life span of a lobster. However, our hearty hard shell lobsters tend to live an average of 24 to 36 hours out of water, and we always pack lively lobsters for shipment (we want you to have a nice dinner, too!). In the rare case a hard shell lobster dies while in transit, you can still cook and eat it within 12 hours of death, as long as it has been kept refrigerated (Lobsters are kept sufficiently cold in our insulated packaging under normal conditions). We enclose a shipment instruction sheet that will give you more information on how to determine if a lobster has spoiled. It is very rare that a lobster we ship you is not edible.

Your lobsters are packed in expanded polystyrene foam coolers (which don’t contain any ozone-depleting CFC’s), with a corrugated printed box around it. We use gel ice unit(s) and seaweed to maintain temperature and moisture. Please note that during certain periods in the spring, seaweed is spawning and may not be suitable for use. Also, during winter storms, it may become too hazardous to harvest the seaweed.

Shipping

We ship our fresh seafood from our online store using FedEx Priority Overnight service. Most deliveries take place between 8:30 AM & Noon, though in some more remote areas it could be as late as 4:30 PM. You’ll receive tracking information when your order ships.

The best way to get an estimate for shipped live lobsters (or any of our fresh seafood) is to go to our online store, put a test order into the shopping cart, and view the shopping cart. There you can enter your delivery zip code, and see the shipping rates for your area.

Saturday delivery is available for most customers but not all (typically it’s not available in more remote areas. Please check your address with FedEx to find out if Saturday delivery is available for you). Please note that FedEx places a surcharge on Saturday delivery. If you don’t live in an area that is in a Saturday zone you might be able to go to your nearby FedEx station and pick them up.

By default, we require a signature on all fresh seafood deliveries. If you would like us to release the FedEx signature requirement for your order, please call us at +1 (207) 775-0251 x 2 to make arrangements. Obviously, having a package left outside your door opens you up to the risk of theft. Also, even with our careful, insulated packaging, we never recommend leaving a package of fresh seafood exposed to the elements. If you release signature, you have no recourse with Harbor Fish Market or FedEx in the case of loss.

Order cancellations must be made at least 24 hours before the shipping date. Please contact the shipping department at +1 (207) 775-0251 x 2.

We encourage advanced ordering. You can choose a specific delivery date during the order checkout process in our online shop. This allows us to plan our supply and staffing, which is important in the seafood industry, where so much changes from day to day. If you wish to place an order for a date further out than allowed by our online system, please feel free to call us at +1 (207) 775-0251 x 2.

We cannot guarantee the life span of a lobster. However, our hearty hard shell lobsters tend to live an average of 24 to 36 hours out of water, and we always pack lively lobsters for shipment (we want you to have a nice dinner, too!). In the rare case a hard shell lobster dies while in transit, you can still cook and eat it within 12 hours of death, as long as it has been kept refrigerated (Lobsters are kept sufficiently cold in our insulated packaging under normal conditions). We enclose a shipment instruction sheet that will give you more information on how to determine if a lobster has spoiled. It is very rare that a lobster we ship you is not edible.

We accept Visa, MasterCard, American Express and Discover. You can also use a Harbor Fish Market Gift Card.

Your lobsters are packed in expanded polystyrene foam coolers (which don’t contain any ozone-depleting CFC’s), with a corrugated printed box around it. We use gel ice unit(s) and seaweed to maintain temperature and moisture. Please note that during certain periods in the spring, seaweed is spawning and may not be suitable for use. Also, during winter storms, it may become too hazardous to harvest the seaweed.

We make every effort to contact you ahead of time and reschedule your shipment if we are able to anticipate weather events that will affect your order. Despite our best efforts, sometimes packages don’t arrive as ordered, due to unforeseen circumstances. If the package doesn’t make it to you on time due to an act of God (the most common one being weather), we cannot refund your purchase, nor is there any insurance recourse with FedEx. The shipping of perishables is at the risk of the purchaser. If your package doesn’t arrive due to human error, you would then receive a full refund from Federal Express. In that case, we will place all the necessary paperwork for you and credit your account in full upon receiving reimbursement from Federal Express. Federal Express has the last word in determining the outcome of any claim.

We will ask you for the recipient’s name, complete street address (no PO boxes), zip code, phone number, your payment information, and product request. It is never a good idea to surprise someone with a gift of live lobsters, as they do need to be cooked the day they are received. We find a gift card works best in this situation, allowing your recipient to be surprised by your thoughtfulness but also have the chance to plan their mouthwatering feast.

Additionally, the information you provide to Harbor Fish Market is never sold to, or used by, any other company or group, and your payment information is passed through to our bank, not stored with us, so we do not have access to your credit card information.

Other Seafood

Unfortunately, you will never get all the sand out of the clam. The best method we have found is to place them into a large bowl or basin, take your sink's spray hose to the outside of the shell using cold water. After you have washed the outside as best you can, add ⅓ cup sea salt to 1 gallon of cold water ratio (some people will use white or cider vinegar as a substitute). This will encourage them to spit out most of the grit. Let them sit for 20 minutes to 1 hour. Drain and spray rinse one more time. Then after cooking them, make sure you serve broth to vigorously dunk them up and down in, to wash off any grit that still may remain. 

For a more detailed description of how to prepare our native soft shell clams, check out our blog post about them!

Most seafood—if stored in proper conditions—can be held for a couple of days, depending upon the harvest date. This is where it helps to have a good relationship with your seafood dealer, to be sure of the freshness of your fish!
There are several factors that go into the storing of each type of seafood. In general, the best way to keep most seafood is buried in ice with the melt water drained off. If we’re trying to keep fish fresh at home, we typically put the plastic-wrapped (watertight) package in a bowl of ice in the fridge. If we are trying to keep shellfish (such as mussels, clams, oysters, or hard-shell clams) we’ll ring out a wet towel and place it over a bowl containing the shellfish, and put the bowl either in the fridge or packed into a cooler, sitting on a bed of ice. The most important factor is a cold temperature, but it’s also important not to allow the shellfish to sit in fresh water. It also seems to help to allow a bit of airflow around the shellfish, so don’t pack mussels or clams, etc. in airtight plastic.

Oyster tasting has become a bit of an art and a show, not unlike wine or beer tasting. The oysters we carry have flavor profiles in their descriptions, so head on over to our online store and explore!

First and most important buy an oyster shucking knife. We have heard of more people using every utensil known, other then the knife designed for the job. Not that using an oyster knife will keep you from getting injured, its just that it will do a better job then most other instruments, as it was designed with an oyster shell in mind.

  • Step 1: In the hand that is holding the oyster, drape a towel or put on an oven mitt. Hold the oyster firmly in that hand, the knife in the other. Slip the knife blade between the top and bottom shell right by the hinge on the back. Be aware that the ridges on the shell are very sharp and can cause harm as well.
  • Step 2: Run the knife all the way around the oyster until you get to the other side. This is where you need to put some muscle into it, but be careful – this is the point where most injuries occur.
  • Step 3: Using a twisting motion, pry the top and bottom shells apart. Be gentle but have a firm grip so you won’t lose any of the liquor inside.
  • Step 4: Cut the oyster free from the shell. It will be connected by a tough muscle on the underside, slide your knife under, and sever it. Now your oyster is free from it’s shell and ready to be eaten

Because scallops act like a sponge, many processors soak their scallops in water, adding water weight, increasing the size and flattening the taste. Additionally, those processors typically use a solution containing Sodium Tripolyphosphate (STP), which acts as a water retentive agent. Do you want to pay $8.00 to $12.00 a pound for water? Do you want your fresh seafood to have a chemical added to it? Neither do we.

Harbor Fish Market sells you true, all natural, unadulterated scallops which are better flavored and do not shed abnormal amounts of water when you cook them. Of course the natural scallop is more expensive, but you are not purchasing water! When you buy scallops in a market or order them in a restaurant, ask if they are processed or soaked.

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(207) 775-0251 • 9 Custom House Wharf • Portland, Maine 04101

(207) 503-5900 • 246 US Route 1 • Scarborough, Maine 04074

9 Custom House Wharf • Portland, Maine 04101

(207) 775-0251

246 US Route 1 • Scarborough, Maine 04074

(207) 503-5900

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