We have a native alaskan fellow in my neighborhood that sells his catch to folks that know him. We're in greenwood. He's just pops by once in a while and I give him $20-$50 and he gives me ridiculous amounts of halibut, salmon and shrimp.

I head down to the Loki on the West Wall at Fisherman't Terminal once in a while. Not CSF but Pete is real charecter and it is family biz as far as I know. http://lokifish.com/index.php

The last CSA I knew of that failed was "Sea Monster" started by a very well meaning if a bit flighty fisherman fellow but he wound up on "get jesse" for not delivering.

The Taylor Shellfish retail store at Melrose Market on Capitol Hill is the best place for getting oysters, or any kind of shellfish. You can buy them to take home, or if you want to have some in the store with a glass of oyster wine or beer, they will shuck them for you. There's also a self serve chowder bar, and live tanks containing oysters, clams, mussels, geoduck, scallops, Dungeness crab, and Maine lobster. It's definitely the place to go for the freshest shellfish you'll find in Seattle. Check it out!

Not the answer you're looking for, but file it away for future reference. If you ever want to go pick and shuck your own, Kitsap Memorial State Park is one of the best public Oyster harvesting beaches in the state. Closed at this juncture, but the population should rebound and reopen sooner or later.

http://www.parks.wa.gov/parks/?selectedpark=Kitsap%20Memorial

Less than an hour's drive via Bainbridge Ferry and Agate Pass Bridge.

Shhhhh don't tell anybody!

THIRTEEN oyster happy hours over here!

http://www.thestranger.com/suggests/11406745/oyster-happy-hours

Have fun!

My answer/suggestion is a bit off from your original question but I thought it relevant.

There is an island near Port Townsend called Marrowstone Island. It is where Fort Flagler is.

On that island is park called Mystery Bay. It is a dock used by some folks often dismissed around the sound as "trawler trash" but are, in fact, pretty awesome. The only other folks I've ever seen use it are kayakers, my bitter enemies.

To the south of the ramp leading to the dock is one of the best free oyster beds in the sound. It's a cherished secret and I may be banished for revealing it, but I'm one of only a handful of folks who ever harvest from there. a few locals in nordland may but it's not many.

You can dig up your own oysters (you need a license available at Fred Meyer and other places) and have a pretty awesome time eating them surrounded but one of the nicest spots in the Northwest. There is a picnic shelter, outhouse restroom, and a barbeque grill for use. I've been going there for years (thought he oyster bed is somewhat recent) and rarely see the ranger so a bit of wine is OK. There are harvest limits but last I checked they were pretty generous.

It's the way oysters should be eaten- in the cold with some hot sauce or melter butter and roasted garlic, a little drunk on pinot noir with a nice piece of fish roasting, a fancy loaf of bread and maybe some other delectables.

Don't tell anyone I told you.

Try Bastille in ballard, new to the happy hour game, old to fine oysters and drink-

Etta's in the market has an oyster happy hour, as does Hitchcock on Bainbridge Island if you feel like taking a ferry ride(they also have great cocktails).

My mom and dad enjoyed their experience at Taylor Shellfish in the Melrose Market. They commented how friendly and knowledgeable the person who served them was.

And fortunately, they brought 2 dozen home which we shucked and ate before Thanksgiving dinner. Yum.

The Walrus and the Carpenter in Ballard has amazing oysters and has a happy hour where they're $1 a piece. They also have decent cocktails if you're a drinking person. http://thewalrusbar.com/

Mc cormicks and Schmits for happy hour.

Shuckers has fantastic oysters, don't know if they do a happy hour. Their stock varies daily, so sometimes the have the lovely little ones, kumomotas (sp?) sometimes not they also have hamma hamma usually about 10 types in a variety of sizes and every thing from naked to Basic sauce to crazy sauce.

Fish bones are just often much smaller and sharper than other animal bones. They also snap more easily, and I've choked on one or two.

My family's Chinese, and we eat whole fish frequently -- several times a week. But my mom never fails to warn us all about bones.

I think part of the problem here is that it's expected for the fish to be boneless so people don't look out for them. I feel it's a different ballgame if people are eating whole fish.

They can choke you if you don't pick them out. Most of the time the more dangerous ones can be picked out ( it's part of what you pay for in more expensive fish). When my mom prepares salmon she usually takes out the ones that aren't all cartalidgey because my uncle once almost stabbed his trachea with one.

Central Co-op used to sell fresh and wholesome cioppino near their butcher counter but I don't remember seeing the stand recently. I would give them a call to see if it's still a daily specialty:

206.329.1545

I would avoid buying pre-made cioppino that already contains the varieties of seafood. What you can buy are jars of the cioppino base, which has all the herbs, spices, and tomato goodness, without the seafood. You still need to buy the shrimp, clams, mussels, fish, and whatever else you're using, but you can add all of that to the base, after you've heated it up on the stove. Since most seafood takes very little time to cook, you just simmer it all together until the clams open up, and the fish becomes flaky. You get the cioppino with the flavor of the fresh seafood cooked into it, without having to make the whole dish ahead of time. Pretty easy! You can also add your own additional seasonings for your own taste. Wild Salmon Seafood Market next to the Ballard Bridge at Fisherman's Terminal sells jars of the base, and I've also seen it at other better supermarkets. Enjoy your "festa dei sette pesci".

The stuff they sell at the Ballard Market is OK. Not great, but a good start. I would add some fresh herbs and boost the shrimp and halibut count some and add some in shell clams and mussels.

It may be a good idea to buy a small bowl first to make sure it's OK as a start for you.

You should absolutely avoid farmed salmon (as well as shrimp and tilapia, among others) but there are some types of fish and shellfish where farming practices are sustainable domestic rainbow trout and oysters come to mind.

A good resource for buying seafood is the Seafood Watch Program:

http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/cr/seafoodwatch.aspx

It's put together by the Monterey Bay Aquarium and makes recommendations for sustainability and has a lot of info on mercury content.

Depending on your fish, it might actually have more mercury than a wild fish--salmonids and other carnivorous fish are fed concentrated fish meal made from wild fish (one of many reasons why farmed salmon is bad). This food may actually cause a farmed fish to have higher levels of mercury than a similar wild fish.

Now, if you want to eat farmed vegetarian fish (like carp and tilapia), it won't make much difference. But, why buy carp when you can catch it in unlimited quantities due to its invasive status?

Friends don't let friends eat farmed fish.

That said, smaller wild fish that eat stuff like plankton will have less mercury in them.

The small ones will get mercury from the environment.

Larger fish have higher levels of mercury because they accumulate all the mercury that was in their prey while ALSO getting it from the environment.

Eat low on the aquatic food chain to eat less mercury.

No, I don't think so. The mercury in fish comes from the atmosphere, primarily from coal-burning electricity plants. Mercifully, Washington has only one of these, for what it's worth.

In any case, I don't see how the levels would be any different, they're under the same atmosphere.

I would like to take this opportunity to tell you that farmed fish is a terrible, terrible thing to put into your body, and it's awful for the environment. Fish farms routinely pollute their surroundings with astronomical amounts of fish feces, that the local ecosystem can't handle. They create dead zones in the marine environments in their vicinity. They're also pumped full of chemicals, antibiotics and dyes. Farmed salmon is dyed pink. It's natural color is an unappealing grey. Farmed fish also lacks in the healthy Omega-3 fatty acids and other good nutrients found in wild fish.

Hang out in Ballard, Bellingham or Westport and you'll see fishermen's pickup trucks with bumper stickers that say "Friends don't let friends eat farmed fish." It's true. Just say no to this garbage. It's bad for you and it's bad for the planet.

There are plenty of wild fish choices that are sustainably harvested, good for you, good for our local economy and good for the planet. Pacific Northwest salmon is a great choice this year. Under the Pacific Salmon Treaty with Canada and agreements with local tribes, the fishery is being managed intelligently, so our grandchildren's grandchildren will still have salmon to catch and eat. This is a record year for salmon in the region, and all the more reason to choose wild-caught fish over that garbage that comes out of fish farms.

Just say no to farmed fish.

Well, I don't get it from the market - but I'll tell you crab straight from the boats is cheaper than market. (This isn't Wyoming! No reason to go to Safeway for seafood when you live in a port town).

And as far as supply and demand, it would also reason that prices might be highest when the new season first starts, since everyone (who doesn't fish) has gone without fresh for a while and will be willing to pay. That's how car sales work, anyway, right?

Taylor Shellfish, Mutual Fish, University Seafood and Poultry, or Uwajimaya.

They are all good, probably priced similarly. It really depends on where you live and which one is the easiest to get to for you.

Taylor Shellfish Farms has just opened a brand new retail store in the Melrose Market building on Capitol Hill, and we are selling live Atlantic lobster! We have several live tanks holding lobster, Dungeness crab, plus our varieties of oysters, clams, Mediterranean mussels, and geoduck.

When buying live lobster, look for ones that are very lively. When picked up, their claws should rise up in defense, and their tail should be quickly flapping. I hope you enjoy your lobsters, and come into our new store to say HI!

I love the cod and chips from Anthony's fish bar on the waterfront, but I bet their fish and chips will be pretty good at any of their locations. They make my favorite tartar sauce too. I miss daly's (more for their fish sandwich).

(Oh man, my sister is the real fish n chips aficionado, and she's a HUGE fan of Chinook's at Fisherman's Terminal, but that's a ways away).

How NORTH in North Seattle? Spuds at Greenlake has been making a respectable battered no frills fish and chips for decades. Ivars bought them awhile ago, but someone told me that the Greenlake branch is still independent (it's all hearsay, and while Ivars owns them, it hasn't seemed to change the food, so that's nice). It's an order at the counter type place.

Back when I lived in Greenlake (5 years ago) we really enjoyed Duke's for their breaded halibut and chips. Sit down, pricier restaurant. Again, I haven't been in 5 years, but it used to be good, and their chowders were great.

My only other north end recommendation (again, where I haven't eaten in 3 years, sorry my data is out-dated) is Scott's Bar & Grill in Shoreline. They used to have great fish and chips. But 3 years ago we had a bad scallops experience and haven't really been back. But it might have been just a fluke.

Good luck!

There's only one way to tell: go try some. If you don't like it, try it again. Repeat as necessary. Sushi is the greatest stuff in the world.

Raw fish feels a lot fleshier than cooked fish on your tongue. It might seem weird at first but if you eat slowly and concentrate on the flavor you get used to it.

I personally LOVE the oily fish, like mackerel, Spanish mackerel, and gizzard shad. Most sushi beginners wouldn't like these too much, though; better to start with tuna, which is very mild.

One of the biggest thrills is the wide range of flavors, some subtle, some not. That bowl of miso soup beforehand is essential. Different kinds of vegetables, like cold spinach salad as an appetizer, and of course the wonderful seaweed sheets that all the rolls are made out of. Texture is really important, too -- the soft fish, the perfectly chewy rice, the crisp seaweed, the little popping dots of flying fish roe, the smooshy paste of the sea urchin roe...(don't order that one, you won't like it).

The real centerpiece of a piece of sushi is the rice, not the fish. It's not just plain rice; it's a special, ultra-starchy kind that sticks together, and it's made with sweetish rice vinegar. I read in a sushi book that the purest test of a sushi chef, when they're training, is kappamaki -- cucumber roll. No fish. Just perfectly cut sticks of cucumber rolled in rice in seaweed and cut into rounds. It's a great introduction -- no weird fishiness, just crisp green perfection and rice.

Another popular kind of sushi for beginners is the various kinds of cooked ones -- unagi (freshwater eel) is cooked, and has a sweet sauce on it that's out of this world. Many rolls have tempura-fried fish in them, particularly shrimp or soft-shell crab. The only thing better than a soft-shell crab roll is a salmon-skin roll, with the skin seared over a flame to crispyness. Mmmm.

Everyone's going to tell you "Pacific Inn" but I beg to differ. I like my fish and chips battered, not breaded. I like the ones at the George and Dragon in Fremont, especially with a pint of Newkie Broon, though the atmosphere may be a little grisly for some. Spuds Greenlake can be good.

Depends. Chinook's halibut and chips at fisherman's terminal is good. as is the fish and chips at Ray's upstairs cafe and the lockspot's stuff is very good while the Pac Inn is famous for theirs. We talking to go? sit down? fancy? divey?