Seafood & Gourmet Products

Pompano are caught from the Carolinas, around Florida and into the Gulf of Mexico. Pompano are fast, thin, silvercolored fish with gold on the belly and a deep body. The fish grow to about 2 pounds. Pompano is an important commercial dayboat fishery in Florida and Louisiana. These fish are extremely fresh due to how quickly they are landed and brought to shore. Pompano has a succulent, moderately fat flesh with a mild, delicate flavor. It is considered a premium fish. The fine-textured meat ranges from white to off-white and tastes almost sweet. Fishing boats go out at night searching the shores for schooling pompano. When the fishermen see a school of fish in the surf, they throw out a strike net. A strike net is a gill net shaped like a horse shoe. It is used in conjunction with the beach, acting as the third “barrier” for the opening in the horseshoe. The net must be the same color as the water, because pompano have very good eyes and will jump over the net if they are able to see it. The fish then swim into the net and are pulled into the boat alive to be chill killed in an ice bath. The fishermen then search the shores for another school and set the strike net again. The main fishing season for pompano is October through May.