Seafood & Gourmet Products

The Wreckfish is named for its affinity for gathering around abandoned shipwrecks. Domestic Wreckfish are from the Charleston Bump, located 80 to 100 miles southeast of Charleston, South Carolina. The Bump is a deepwater bank that rises up from the Blake Plateau at depths of over 2,300 feet to 1,230 feet. From there, the bottom plunges 410 feet in a series of steep slopes with rocky cliffs, overhangs, and caves. The first Wreckfish caught in the southern Atlantic was in the early 1980s. A fisherman using longline to recover his lost equipment, caught a Wreckfish by mistake. Wreckfish has firm white flesh with a large heavy flake. It has a mild flavor similar to grouper and sea bass.Wreckfish is versitile and can be used in a variety of preparations. The Wreckfish fishery is notoriously a difficult fishery, and there are only 7 vessels currently participating with only 2 or 3 fishing full time. Heavy-duty hydraulic reels with 1 / 8 inch cable are used to fish wreckfish. Heavy weights and multiple circle hooks baited with squid are attached to the cable. The gear hovers just above the ocean floor and does not impact bottom habitat. There is minimal bycatch in the Wreckfish fishery, and landings are at extremely low levels.