Buying Seafood From a Fishmonger: Questions to Ask

A fishmonger is someone who sells raw fish and seafood. The role includes selecting, purchasing and handling the catch. To buy well from one, tell them what you plan to cook and ask what they recommend. Ask when the fish was landed and talk through sustainability. Then ask for any preparation you want done at the counter, such as pin-boning a fillet or scaling, gutting and gilling a whole fish.

Fishmonger vs. fisherman

The two words are easy to confuse, but they name different jobs. A fisherman catches fish. A fishmonger sells raw fish and seafood to customers and is trained in choosing, buying and handling it. When you shop at a fish counter, the person you are talking to is the fishmonger, and that person's knowledge of the catch is what your questions draw on.

Questions to ask at the fish counter

Question | Why it helps

"I'm planning to make [dish]. What would you suggest?" | Beginner buying guides recommend telling the fishmonger what you are planning, so they can point you to a suitable fish and cut.

"What's best today?" | Asking for a recommendation is listed as a core step in beginner guidance, and it draws on the seller's knowledge of what came in.

"When was this landed?" | "Landed" means brought ashore from the boat. This is a direct question about provenance and how recently the fish arrived.

"Is this a sustainable choice?" | Beginner guides include discussing sustainability with your fishmonger as a standard step.

"Can you pin-bone it?" | Pin bones are the small bones that run through a fillet. Having them removed at the counter saves pulling them out at home with tweezers, and one guide singles this out as worthwhile for salmon and sea bass.

"Can you scale, gut, and gill it?" | This is the request to use when you want a whole fish kept on the bone with its head intact but cleaned and ready to cook.

Buying a whole fish: what the terms mean

• Scale: remove the scales from the skin.
• Gut: remove the internal organs.
• Gill: remove the gills behind the head.
• Asking for all three gets you a cleaned whole fish that still has its head and bones, which suits recipes that call for cooking the fish whole.

Using your questions to judge a fishmonger

Your questions also help you judge the seller. A fishmonger who knows the craft should be able to tell you about the catch and answer questions about where and when it came in. Vague answers to basic provenance questions are worth noting when you decide where to shop regularly.

Beginner guidance also advises not to be put off by prices at a fishmonger. The evidence behind this guide includes no actual price data, so ask at the counter if cost matters for your dish. A fishmonger can often suggest an alternative that suits your recipe.

Gaps in this guide

The sources behind this guide cover the fishmonger's role and the questions above. They do not establish:
• visual or smell signs of freshness
• storage times
• the origin of the word "fishmonger"
• US seafood labeling rules
• how fish names vary by region
Some of the guidance comes from British seafood sources, so species names and counter conventions may differ at US markets. Check species-specific details with your fishmonger or an authoritative food-safety source.