Ever wonder how your favorite fish gets to our seafood department? Meet one of our wonderful partners, fisherman Anthony Ferrari, who helps keep our seafood department stocked! With two boats to his name—the Spellbound and China Doll—Anthony sails out of his port harbor of Bodega Bay to catch fresh, local fish. He started fishing at a young age with his fisherman father, Lou, and has pursued the trade for most of his life since. Fun fact: he also played professional baseball first in the U.S. and then in Italy while still fishing in the off-season!

While Anthony will sometimes fish for salmon or rockfish, his main catch of choice is black cod. Black cod can be fished all year, but generally peaks in March and April. On both of his boats, Anthony fishes hook and line to preserve the quality of the fish (black cod is a soft fish which could get squished in a net) and to avoid unnecessary by-catch.

Black Cod has white flesh similar to Chilean sea bass that’s delicious cooked in a variety of ways. Since black cod has a lot of bones, if you plan to batter it, Anthony recommends cutting off the tail section and separating it from the belly to batter just the boneless part. You can also grill black cod or cook it in an oven with dry rub—when cooked, the bones start to stick out which makes them easy to remove. According to Anthony, it’s also one of the best fish for smoking—“It’s to die for!”

Along with providing Nugget Markets with fresh, local black cod (available in most stores now!), Anthony is also a friend, neighbor and guest! He lives in West Sacramento with his wife and daughter, and they shop at Nugget Markets almost every day. “We know everybody at our local Nugget Markets,” Anthony said. “The people are nice and the stores are clean. We like it for everything!”

Drop by our seafood department to try black cod, fresh from Bodega Bay today—chances are, you now know who caught it for you!