USVI-On-Line

Her forum friends, we're planning another trip at the end of May (Yay!!)...

I'm wondering where the good places are to buy fresh fish for grilling at the villa??

Any advice or good experiences to share?

Thanks!
Sherb

Glad you found a place you liked and that you are headed back to the island in May. Sorry not sure about the fresh fish.

There is a place to buy fresh fish at the Fish Trap Restaurant. We have bought some there on previous trips but it is fairly pricey. If you are driving through Cruz Bay mid-late afternoon, watch for guys selling fresh fish out of coolers in the lot below the Lumberyard. They will be right along the road. It's kind of hit or miss so if you see them make sure to stop. We have made the mistake of not stopping when we saw them and then they were not there for the remainder of our vacation. However, the other way we have had fresh fish is if my husband goes out charter fishing during our stay.

We bought fresh mahi at the roadside market by the lumberyard. Look for the guys with the big white coolers. It was a 3.5 lb fish and he charged us $30. He fileted it out while we watched and did a great job. All that was left for scrap was a very thin piece with the bones. He threw that in the 2nd big cooler. I'm guessing they make soup or something with that. It was a cool "island experience". Here's a picture of my husband watching.

Oh, and the fish was wonderful! We had plenty for 2 big meals.

Fish Trap Seafood Market Tuesday - Sunday 12-6pm

If you buy fish from the local fisherman with the coolers, be aware of the risk of ciguatera.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ciguatera

I buy tuna, mahi, or swordfish from the street vendors since they are deep water fish. Avoid fish that are caught in shallow reef areas.

There are brochures about the ciguatera risk available at various locations on island.

If you're staying on the other side of the island there is also "a guy with a cooler" across from Aqua Bistro.

Thanks for the feedback on this!

Last May, we bought Mahi from Starfish. We had never bought fish from Starfish, but it looked fresh, so we decided to give it a try. It was delicious! We cooked it on the grill with some oil, lime juice and StJ Spice creole seasoning. We enjoyed it so much, we went back later in the week and bought Mahi again. Second time was delicious too.

As michigancouple, we buy from the fisherman at Natures Nook. The white coolers out mean he's selling. As iheartsj, we stick to the pelagic species he mentioned plus kingfish and mackerel. Wahoo is our favorite and mahi is the crowd pleaser.

Last week the fishing was good relatively close to the south side of the islands. We were talking to a Frenchie fisherman and he said the flying fish were close in and the pelagic fish were following them in. We tried to get south of Buck Island to fish a bit, but the swell was up and the ladies suggested we head back around Water Island. No fish for me.

Cheers, RickG

Another vote for buying fish on Tuesday from Fish Trap. It's probably more expensive, but in our many trips to STJ, we've come to know Aaron, the owner, and he's really picky and he knows his fish. Good stuff there.

Hey, Rick-
what do you think of Water Island? We'd have to take a ferry. Worth the trip?
I understand that it's very small and laid back.
Smiles-
MJ

Jim, its a good bit of travel from STJ. Once there you can rent a golf cart to get around. Its walkable to Honeymoon Beach, but your lady would probably appreciate the ride. If I were you, I'd save that for when you're on STT.

Cheers, RickG

Fish trap is the best in my opinion. Always fresh & we've stopped for fish there every trip. This April we picked up a little of each of mahi, swordfish and grouper...delicious.. A little olive oil to coat, some st john spice rub & grilled out. They make a terrific key lime pie tart too. That didn't make the jeep ride home.

if you are out by calabash are- the calabash market generally has a good selection of fish.