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Seafood Markets in Guadalajara - recommendations?


Cincy

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Just now, Cincy said:

I'd like to explore the produce for sale at the large seafood markets in Guadalajara.  A Google search reveals numerous places but does anyone have a favorite that's relatively easy to drive to?

We were there last month.  We travel a lot & always visit the seafood markets around the world.  Sicily, Croatia, Chile, Greece.......   Guad was a disappointment.  Costa Alegre near Superlake has the same species & their price is the same or with Mahi - less.  One interesting thing in Guad was watching truckloads of frozen shrimp arriving, being dumped into barrels of water to thaw then using milk crates to drain & carry into the retail stores.  Of course they looked fresh & pretty.  I think all shrimp are frozen unless you are at the dock.  At noon, there were about 10 stores open, Pacifico & 1 or 2 other large ones but all with the same fish.  No fresh mussels although they are farmed on the west coast near Cabo.  They did have Chocolate clams which need to be special ordered here.

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Just now, windstar said:

We were there last month.  We travel a lot & always visit the seafood markets around the world.  Sicily, Croatia, Chile, Greece.......   Guad was a disappointment.  Costa Alegre near Superlake has the same species & their price is the same or with Mahi - less.  One interesting thing in Guad was watching truckloads of frozen shrimp arriving, being dumped into barrels of water to thaw then using milk crates to drain & carry into the retail stores.  Of course they looked fresh & pretty.  I think all shrimp are frozen unless you are at the dock.  At noon, there were about 10 stores open, Pacifico & 1 or 2 other large ones but all with the same fish.  No fresh mussels although they are farmed on the west coast near Cabo.  They did have Chocolate clams which need to be special ordered here.

Mercado Del Mar, Zapopan.  Take the Periferico Norte & get off at Juan Pablo.   You can look it up on Google Earth

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1 hour ago, windstar said:

We were there last month.  We travel a lot & always visit the seafood markets around the world.  Sicily, Croatia, Chile, Greece.......   Guad was a disappointment.  Costa Alegre near Superlake has the same species & their price is the same or with Mahi - less.  One interesting thing in Guad was watching truckloads of frozen shrimp arriving, being dumped into barrels of water to thaw then using milk crates to drain & carry into the retail stores.  Of course they looked fresh & pretty.  I think all shrimp are frozen unless you are at the dock.  At noon, there were about 10 stores open, Pacifico & 1 or 2 other large ones but all with the same fish.  No fresh mussels although they are farmed on the west coast near Cabo.  They did have Chocolate clams which need to be special ordered here.

I have been told that all shrimp are frozen on the boat so I don't know if you can even buy fresh, raw, unfrozen shrimp at the dock.  Don't know if this is true, just what I was told once.

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Just now, bdlngton said:

I have been told that all shrimp are frozen on the boat so I don't know if you can even buy fresh, raw, unfrozen shrimp at the dock.  Don't know if this is true, just what I was told once.

Depends on where you are.  In S. Carolina & Georgia there are boats that just go out for the day- also in Alaska - some places in S America - Sicily, Croatia.  The big boats that go our for long periods freeze on board.

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3 hours ago, bdlngton said:

I have been told that all shrimp are frozen on the boat so I don't know if you can even buy fresh, raw, unfrozen shrimp at the dock.  Don't know if this is true, just what I was told once.

It is true in Mexico.

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29 minutes ago, cedros said:

It is true in Mexico.

 I was referring to Mexico, of course.  So I guess what I was told was true--all shrimp sold here is previously frozen.  That would lead me to believe that one would not want to buy what appears to be fresh shrimp (when in reality it has been thawed) and then refreeze it.

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8 hours ago, Cincy said:

I'd like to explore the produce for sale at the large seafood markets in Guadalajara.  A Google search reveals numerous places but does anyone have a favorite that's relatively easy to drive to?

http://mexicocooks.typepad.com/mexico_cooks/2007/05/fishing_for_sea.html

The link is to an article written about the Mercado del Mar in Zapopan about 10 years ago.  Not much has changed but the prices.

Compare the Mercado del Mar to Mercado La Nueva Viga in Mexico City:

http://mexicocooks.typepad.com/mexico_cooks/2017/04/la-nueva-viga-mexico-city-second-largest-fish-market-in-the-world.html 

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Just now, CHILLIN said:

Curious Windstar, have you toured the seafood in Ensenada? Seems to attract worldwide attention and praise.

Have not been to Ensenada but it looks interesting.  The Google reviews were both ways.  We love to travel & eat seafood.  Wherever we go we get an apt in central near the plaza fish market.  Have had the most interesting varieties & best prices in Sicily.

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1 hour ago, bdlngton said:

 I was referring to Mexico, of course.  So I guess what I was told was true--all shrimp sold here is previously frozen.  That would lead me to believe that one would not want to buy what appears to be fresh shrimp (when in reality it has been thawed) and then refreeze it.

Of course. Always buy only frozen shrimp.

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It's a tricky business. And the truth is, as has been touched upon here, that if you are buying shrimp that is half-frozen or thawed, it's because it has been thawed from its shipped state. Only "local" shrimpers bring in their catch unfrozen and call it fresh, and you can order such a thing from the fish shop beside SuperLake. They are so much sweeter, and completely unsalty (unlike frozen ship from the big ships that pack them in salt).

In particular, the summer months are not a good time to buy thawed shrimp, and I know a few people who won't even buy it frozen, because of the possibility is has thawed in the heat and been refrozen. So at the local markets, take care.

I remember reading about only one shrimping boat that was part of a large fleet that brought back their shrimp on ice only, not frozen. A British ship, in fact.

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1 hour ago, ComputerGuy said:

My reference to "local" was meant to describe local fishermen wherever there happens to be shrimping; thus the quote marks in my comment.

As far as I know "local" fishermen aren't allowed to fish for shrimp but they may do it illegally. To fish for shrimp you need large boats with specialized gear and you need to be part of the shrimp fishing cooperative which controls catching and marketing the shrimp. 

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So how do you explain shrimp boats on almost every beach along the west coast? These guys come in every day, quite early, and sell their catch to both markets and beachgoers. They have licenses (in most cases, obviously) so no law is being broken. The same is true of many private shrimpers in Louisiana, Cape Cod... you name the place.

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Just now, ComputerGuy said:

So how do you explain shrimp boats on almost every beach along the west coast? These guys come in every day, quite early, and sell their catch to both markets and beachgoers. They have licenses (in most cases, obviously) so no law is being broken. The same is true of many private shrimpers in Louisiana, Cape Cod... you name the place.

You are totally right CG.  Every country we have been in has family fishing boats, shrimping & selling.  They mostly fish at night & are at the markets early. Incentive for me to get up in the wee hours. 

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Just now, cedros said:

As far as I know "local" fishermen aren't allowed to fish for shrimp but they may do it illegally. To fish for shrimp you need large boats with specialized gear and you need to be part of the shrimp fishing cooperative which controls catching and marketing the shrimp. 

Where is this that it is illegal???  What country does not allow fishing with license?  Yes there are large shrimp fleets with onboard freezing  but also smaller boats.  We loved dingying up to these boats & getting a bucket of fresh caught shrimp.

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I have told this before, so I apologise if it repeats. I had a young man working for me who was crazy for surfing. He would load up and go to Baja every chance he got. Before he left, he always loaded up on old adult magazines. He would seal them in ziplock bags, then paddle out to the fresh shrimpers, with a sign that said "Prons for Porn" - he said he ate like a king!

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6 hours ago, ComputerGuy said:

So how do you explain shrimp boats on almost every beach along the west coast? These guys come in every day, quite early, and sell their catch to both markets and beachgoers. They have licenses (in most cases, obviously) so no law is being broken. The same is true of many private shrimpers in Louisiana, Cape Cod... you name the place.

I had a house on the coast in a fishing village just north of Puerto Vallarta for 13 years and I have traveled most of the west coast.  I have seen lots of thawed shrimp for sale but never fresh.ones. Quiz the vendors closely and you will find that to be the case. The shrimp industry has a monopoly and it is illegal for anyone who is not a member to catch and sell shrimp. The big shrimp boats are very expensive and fish at night and freeze the shrimp right away. They are then taken to Mazatlan or Manzanillo or Guyamas.  

In all the time I lived in the fishing village there was only once that fresh shrimp were for sale. It was a big deal and hush hush as it was illegal.

Maybe in some lagoons there are fresh shrimp caught and sold right away but on the open ocean it is carefully managed. Unless things have changed.

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Still lots of fresh seafood Cabos Corrientes, 1 hour south of Puerto Vallarta (driving, maybe 20 minutes by boat). They would have to freeze to get to market, so instead they catch "to order" - you want fresh, jumping raw shrimp, oyster, lobsters, many varieties of fish, they deliver to your chosen restaurant (I think there are 3 there). There is no way in the world they would have time to run to Puerto Vallarta and back, and something out of a freezer is so obviously so.

Maybe they have a history of "lawlessness" - there is one bay, and what remains of a warehouse, where all the "coca" to be used in Coca Cola was landed, to start its land journey.

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