The Fish Dish

Things are changing at The Fish Dish. Science Communicator Marie Zhuikov is retiring from Wisconsin Sea Grant. Co-host Sharon Moen will soldier on with a few more episodes thanks to help from other Sea Grant communications colleagues. As a parting gift, Marie created a blooper reel. Listeners might recognize the episodes they relate to, such as “The 100% Great Lakes Fish Initiative,” the “Northern...

In this episode you’ll learn how to fillet a fish from Sam Peterson, a fisheries biologist with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. We’ve heard from listeners that being handed a whole fish—one with the head still on and insides still inside—can be intimidating. We’ll talk to Sam about his job, his hobby of microfishing, then he’ll break the fish filleting process down. Marie even tries...

In this episode we discuss the 100% Great Lakes Fish Initiative, which is a campaign aimed at commercial fishers to better use all parts of the fish they catch. Sharon and Marie speak with campaign leaders David Naftzger and John Schmidt with the Great Lakes St. Lawrence Governors and Premiers organization. Then Sharon and Marie travel to Bayfield in search of whitefish livers – a part of the fish...

The episode features a new cookbook with fishy connections. The book’s title is “Smoke on the Waterfront: The Northern Waters Smokehaus Cookbook.” The Smokehaus has been described as a “cultural icon of Lake Superior cuisine.” It’s located in Duluth, Minnesota, inside the DeWitt Seitz Building in Canal Park on the shores of Lake Superior. We’re covering them on the Fish Dish because the Smokehaus...

The Fish Dish travels to Superior Fresh, an aquaponics business located on 800 acres of rolling woodland and prairie in Hixton, Wisconsin. They’ve been raising Atlantic salmon and growing salad greens in their indoor facilities since 2017. The business reports it’s the largest of its kind in the world and produces 1.5 million pounds of salmon per year plus organic-certified salad greens.  We...

In this episode, The Fish Dish travels to the Mississippi River to meet Michael Valley, a fourth-generation fisherman out of Prairie du Chien. Mike operates Valley Fish and Cheese, a quirky store that sells a plethora of different river fish and also turtles, alligator meat, as well as Wisconsin cheese. Sharon describes how the river fishery differs from the Great Lakes fishery and delves into the...

In this episode, The Fish Dish takes the kitchen to the beach – Wisconsin Point Beach, to be exact, along the shore of Lake Superior. With summer full upon us, we thought it would be fun to bring you along on a classic dining experience: the shore lunch. Joining us were Emma Hauser, an aquaculture outreach and education specialist with Sea Grant and the Northern Aquaculture Demonstration Facility;...

In this episode, Sharon and Marie visit with a class of food science and technology majors from the University of Wisconsin-River Falls. The students cooked several recipes found on the Eat Wisconsin Fish website. They helped perfect the dishes, plus the campus photographer snapped a few photos. Marie and Sharon talk “fish” with the students and award a “best of show” prize for the dish that looke...

In this episode Sharon and Marie interview Titus Seilheimer, Sea Grant’s fisheries outreach specialist. Then they travel to Cornucopia, Wisconsin, on the south shore of Lake Superior to speak with staff from Halvorson Fisheries. What’s the topic? Burbot! If you’re not familiar with what a burbot fish is, you will be by the time the podcast is over. Plus, a very special day is coming up soon. Most...

The Fish Dish traveled to Madison for an invitation-only event held in October of 2022 that celebrated Wisconsin’s water, from drinking water to businesses that depend on water for their livelihood. These include commercial fishing and aquaculture. “A Taste of Wisconsin Waters” was a first-ever event organized by none other than Sharon. Plus, for the “Fish-o-Licious” part of our show, we discuss f...

In this episode, Sharon and Marie take “The Fish Dish” to the water for a charter fishing experience on Lake Superior. One foggy morning, they visited Isle Royale National Park where they signed up for a fishing charter provided by the Rock Harbor Lodge on this wilderness island. The “Fish-o-Licious” part of the show is a little different this time. We hear from the charter captains about their fa...

The Fish Dish hits the road again when Marie and Sharon travel to the North House Folk School for a day-long Lake Superior fish-cooking class. You’ll meet University of Wisconsin-River Falls instructor Karalyn Littlefield who taught the class six new fish dishes, and you’ll be privy to Karalyn’s secret tip for cooking fish properly. The “Fish-o-Licious” part of the show brings you into the class f...

The Fish Dish hits the road when Marie and Sharon take a trip to the Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Fame in Hayward, Wisconsin, where they tour the facilities and gardens and meet Emmett Brown, its executive director. The Hall of Fame’s mission is to preserve the historical artifacts, heritage and history of freshwater sport fishing, but there’s much more to it, including sasquatch replicas and a gia...

In this episode, we meet Daniel Grooms, business manager for the Red Cliff Fish Company in Red Cliff, Wisconsin. Red Cliff is at the top of Wisconsin’s Bayfield Peninsula and is the home of the Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa. The company processes and sells fish caught from Lake Superior by tribal fishers. In fact, it’s entirely owned and operated by the Band. In the second, “Fish-o-Lici...

Sharon and Marie interview Ryan Lepak, a research limnologist at the Environmental Protection Agency in Duluth who studies mercury. He’s also an avid fisherman. In the second, “Fish-o-Licious” part of the show, Ryan helps us make sushi for the first time with Lake Superior fish. We even try to have a competition for the best sushi, with the emphasis on TRY. Who will win this friendly sushi competi...

Sharon and Marie discover there are different camps that can get a little feisty when it comes to cooking this traditional holiday fish. Wisconsinites of Swedish and Norwegian descent feel strongly about their favorite preparation methods for lutefisk. We were invited into the home of Mary Childs in Port Wing, Wisconsin, to talk about cooking options, along with Mary’s friend Marge Ogren. We also...

Eat Wisconsin Fish Outreach Specialist Sharon Moen spent part of her summer visiting aquaponics and aquaculture facilities in Wisconsin. One of them was Lake Orchard Farm in Sheboygan, run by Nate Calkins. He shares his beginnings in the business, fascinating statistics about his operation, plus his dreams for the future. In the “Fish-o-licious” part of the show, we cook colorful Pan-Seared Tilapi...

Eat Wisconsin Fish Outreach Specialist Sharon Moen spent part of her summer visiting commercial fishers and fisheries managers in the Bayfield, Wisconsin, area. One of them was Craig Hoopman of Craig Hoopman Fisheries. He shares his beginnings in the business, current challenges, plus his dreams for the future. In the “Fish-o-licious” second part of the show, we cook Greek-Style Lake Whitefish at...