September 6, 2014. Western Head, N.S. Fish.

The good folks of Nova Scotia appreciate fresh fish. In fact, they only eat fresh fish. The same is true when they buy fish, which is why the fish mongers here are excellent. I had a discussion with a couple in the grocery store the other day. The fish department was totally out of fresh scallops so they were peering into the freezer inspecting the frozen scallops. I commented to them that I had purchased and eaten the frozen scallops the other day and that they were excellent. The wife looked at me frowning and said "But I have never eaten frozen scallops before." I of course, buy the scallops frozen just because I don't wish to shop at the fish store every day, but not the Bluenoses. They buy the fish the same day they are eating it. Fishing has been a mainstay of the economy for many hundreds of years in Liverpool. It still is. The dollar amount is not so different today than fifty years ago, when cod and tuna were plentiful but now lobster and scallops and shrimp make the money. The fishermen bring in their catch every day and the fish mongers sell to the public. The best fish store is at Sobey's, a grocery store, but in addition, a truck comes once a week to the Irving Service station and often another fish truck comes to the Farmer's Market on Saturday morning. We eat scallops at least once a week, also salmon and trout, but I am not a purist. I freeze the fish or buy it already frozen. One day perhaps I will become like my friends in Liverpool who always buy their fish the day it is consumed, but I doubt it. There is something about old dogs and new tricks.