And here's the skinny on swordfish!

Locally caught Pacific swordfish ( Xiphias gladius ) is a marriage of the Greek and Latin words meaning “Gladiator, Gladiator.” And believe it or not, swordfish have been known to drive their bony swords through several inches of wooden boat planking when hooked!

There is only one species of swordfish known to exist. They are the sole members of a family of fish with the tongue-twisting name of Xiphiidae. Adult swordfish have no scales or teeth and rely on their large sword for killing their prey. They actually eat a lot of the same fish we do: small tunas, mahi mahi, rockfish, barracudas, shrimp, and squid. They weigh up to 1200 pounds and grow to be 15 feet long. We generally catch them at 200 pounds and eight feet long. Important in the cultures of local coastal Indians such as the Chumash who lived along our coast and on the Channel Islands , swordfish featured prominently in dances and other rituals (similar to the way buffalo did in the lives of the Plains Indians).

Swordfish swim at the very surface of the water. They generally live well out to sea. This allows them to hunt through a great range of depth, something they have adapted to do over the eons. Swordfish are traditionally harpooned, but they are also caught by long line and gill nets.

I would be happy to answer any questions you may have about seafood. Please email me from the “Ask the Chief Seafood Officer” page on our website.

Here's the scoop on spiny lobster!

The Southern California spiny lobster ( Panulirus interruptus ) fishery began in the late 1800s and has become one of the most desirable lobsters in the world. Both sweet and succulent, these lobsters rival the cold-water species of Australia . Unlike its cousin, the American lobster ( Homarus americanus ) from Maine , our local lobster has no claws but does have—shall we say—a more well-developed tail. “Lobster tails” you might purchase in the supermarket, in fact, come from any of the 45 species of spiny lobsters found in more southerly waters. King's Fish House has long worked closely with about 15 fishing families to guarantee we have first pick from the catch, much of the rest of which is then exported to Europe and Asia .

Fishermen use wire mesh box traps to catch lobsters in shallow, nearshore rocky areas and deeper, offshore rocky outcroppings. Each fisherman sets about 100 to 300 traps, and as many as 500 during the peak of the season. The traps are “soaked” for 24 hours, pulled, emptied, baited, and reset. When the season begins, most lobsters are caught along the coast in waters less than 17 fathoms (100 feet/30.5 meters). As the season progresses, the lobsters migrate to deeper waters and are caught in depths down to 50 fathoms (300 feet/91.4 meters). This mostly occurs around the offshore islands of Catalina and Santa Cruz . This prime spiny lobster safari territory is right in our own backyard, so to speak: One more reason to visit us at King's, the House that Seafood Built.