Is it still possible to get shark steaks? Back in the mid 90's in CO I could get steaks for about $5 per pound, and it was better than swordfish.

Good question, I have not had shark in a long time, and love swordfish, but very hard/expensive out here.

PCC used to carry swordfish at a reasonable price, not sure if they still do. West Seattle Fish Company carries it fresh, but it is expensive....

Best option I've found is at Trader Joe's. Not my favorite place, but they carry frozen swordfish steaks at $7.99/$8.99 lb, which is more than half of the other places. Pay attention, though, and get the ones with minimal bloodline.

I love shark and swordfish, and ya.......haven't really seen it in supermarkets since the 90's.

I figured it went the way of cow tongues, fish with eyes, kidneys, and liver. They have it, but you have to ask.
OR
Heavy metal contamination.
OR
Asians pay top dollar for it and it and that's where it all goes.

Try finding geoduck in Seattle for anything near what it cost 10 years ago.
Gets Fed Exe'd to China at $100/lb.
New found Chinese wealth has tipped the delicacy food market on it's head.

I have two major seafood processors as clients. If they aren't harvesting the stuff nobody is.
I'll ask.

You should be asking Guns4Liberty. Hes the fish sales guy.

Good point. I haven't seen shark steaks since sometime around 2000 at Larry's Market in Kirkland. I always had a hard time finding swordfish in WA state. We actually have it at our local supermarket here pretty frequently.

If in Olympia, Lacey you might want to try heading down to Olympia Seafoods and they might be able to order some for you. Great seafood shop.

Shark is sporadically available on the wholesale market but has largely fallen out of favor with most customers, hence why you rarely see it for sale.
Swordfish is readily available but again has fallen out of favor due to the hysteria over mercury.
Any decent fish shop should be able to order you fresh swordfish, expect to pay about $20/lb.
Geoducks are out there too. We bring in non premium grade ducks to keep the cost down and are able offer them at $15.99 when I can get them.

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Shark in my opinion is better than swordfish. Marinate in teriyaki, and grill friendly fish. It used to be so cheap, and no bones. I just found a place online with a good price $10 per pound, 5lb minimum. Shipping................................$60!

Dogfish is readily available throughout the Puget Sound. MMMMMMM!

Came here to ask what kind of shark?

Normally commercially available shark is mako or thresher.

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Agreed. My experience working for a seafood wholesaler many years back (1989-ish) in SoCal was that it was almost always thresher. IIRC, it mainly has to do with the fact that sharks don't have a normal urinary tract. They basically pee out through their skin. So when filleting/steaking out shark, many people leave a good layer of meat on the skin where the urea is most concentrated. But I see plenty of thresher being sold with the skin on. There is something about threshers that makes them less problematic in this area, though all sharks will have some level of urea in the meat. Handling is important, if you gut/bleed and then chill the fish right after being caught the urea turns to ammonia much more slowly.

After all that, are you still hot to trot for some shark? I am, I love a nice thick shark steak! Good firm texture that's harder than most fish to overcook, and doesn't get mushy as fast. Great prepared in lots of different ways and, IMHO, one of the best for fish tacos. I've even used it (center cut) in some ceviche!

As for where to get it, I think you'll end up having to make a bunch of phone calls to try and find it locally. But you could try Northern Fish on 56th in Tacoma.

Thanks Chip that was great information.

I have seen in the past recommendations to soak/marinade shark steaks in milk as it neutralizes/absorbs the ammonia/urea smells and flavors from the meat.
Have not yet tried this myself though will likely do so next time I try shark
https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20060801160926AAYZh8B

Agreed that shark steaks are great for the grill as their thick, steak-like consistency holds up better to the grill than more delicate fish like salmon, halibut, flounder, red snapper, and even swordfish.

As an aside thought I would post my swordfish recipe since that fish gets an honorable mention in the thread:
- Preheat oven to 400 deg
- Preheat cast iron skillet on stove @ high heat
- Apply light coat of high temp oil to swordfish filet to bind spices
- Coat with dill weed and/or fennel seeds
- Sear in cast iron skillet for 60-90 seconds on high heat
- Flip filet
- Place cast iron skillet in oven for +- 12 minutes depending on filet thickness
- Remove and eat

A word of caution. Swordfish does not keep well. On microwaving it turns to mush. Best to snarf it all down in one sitting

Haggen used to carry swordfish on a semi-regular basis. Not sure if they still do, I haven't looked for it in a while.

I contacted an Oly area fish company, and it seams shark has gone the wayside. I guess the shark fin soup industry has really killed it. Too bad since it used to be so good for a cheap price. Another case of why we can't have nice things.