Ecuadorean mahi mahi, Icelandic char and New Zealand John Dory. It means the fish is from a vessel that returned to the shore within one day, not several. Fresh can mean fresher and thus a different personality depending on whether the fish sat on the bottom or the top pile of the boat that's been trawling at sea for a week. The more of the process you can control, from the time the fish is pulled out of the water until it lands on the customer's plate, the better. I don't want the fish that's been sitting on the bottom of the boat that left Seattle a week ago.
Operators agree it's worth the effort to find the best fishmongers.
Some 600 to 1,000 pounds of fish are sold daily. You have to do your homework. Platt of the Wheatleigh, which has 80 seats, doesn't have that kind of buying power. If operators want to add cachet to their menu with less common sea creatures, chefs well-schooled in fish recommend not listing them on the menu unless it is printed daily. Abundance and availability change with the weather and seasons.