Don't you hate it when you write something and get a glitch and it disappears? Bubba, I'm just saying that if you aren't writing a regional cookbook, then you need to deal with the reality most of us have. Buying frozen beats buying thawed any day of the week, and most of what most of us deal with is thawed. Theoretically, I should be able to get trout and perch -- both are seldom seen, and even with a wide variety of friends, no one fishes enough to give/sell. Actually, I think the state has laws against individuals selling various game animals (be it venison or trout) ... a wise move, I suppose. If you're writing to the masses, then you need to understand what most have to deal with. In Hawaii I ate fish fresh off the boat. In New England great shellfish. My favorite Florida treat was rock shrimp. But even when I lived in those places, sometimes the seafood had been frozen on the boats before they ever hit the coast. Your average home cook is buying from their local grocery store, and usually that means something that has been frozen. Don't dismiss them.
By the way, I have a lobster gram coming on Tuesday. I'm so excited. Anyone ever get one? There is only one lobster tank in this area, and I won't buy from them because those poor little suckers look like they should have been thrown back, they're so sluggish. I haven't had lobster since my birthday, and that is one lobster in five years. Puh-leeze let them arrive alive.