Smoked over beech chippings, fried in butter, or baked in pastry made with beer: freshly caught fish in all it's variations.

The holiday state is favourably located right next to the sea and also has more than two thousand lakes in its interior, so freshly caught fish - pulled straight out of the water from one of the numerous fishing reserves and cooked over an open campfire yourself, freshly bought from a cutter or served up in one of the many fish restaurants scattered across the state – is sure to make holidaymakers hearts leap for joy.

Herring, trigger fish and Baltic whitefish are just some of the regional specialities.
Every spring, when the shoals of herring begin blazing their trail along the coast, the open season for fishermen and anglers starts. On the Islands of Usedom and Rügen and also in the Hanseatic town of Wismar, this signals the start of the Herring Weeks. Many of the state's restaurants offer gourmets and interested guests the "Silver of the Sea" in a variety of different dishes.

For about three weeks in May, after the herring season, trigger fish becomes the centre of attention in the fisherman's calendar. This predator fish typically has green fish bones, creating a visually spectacular fish dish. The Baltic whitefish is another, albeit lesser known local speciality and owes its German name of Ostseeschnäpel to its beak-shaped mouth. With its pale pink flesh, this culinary rarity is also known as stone salmon.

Many harbours in the state offer fresh fish rolls and freshly-caught, mild, pickled Stralsund Bismarck herrings, a treat no tourist should miss.