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A Leap of Faith: Community Supported Fisheries from Eric C Smith on Vimeo.

Hooked on CSFs!

In the aftermath of the 2005 Indian Ocean tsunami, NAMA and Clean Catch launched a fundraising & relief effort to help Sri Lankan fishermen. This story tells of the fishing communities' struggle to rebuild their lives in the midst of their country's transitions.

No word that Bobby Flay will show up, but organizers have put together an Ultimate Seafood Throwdown between two local chefs.

Chris DeStefano of Christopher's Table and Ray Morley, selectman and proprietor of Ipswich Bed and Breakfast, will match culinary skills in a cook-off, sponsored by the Cape Ann Fresh Catch community-supported fishing and Northwest Atlantic Marine Alliance.

Food makers across the country have taken the idea of a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) program and run with it.

There are thousands of traditional fruit and vegetable CSA programs in the United States (go to LocalHarvest to find one in your neighborhood). Generally, consumers sign-up in the winter months for a “share” of a local farmer’s harvest come spring and summer. This ensures that farmers get cash for repairs, seeds, supplies, and tools when they need it most: in the barren, vegetable-less winter months when they have no regular income. Doing sign-ups in the cold months also allows farmers to make a better guess of the demand for their product and how much they should plant.

Cape Ann Fresh Catch is a Community Supported Fishery — CSF for short — based in Gloucester that has eight drop-off points in the Boston area.

The drop at Harvard’s farmers market is the largest. For a fee, CSF members receive fresh fish every week for 12 weeks. The fish are caught that day, weather depending, and packaged by weight for each member.

A similar agriculture model has been around for decades; farmers sell portions of their harvest directly to people who take it home and prepare it for dinner. Now fishermen are getting in on the act, selling their fresh fish to people who pay in advance for a share of the catch.

The project is good for fishermen, consumers and the fish supply, said Niaz Dorry, who heads the Northwest Atlantic Marine Alliance and helped spearhead the program. By selling a mix of fish at the same price every week, fishermen aren’t forced to chase fish that are fetching the highest price on the market that week. It also gives the fish more time to reproduce, she said.

"...Beyond fruits and vegetables, Cape Ann Fresh Catch, a community-supported fishery operating out of Gloucester, makes weekly Saturday morning stops at Appleton Farms to deliver shares of haddock, cod, flounder, sole, and sometimes clams and lobsters. By taking a mix of species at a set cost, the fishermen are able to work areas that are not stressed by the rest of the fleet, which often chases catches that are dictated by daily market prices. The program gives species and ecosystems time to recover and replenish..."

Commercial Fisherman of America hold annual meeting in Gloucester, MA to determine national agenda.

Go — now! — to sign up for Cape Ann Fresh Catch - a collaboration of shore-side residents and the local fishing community. Members give the fishing community financial support in advance of the season, and in turn the fishermen provide a weekly share of seafood during the harvesting season to shareholders — just like a regular ole CSA.

Community-supported fisheries deliver the freshest catch to consumers. They could also be a boon for a troubled industry.

Washington Post
1/14/09
Here's the Catch
The best idea to help small fisheries might come from your local vegetable farm.

Commercial Fisheries News
November 2007
NAMA enters new era; begins leader search

SACO, ME – The Northwest Atlantic Marine Alliance (NAMA),
founded on the premise that everyone deserves a seat at the table, is
about to undergo a revolutionary change.

Gloucester Times
Neighbors square off at Seafood Throwdown

Gloucester Daily Times
9/10/08
More chefs, more competition

Environment Maine Press Release
04-07-08
Save Our Seafood
MAINE CHEFS, FISHERMEN, AND CONSERVATION GROUPS JOIN
TO CELEBRATE LOCAL SEAFOOD AND PROTECT MAINE’S FISHING
HERITAGE

Village Soup, Knox County Times Reporter
2/29/2008

Commercial Fisheries News
November 2007
Groundfish course leads Pendleton to move on

SACO, ME – June 21, 2007 turned out to be a fateful day in Craig
Pendleton’s life. That was when the New England Fishery
Management Council voted to stop developing an area management
alternative as part of groundfish Amendment 16.

Ellsworth American
October 18, 2007
Lawyers Aid Groundfishermen in Protecting Depleted Fish Stocks
ELLSWORTH — For more than a decade, Roger Fleming led the Conservation Law Foundation’s legal push to force federal fisheries regulators to restrict the efforts of New England’s
groundfish industry in order to rebuild the region’s depleted stock of fish such as cod and haddock

Village Soup Citizen
10/17/07
Maine Groundfish Groups Petition Federal Government

Bangor Daily News
10/12/07

Commercial Fisheries News
September 2007
Port Clyde draggermen establish new co-op
PORT CLYDE, ME – The picturesque Midcoast Maine town of
Port Clyde is in the national spotlight these days, not just because
of the health of summer resident Supreme Court Chief Justice John
Roberts, but due to some exciting changes for the local fishing
industry.

Village Soup Times
8/29/07
Dinner to benefit Port Clyde fishermen's group

Free Press
8/9/07
Fishing for the Future: film at the Strand

Sun Journal
4/24/07
Legislators Consider Aid for Maine Fishermen

Free Press
3/29/07
Marine Matters: One View of Loss

Portland (ME) Press Herald
DATE: 03−19−2007
Fred Viola of South Portland unloads the fishing boat Elizabeth's hold Wednesday at the
Portland Fish Pier. The New England Fishery Management Council is looking at three
competing strategies to protect fish stocks.

Free Press
New Approaches to Management of Groundfishery Discussed at Maine Fishermen’s Forum

Ellsworth American
Fishing Industry is Split over Lobster Dragging Bill

Commercial Fisheries News
March 2007
Fishermen sound off over VMS problems