Community-supported fisheries programs are catching on

Wednesday, September 16, 2009
By Laine Welch | Capital City Weekly

Programs that dole out catch shares of fish are a hot button issue in the
fishing industry, but here's one that everyone likes.

Community-supported fisheries programs (CSFs) sell catch shares to
customers, entitling them to weekly or bi-weekly deliveries of a wide
variety of locally caught fish and shellfish. The concept is modeled after
"buy local" agriculture programs that have popped up all over the country.
CSFs are already active throughout New England, but the concept has yet to
head west.

"It's a very new concept for seafood, but people are already used to hearing
about supporting their local farmers, so supporting their fishermen and
women is just an extension of that. We call them 'mobile markets.' It's
really catching on," said Jason Horay, Health Education Manager at Duke
University in North Carolina.

Duke is home to the nation's newest CSF called "Walking Fish," which is set
to distribute its first 350 pounds of pre-sold seafood to customers this
week. Full shares provide between 3-5 pounds of mixed fish; half-shares
include 1-3 pounds per week. Prices range from $70 to $420, depending on
preparation and delivery frequency. The pilot project aims to sell 1,000
pounds of local fish and shellfish over 12 weeks, and repeat in the spring.
"We want to prove to ourselves, the fishermen and the consumers that this is
something that has long-term potential," said Josh Stoll, an environmental
management student and organizer of Walking Fish. "We're trying to build off
of existing infrastructure but also increase the price points for the
fishermen."

Most CSFs so far are operated by fishing groups (a church group runs one in
Maine), with close connections to local harvesters. That was a critical link
that Walking Fish lacked.

In March Stoll turned to veterans at Carteret Catch, a trade group that
promotes North Carolina's 400 year old fishing heritage. Nearly half of the
states' seafood comes from Carteret County.

"We had access to the market, resources and funding, but no knowledge of the
fisheries or community members that need to be involved," Stoll said. "It
turns out they're asking the same questions: How do we market our seafood?
How do we sustain local communities? Our missions really overlapped."
Carteret Catch rallied its network of fishermen and other seafood experts,
and Walking Fish got underway.

"You need a place, as in a fish house or inspected facility to ensure
quality control, and you need people to take orders and get them ready to go
out, and transportation that maintains the quality of the seafood to the
customer," said Carteret Catch president and former fisherman Pam Morris.
"It's not something that one or two people get together and make it happen.
It's very complicated. But the ones I've seen work pretty well.
Morris said CSF surveys show that supporting their local fishing industry
ranks No. 1 among consumers.

"People like supporting the community and they want the fishing industry to
survive as part of their heritage and their culture. This gives them a way
to do it, and they are proud of it," she said. "They also want quality, they
want to know where their seafood comes from, and that it's a local product
that has not been treated with chemicals and all the other things they hear
about. Those are the top reasons they want to buy into CSFs."

The community supported projects also provide customers a voice in their
food choices.

"The consumer rarely has a seat when it comes to regulatory concerns,"
Morris added. "You never hear about just the regular old person who likes to
eat seafood. You're always hearing from every other group out there except
the consumer."

CSFs also educate people about the seasonal nature of seafood, Morris said,
and bring the "true story" to consumers.

"People have forgotten where their food comes from," she said. "And they are
spoon-fed so much propaganda and misinformation about the commercial fishing
industry. We can help dispel that directly."

"Buying direct from local sources also brings in more income for producers,
and helps promote more sustainable fishing practices," Josh Stoll added.
As Walking Fish gets its legs, he said the goal is to replicate the project
in other communities.

"The goals are simple: to foster economic opportunities, to cultivate
healthy communities and to encourage good stewardship," Stoll said. "We want
to help support fishermen in any way we can and we really believe the
consumer has a role in that."

Pam Morris believes Walking Fish projects pay another dividend that goes
beyond the bottom line.

"It tells the fishermen that you're a valuable person - that you're valuable
to the economy, and to culture of the area. That's an added benefit," she
said.

Walking Fish is funded by DukeFish, a chapter of the American Fisheries
Society, and the university's Sustainability Office. www.walking-fish.org