Skipper Otto
A Leader In Quality
And Sustainability.
Sonia and Shaun Strobel created Canada’s first Community Supported Fishery in 2008 to support small-scale, independent fishing families in coastal and Indigenous communities. Since then, Skipper Otto has grown into a nationwide leader for seafood system reform, and the best source of high-quality, fisher-direct seafood found in Canadian waters.
From Our Family To Yours
Skipper Otto was founded because Shaun’s dad, Otto, wanted to be paid a fair price for his catch and to be connected to other seafood lovers. As members told their friends, demand for their high-quality seafood grew. Shaun returned to fishing and now, Sonia and Shaun’s two sons, Oliver and Lyndon are the third generation of Strobel fishers. The Strobels are one of the more than 45 fishing families that feed thousands of families across Canada each year.
Woman-Led Organization
From her beginnings as a high school teacher and long-time participant in Community Supported Agriculture, Sonia set out to find a unique solution to the challenges she saw. To support small-scale fishers in their way of life, and ensure home cooks could buy wild and sustainably caught seafood. Today, as CEO, she leads the charge in our movement to build an alternative to the conventional industrial seafood system.
Meet Sonia
What Is A Community
Supported Fishery?
A Community Supported Fishery (CSF) brings people together around a shared desire to protect marine ecosystems while enjoying the ocean’s bounty. To thrive, community-based fishers need access to informed, local markets and fair pay for their work. And, seafood lovers who want the best quality and taste deserve an equitable food system anchored in sustainability and transparency. With a CSF, the direct connections between fishers and seafood lovers achieve these tangible benefits for people and the planet.
Our Community Partners
Our community partners are the vital link between Skipper Otto and our members. As our pick-up locations throughout Canada, these hard-working folks distribute orders year-round. If you’re interested in becoming a community partner, please get in touch with us to learn more.
Meet the Team
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Sonia Strobel headshot Sonia Strobel
Co-Founder and CEO
Sonia married into the Strobel family in 2001 and quickly became involved in helping connect Otto’s sustainably harvested seafood with friends and family in Vancouver. She worked in a variety of community-based organizations, non-profits, and as a high school teacher for many years, striving for social and environmental justice. Sonia has been a member of Community Supported Agriculture programs since the early 90’s and brought her knowledge of CSA’s to the family fishery, first conceiving of the idea for the CSF in 2008.
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Shaun Strobel headshot Shaun Strobel
Co-founder and Lead Fisherman
Shaun is Skipper Otto’s son, who began fishing with his father when he was just 7 years old. In addition to fishing, Shaun selects and maintains solid relationships with other fishermen and navigates the complex logistics of getting fish from the hands of our fishermen to the hands of our members. Dismayed at the dwindling salmon fishing fleet in the wake of the big business Seine fleet and fish farms, Shaun wrote an M.A. thesis at SFU on the labour history of fishing in BC. Shaun was a high school Social Studies teacher for many years, taught SCUBA diving, and is a technical diver.
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Chris Kantowicz headshot Chris Kantowicz
Chief Operating Officer
Chris has spent his career growing businesses that support environmental, social and cultural missions. He first worked with Skipper Otto in 2014 as their business coach at the Sauder School of Business’ Centre for Social Innovation & Impact Investing. Chris has an MBA from the Sauder School of Business at UBC and genuinely enjoys all his strategic business planning and financial management responsibilities.
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Allison Hepworth headshot Allison Hepworth
Marketing Manager
Allison has spent much of her career supporting the growth of small businesses. Her educational background includes degrees in English, Fine Arts and Secondary Education, as well as marketing at BCIT, which provides a solid foundation to support Skipper Otto's mission and help the CSF model grow. Passionate about connecting like-minded people with the sustainable bounty that farms, wineries and fisheries provide in BC and beyond, she is excited to share this with all of our Skipper Otto communities. Life outside of the 'dock' finds Allison spending time with her husband and young son, exploring the outdoors or museum exhibits together with family and friends.
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Aaron Clark headshot Aaron Clark
Facility and IT Manager
Aaron has been a Skipper Otto member for many years and loves being a part of this food community. Aaron has a background in music composition, engineering and producing, as well as technology & systems. His diverse skillset, ability to learn quickly, and his can-do attitude make him a great asset to the Skipper Otto team
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Alexa MacEwan headshot Alexa MacEwan
Operations Manager
Alexa first learned about Skipper Otto while involved in various food systems initiatives during her time at UBC. In combining her passion for food, conservation, nutrition (and travel!) she then moved abroad completing a MSc focusing in Fish Nutrition in Scotland. When she’s not talking about fish, she’s probably thinking about what she’s going to make for dinner, taking care of someone's dog or just spending time outdoors.
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Chantal McFarlane headshot Chantal McFarlane
Member Services Manager
Chantal grew up in Ontario and earned a BSc with a Major in Marine Biology and Minor in Psychology from Dalhousie University. Passionate about ocean conservation and fisheries science, when she isn't helping out members, she plunges into the cold Pacific ocean as an avid Scuba Diver and Divemaster. She loves exploring the nature of BC through snowboarding, rock-climbing, and hiking, or camping out of the van she built. She is enthusiastic about joining the Skipper Otto team and helping you connect to your sustainable fishing community!
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Christa Ovenell headshot Christa Ovenell
Community Partnerships Manager
A proud Skipper Otto member from nearly the very beginning, Christa can be found on the trucks, at the wharf, and in head office supporting our Community Partners. She’s also a licensed Funeral Director & Embalmer, and an end-of-life doula on a mission to help support, guide and educate people through the one part of life we all experience eventually.
Join Our Team
Skipper Otto is a great place to work! We are a certified Living Wage Employer, a Certified B Corporation™, and we value our people, communities, and environmental and social justice. We have a strong, supportive team with a growth mindset and a culture of positivity, creative problem solving, collaboration, and fun.
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