A unique fishing movement

When we founded Skipper Otto Community Supported Fishery (CSF) in 2008, we were simultaneously one of the first CSFs in the world. We didn’t know about one another, but independently, fishing communities across North America were beginning to think about new ways to reconnect fishing families directly to consumers.

Our values

The principles that guide us

The value statements outlined below were developed in collaboration with Community Supported Fisheries across North America through the Localcatch.org network as we attempt to better define our movement. We use these values as guiding principles for making everyday decisions at Skipper Otto.

Community-based fisheries

Community-based fisheries enhance the social, ecological, and cultural fabric of our coastal communities. At the heart of community-based fisheries are community-based fishers who live and work in the communities where they fish. They are typically independent, owner-operators*, and are inherently committed to the long-term health of the marine ecosystem. Seafood supply chains and policies should foster and strengthen community-based fisheries.

Fair access

Community-based fisheries cannot survive without equitable access** to the ocean commons. Fisheries access should be kept affordable, available to future generations, and connected to the communities where they are fished. The ocean and its resources should be held in public trust and not privatized.

Fair price

Paying a fair price to harvesters, processors, and shore-side businesses helps support local economies and increases the quality of life for all those whose hands touch our fish. Community-based seafood should be available and affordable for all communities, and must be balanced against the needs and limits of the ocean as well as harvester's ability to sustain a livelihood with dignity and joy. Paying a fair price is also based on a conservation ethic where fishers are able to attain higher value for lower volume of catch, which places less pressure on the fish stocks.

Eating with the ecosystem

Eating with the ecosystem means matching our seafood consumption to the rhythms of nature and place. It means celebrating and respecting a region’s marine biodiversity by harvesting a diversity of seafood and respecting the unique seasonality of every species and fishery. It means appreciating the ocean as a complex ecological system and engaging and educating consumers to enable them to become conscious consumers of the ocean’s food production capacity.

Traceable and simple supply chains

Traceable and simple supply chains promote trust and a more direct relationship between fishing families, the public, consumers, retailers, wholesalers, managers and chefs. More direct and simple supply chains help maximize value to the harvester and consumer. Information on who, how, where, and when a fish was caught, processed and distributed should be readily available to consumers. We encourage all seafood consumers to try local first.

Catch and handle with honor

From boat to fork, strict levels of quality control and safe handling practices ensure that we honour the fish, its life, and its role in our food system. This also means minimizing waste by using the whole animal as much as possible, and educating consumers about how to make use of and care for the whole fish.

Community and ecosystem based fisheries management

Fisheries management is key for maintaining sustainable fish stocks and livelihoods. Management should be bottom-up, ecosystem-based, and foster collaboration between fishers, scientists, policy makers, and the broader public. Management should combat illegal fishing, consolidation, and privatization. Management should also address non-fishing impacts that threaten the health of our fisheries, such as climate change, ocean acidification, and pollution.

Honoring the ocean

Seafood connects and incentivizes the broader public to care for marine ecosystems. By eating seafood and knowing who, what, when, and how a fish was caught, the public is taking the health of wild fisheries, coastal communities and the ocean into its own hands. Not only is the commitment to healthier marine ecosystems crucial, but it is also a moral imperative that ensures future generations will inherit a clean and healthy ocean.

Creativity and collaboration

Building a better seafood system requires innovation, creativity, and thinking outside the box. It also requires that innovative ideas are not isolated but rather spread through a network of diverse stakeholders working together, aligning around shared values, and acting. Creativity and networking fosters knowledge sharing, collective understanding, and mentorship needed to build a better future.

*Owner-operators are holders of fishing rights (through licenses or other legal means) who also operate the vessel fishing, thus ensuring a direct connection between fisheries resources and the fisherman.

**Access refers to two distinct concepts. The first is related to access to fishing rights for community-based fishermen. Due to regulations (e.g. area closures and privatization), non-fishing impacts (e.g. climate change and pollution), and development (e.g. working waterfront displacement and development) access for community-based fishermen is constantly threatened. Access also refers to food access. Skipper Otto’s and The LocalCatch network stand for seafood suppliers who want to ensure that their high-quality seafood is made available whenever possible to regions and communities that face challenges associated with food security.


CSFs are on the rise

Since 2008, dozens of CSFs have sprung up across North America and around the world. We believe this work is critical for supporting healthy fisheries and the communities that depend on them, all over the world. We are proud to be part of advancing this movement most actively through our volunteer work at Localcatch.org.

For more information about this organization, go to https://localcatch.org/

Together, we can increase community support for fishing families and sustainably sourced fish.

Join the community

Tara

Member since 2018

"I grew up on the west coast, daughter of an independent processor in the Alaskan fisheries. When I moved to Toronto 6 years ago I'd have my parents ship seafood to me from BC. So glad we have easier access to sustainable fisheries! "