Looking Back on 2019 with Skipper Otto
NewsIt’s been a spectacular year here at Skipper Otto for our 10th anniversary season! As fishing wraps up for the season, I find myself looking back on 2019 with enormous pride at all we accomplished this year and over the past decade. Thank you for being part of this incredible ground-swell of support for BC’s […]
by Sonia Strobel
It’s been a spectacular year here at Skipper Otto for our 10th anniversary season! As fishing wraps up for the season, I find myself looking back on 2019 with enormous pride at all we accomplished this year and over the past decade. Thank you for being part of this incredible ground-swell of support for BC’s fishing families and their traditional way of life in our coastal communities.
10th Anniversary Celebrations & Community Events
Our 10th anniversary season kicked off with a beautiful gala at Waterview and featured creations from Chefs Ned Bell and Stewart Boyles, carried out by the team at Culinary Capers. In July, we hosted our largest-ever annual salmon BBQ at the False Creek Fishermen’s Wharf. Both events were filled with amazing Skipper Otto seafood, and even better company. Huge thanks to all our volunteers, our staff, and all of our members for making these events such a huge display of community.
Social Change
This year, your pre-fishing-season member dollars had a huge impact on our fishing families! You provided Scott and Karen the upfront dollars they desperately needed for upgrades to their boat and gear to ensure they could get out fishing again this year. The stability you gave Doug over the last 3 years meant he was able to secure long-term halibut quotas and was able to get the gear to now experiment with fishing for sablefish. Growth in our number of members meant we were able to welcome aboard new fisherman, Darin Chung and Gordie Johnson. You came to the rescue when your prawners Scott and Karen were in danger of losing their shirts when their other buyer dropped their prawn price in half. You provided a stable price for Bruce and Pilar’s tuna when the rest of the industry was all over the place. You also gave them access to our shared processing and cold storage so that they could sell some of their catch into their local food Co-op at home on Quadra Island. These are just a few of the examples of the real, tangible ways that our membership model is making life better for fishing families on BCs coast.
What’s New for 2020
In 2020, we will be welcoming aboard members in several new communities: Nanaimo, Salt Spring Island, Ottawa, and Hamilton! Because of rapidly growing demand, we are expanding frequency of pick-ups in Toronto from 4 times a year to 6 times a year.
We’re excited to be working with local indigenous fishing communities to help support their commercial fisheries in 2020 and beyond. We’ll be travelling this winter to enjoy some much-needed face-to-face time with our fishing families, to hear more from them about how Skipper Otto can support them and their work. And we continue our ground-breaking work with the Steveston Harbour Authority and the Musqueam Band toward our shared vision for a Community Seafood Facility in Steveston.
None of this incredible social and environmental work would be possible without the support of our members. Ten great seasons of Skipper Otto have proven beyond a doubt that the Community Supported Fishery model works.
Sign-up for 2020 is now open and we’d love to have you aboard!
Join now and you’ll enjoy our lowest membership rates as well as the chance to win some great prizes.