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Caitlin “Caity” Townsend sat in a shaft of sunlight and turned over a lichen-colored, plastic knife handle imprinted with the word “Waterhaul.”
The five-inch object was created from recycled fishing gear and represents the strength and tradition of commercial fisheries as well as its sustainable future – like Townsend herself.
As I landed in the Kona airport, I was curious about what made Hawai’i such a special place for aquaculture. So special that the Builders’ Initiative (an offshoot of the Walton Family Foundation) paid all the expenses for two dozen participants to spend four days in Hawai’i on an educational site visit organized by Meridian Institute and Ocean Strategies. Participants came from around the country, representing commercial fishing, recreational fishing, environmental groups, native Hawaiians, and the aquaculture industry.
Thank you, Julia Child.
When John Our first started fishing with his dad Jack, they used to throw monkfish overboard. Then, in the 1980s, Julia Child started cooking so-called poor man’s lobster and sales took off.
“She made monkfish very popular, and it really helped the fleet,” said Our.
If “jumbo shrimp” is an oxymoron, what is “very small shrimp”?
Whatever you call it, shrimp with the Latin name pandalus borealis, or Arctic shrimp, is big with flavor and eye appeal.
This crustacean does not come from the warm Gulf of Mexico or the coasts of our Southeastern states. Neither is it “farm raised” like cousins tiger and brown shrimp. Arctic shrimp are exactly what they sound like, a creature of the cold and dark waters of northern oceans.
Blue Ocean Mariculture is the nation’s first commercial farm to raise fish in the open ocean. They accomplished this through close communication with local fishermen to select mutually agreeable species and location.. The local commercial fishermen are supportive of farming kanpachi, since it means one of their favorite fishes is back on the menu.
When we launched our “Small Boats Big Taste” program soon after COVID struck, we had clear goals but no idea if we could realize them:
Help independent small-boat fishermen and the fishing industry navigate past the pandemic’s new barriers.
Feed growing numbers of people facing food insecurity that comes when money shrinks.
Build local demand for local fish and keep it going and growing after start-up philanthropic support ends.
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