A Fisherman’s Perspective: Catch Shares

Ben Platt, commercial salmon fisherman based out of Fort Bragg, CA, wrote to the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), a large supporter of “catch shares”, also referred to as Individual Take Quotas (ITQs) or Individual Fishing Quotas (IFQs), providing his own take on them. Visit News & Events to see what he wrote.

Fisherman Ben Platt (left) with fellow fisherman and Sara Randall

The Trouble with Farmed Salmon

IFR has been working diligently since its inception to ensure that California remain free of open ocean aquaculture that is unhealthy to our oceans, our fisheries, and ourselves. Find out more about our Wildfish Coalition.

IFR is pleased to showcase Vancouver, B.C. based Watershed Watch’s animation Wild Salmon in Trouble. The video clarifies why sea lice are a problem for wild salmon and provides an overview of the salmon life cycle so the public can make informed decisions regarding the seafood they purchase. Wild Salmon in Trouble is illustrated from the perspective of migrating wild salmon before and after the advent of salmon farming. It highlights the fact that even low numbers of sea lice on individual farmed salmon can translate to large numbers of sea lice being released into the nursery grounds of wild salmon. The video also emphasizes the fact that although sea lice are a natural part of ocean ecosystems, sea lice from salmon farms are unnatural and may cause serious problems for juvenile wild salmon.

The animation is based on published, peer-reviewed scientific research and foreshadows an unknown future for coastal ecosystems and communities if something isn’t done to protect wild salmon from farm-derived sea lice.

Slow Food Nation 2008

The first Slow Food Nation meeting was held Labor Day weekend (August 29 - September 1) in San Francisco. Over 60,000 people converged on San Francisco to celebrate and consume good, clean, and fair food. The Institute for Fisheries Resources, along with Commercial Fishermen of America, have been working with the Slow Food planning committee to ensure that fishermens’ role in our country’s food system was included in the discussion. The weekend offered many opportunities for learning about food and food systems, which ranged from tasting workshops, educational panels, a marketplace, Victory Garden feasts, tours of different “foodsheds”, a concert, and a huge Taste Pavilion experience.

Read more about IFR’s involvement with Slow Food Nation in News & Events.

People that made the Hayes St. Grill Slow Food dinner possible

Local and Seasonal Seafood Program!

Confused about where to buy fresh local seafood?

Looking to include local & seasonal seafood into your diet?

Curious about local California fisheries?

With the success of the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch Program, more consumers are conscientious of what seafood to eat. But choosing good quality seafood goes far beyond just choosing from the Green List. Consumers must also consider what their local seafood is and when it is in season.

The Local & Seasonal Seafood© Program has created a database for the public to connect seafood consumers with local fisheries and fishermen. The Program summarizes when different local seafood is in season for nine coastal regions in California. Additionally, the Program lists fishermen that sell off their boats, at farmers’ markets, or directly to restaurants.

By providing this information simply and clearly, consumers can make better informed decisions about where to buy high quality seafood. Through such transactions consumers are also able to support local fishing communities and reimburse the fishermen more accurately for their costs.

To learn how to buy local & seasonal seafood in California, click here.

Looking for Sublegals?

IFR and PCFFA (Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations) publishes a weekly newsletter highlighting worldwide fish and ocean news. You can sign up to receive the weekly newsletter via email by emailing sublegals@ifrfish.org.