Captain Richard Cook of The Local Catch with a Mahi Mahi

When I go to the farmers market, I expect to see lots of vegetables and some meat, and maybe some dairy or speciality items at the bigger ones.

As the local food scene has picked up momentum, though, I’ve started seeing some pretty interesting local food options. I thought I’d seen everything: a brick oven pizza stand, gastronomic cookies with flavors like black pepper, a grain supplier, and even a local wool seller. The Westport, CT market has become a one-stop shop rivaling the grocery stores, but all local.

But when I walked into the Westport Farmers Market this past November, however, I was taken by surprise to see a fishmonger selling locally caught seafood. I was interested to learn more about their story. After all, I’ve managed to get almost my entire diet locally, but the way seafood is normally handled makes it especially difficult to source locally, even for those living near a coastline.

Homegrown Fish

Local and seafood are not words that most people associate in their heads. Normally, fishing boats sell their catch to wholesalers, who then transport it to big auction sites, where it gets redistributed all across the world. Often, it ends up right back where it started, but much worse for wear in terms of freshness and quality. Obviously, this is ridiculous, but like so many practices in the food industry, it is designed to make as much money for the middlemen as possible.

There are viable fisheries near the New England shoreline, however, right next to the people that would be happy to buy fish.

Captain Richard Cook, founder of The Local Catch, saw a need for local seafood distribution and sought to fill it by providing a way to sell his catch to buyers in nearby states, close to where he caught it in the first place. The Local Catch provides a market for other Rhode Island fisherman as well, so they are trailblazing a whole new take on seafood: “While we at The Local Catch cannot significantly alter the amount of fuel needed to catch and land a fish, we can reduce the amount of fuel that is spent getting the fish to market – by marketing our catch locally, instead of selling it to wholesalers who ship it to other states and countries.”

Not Just Farming in Water

The logistics of a fishing operation are very different from those of a farm. For example, Sarah Shumann, an employee of The Local Catch, told me, “[We] Have to maintain a variety for the customers, or else we can’t make a go of it.” To solve this dilemma, Local Catch is actually a little like a fisherman’s co-op, bringing together catches from a number of boats along the East Coast.

Locally Caught Lobster

The Local Catch’s boat, the Sandra Lynn, generally doesn’t have the time to range very far for their fish, so they actually fish just off shore of Rhode Island, bringing in “lobster, crabs, flounder, striped bass, seabass, scup, tautog, and whatever happens to be in season.” They work with a variety of other boats to ensure a good variety for their customers. Captain Dean of the Oceana provides cod, monkifish, and bluefish; Captain Brian of the Ashley Ann provides, lobsters and crabs; Captain James of the James and Matthew provides groundfish, scallops, and squid; Captain Troy of the Debbie Sue and Captain Steve of the Margaret Holly provide squid, John Dory, swordfish, and lobsters. Partnerships with Salt Pond Oysters and Ocean State Shellfish Co-op help them provide oysters and clams, rounding out their selection far beyond what you’d expect from a single boat.

Of course, one of reasons most people eat local is the sustainability aspect, so how sustainable is local fishing compared to the conventional sources? Here again, fishing is a very different animal from land farming. explained that, “sustainability is determined by councils at the state level or the federal level.” There are strict limits placed on how many fish you can bring in, the kind of equipment you can use, and the areas you can go. The fishing boat has much less flexibility than the farmer. They just bring in what they can catch, as long as its within stewardship laws (for more information on the kinds and origins of fish you can buy to promote sustainable fishing, check out the Marine Stewardship Council’s website). That said, buying from local operations means that fuel usage is minimized and your are guaranteed the freshest possible seafood. Buying local also keeps business local, which is another good reason to buy local.

The Dying Fish Markets

When the Markets Fail, TLC delivers

Sarah noted that, for some reason, a lot of small fish markets have been folding in recent years. The Local Catch does the majority of their business in Providence, but noticed that the only place to get really good seafood was Whole Foods, and that was not necessarily local. “We saw this opening for local seafood and went for it.”

I, for one, am glad they did. I love seafood, and when I went local, it was the one thing I could never find at the market.

The Local Catch actually models themselves on many other local food providers: in addition to their market stalls and their direct relationship with restaurants, they even have a community-supported fishery (CSF) program where you can subscribe to receive fish shares, just like a CSA.

Of course, if you live any distance from a coast, you’re out of luck, but then again, going local meant giving up California strawberries, too (except for you lucky Californians), so that’s just par for the course for locavores. You eat what your land can provide, and are rewarded with fresher, tastier, more nutritious food that doesn’t leave a carbon footprint the size of a semi-truck.

Or, if you’re close enough, you eat what your ocean can provide, too.

To learn more abou The Local Catch, check out their website, or stop by one of the markets where they have a stall.