Michelle Rose Community Supported Fishery

Michelle Rose Community Supported Fishery(CSF) offers fresh caught West Coast salmon and prawns by direct fair trade between fishermen and consumer. CSF members get the highest quality seafood produced on the west coast at prices that are fair to both members and fishermen. My name is Guy Johnston. I have been a fisherman for over 30 years. I fish by trap for prawns and shrimp, and use hook and line to catch salmon, all low impact fishing methods. Members buy a share of the year’s catch before the season. A share is made up of shellfish (prawns and shrimp) and various species of salmon or a combination of shellfish and salmon. Members pick-up their seafood at either Cowichan Bay or Brentwood Bay - shellfish early summer, salmon late summer. All our catch is certified sustainable and best choice by the Vancouver Aquarium’s Ocean Wise program. It is frozen at sea at the time of capture, meeting the highest level of quality - the sushi standard. Prawns and shrimp are packaged in 1 lb lots immersed in salt water and frozen. The Salmon is dressed and frozen and then glazed in chilled sea water for the freshest taste. You can enjoy your fish when it best suits you. Community Supported Fisheries Support Small, Sustainable, Local Fishing Operations: Many smaller fishing operations have been pushed out of the fishery over the past 15-20 years. The consolidation of markets and the influx of farmed fish have kept prices low, in some cases back to where they were 20 years ago. Add to this the effects of climate change on fish habitat and high seas feeding grounds and the spread of farmed fish diseases, and we are seeing wide spread hardship in the small boat fleet. Yet it is the smaller, long-term, independent fishermen who care most about ocean stewardship and maintaining a healthy and sustainable fishery. A CSF is one way for me, as an independent fisherman, to remain viable, feed my family and reduce the carbon footprint of my catch. I can sell direct at a fair market price.