Fish share!

My veggie farm forwarded this message on to me. It looks like a great way to get quality fish at a good price. I would really like to participate, but with the meat and veggies, it's too much food! I would like to know how to clean fish better, and it's great that they teach you a class.

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Cape Ann Fresh Catch (CAFC), a Community Supported Fishery program, or CSF, is a collaboration of shore-side residents and the local fishing community. CSF members give the fishing community financial support in advance of the season, and in turn the fishermen provide a weekly share of seafood during the harvesting season to shareholders. A CSF reconnects people to the ocean that sustains them and builds a rewarding relationship between fishermen and shareholders.

*WHY SMALL AND LOCAL? *

There is an essential quality to seafood that you only get when it’s harvested locally and delivered to you just hours out of the ocean. Our small family-owned boats enable us to pay attention to the way fish is caught and to focus on strengthening our local food community, economy, and the sustainability of the ecosystem. The long-term health and abundance of the Gulf of Maine are important to all of us.

Cape Ann Fresh Catch (CAFC) will deliver a variety of the freshest haddock, cod, flounder, hake, dabs, grey sole, monkfish, Pollock, and redfish – and possibly other seafood such as clams, lobsters and scallops. In traditional markets fishermen are forced to chase whatever species is fetching the highest price that week. By taking a mix off these species at the same price week-to-week (about $3/lb), fishermen are able to fish areas that are not stressed by the rest of the fleet, and give species and ecosystems time to recover and replenish.

This cooperative system also keeps fishermen safer because they don’t have to fight the weather to go offshore for a certain species; if the weather is dangerous, they can stay close to shore and catch only what the CSF needs that week. At the same time, shareholders are guaranteed the freshest, highest quality fish caught. The fish caught for the CSF will never be old or frozen, and it will always come from fishermen who believe in working with the ocean and the community.

*WHAT WILL YOU GET?*

The fish will be dressed (cleaned and gutted, NOT filleted), and packed on ice. There will be a FREE DEMONSTRATION OF THE ART OF FILLETING YOUR FISH AND HOW TO COOK WITH WHOLE FISH AT THE START OF THE SEASON!

- A 12-week subscription to our summer CSF will start in early June
- Instructions and recipes on cooking with whole fish
- Half share of whole fish: 4-6 lbs per week
- Full share of whole fish: 8-12 lbs per week

Full shares are $360, half shares are $180 (roughly $3 per pound)