Something’s Fishy Around Here

The raccoons have been having a field day ever since we joined a community-supported fish co-op (like a CSA, but with fish). A CSF (no, really!).

Somehow the raccoons knew about our first pickup even before we brought the trash out that night, which contained the remains of two haddocks I filleted (butchered is more like it, though sharpened knives and lots of practice have since improved my technique by a small fraction). As I made my way in the dark to the trash cans, I could see 20 pairs of glowing eyes in the bushes. “Don’t get too excited,” I said, as I dropped the bag into the barrel and carefully backed away. “It’s mostly just skin.” Then I sprinted inside before they could shake me down.

Late last night, emboldened by the prospect of pollock and three flounders (where do they get their information?), the raccoons and their extended families were all lined up at the picnic table on our well-lit porch, forks in paws, one of them tapping his watch while looking me dead in the eye. Don’t they know I keep all of the good trash for stock?

Cape Ann Fresh Catch has been doing a brisk business since they started selling shares in their CSF earlier this year. After missing the boat this summer, I signed up for a trial run in October through a partnership they were developing with my CSA (cue shot of boats run aground in the fields, lines tangled up in tomatillo plants, another fisherman pulling up a rabbit).

However, the CSF ran into a snafu with the City of Waltham, which doesn’t allow for traveling vendors. I believe “gypsies” was the term the City used. Nice. Anyway, the fish people had to nix the Waltham location and so they tacked me onto the one already underway at Codman Farm, which was met with furious clapping on my part since that meant I could now combine my fish shopping with my bacon shopping. Now I’m just working on the timing of getting to the late afternoon pickup, bringing the fish home, filleting it, and getting dinner on the table before bedtime. Not easy, but the fish is great.

I like the idea of a CSF for many reasons, not least of which is that I’d rather see smaller, local fishing operations, which have a stake in the condition of the regional marine environment and fish stocks, remain in business. Certainly the large corporations or whoever they are (pirates?) conducting their massive ocean-scouring operations don’t really care about dumb things like that.

As a member of a CSF, you and the local fishermen engage in a risk-sharing arrangement. If the weather is bad and conditions are dangerous, they don’t go out. They catch what is running that day instead of chasing down whatever is going to fetch the highest price. Having customers signed up guarantees a market. In return, you the customer get the freshest possible fish for a very good price and the knowledge that you’re supporting the local economy and an industry that has been historically important in this part of the country for centuries. Have you noticed how hard it is to get local fish around here? Surrounded as we are by ocean? Frankly, it makes no sense.

I’m two weeks into my share. So far, so good. I cook some, and put some in the freezer for the winter. Has anyone else joined? And what do you think?

Comments

[twitter.com/tamidon]

How much are you freezing vs. cooking? 1/2...2/3's

[gail]

I participated over the summer, and though it was too much fish for me, I did enjoy the process of filleting and cooking my own fresh fish. Word to the wise - it may not be an issue now that the weather has turned much colder, but any fish remnants in an outside trash can + warm weather + several days before trash pickup = a big, big stinky mess. I found it helpful to keep all the parts in the fridge until the morning of pickups.

[Judy (aka The CSA Hugger)]

I would absolutely do this if it was an option at our CSA. Plus, I'm sure there are raccoons in our neighborhood that would appreciate my generosity as well. :-)

[Husband]

I love the fresh fish. I also love battling the raccoons at 2am in my underwear, armed only with a broom. They are just so darned CUTE with their lobster bibs on, making a mess of the garbage.

[Sarah @ Semi-Sweet]

It sounds great, but I know I'm not woman-enough to clean my own fish . . . . and then there's the small problem of everyone else in the family only liking cod. So a regular CSA works for us, but (bummer) not the CSF.

[cookiecrumb]

"after missing the boat" ... snerk.

[NurseJen]

My Farmboy is an avid fisherman, and we currently have many many pounds of yellowfin, bluefin, bass, trigger, and blackfish in my freezer from this summer. I recently suggested to him that he and his friends (the ones with the boats) team up to do a sort of CSA for fish, having no idea that actually existed. He said "pah, wouldn't work." Now I can shove your blog (so to speak) under his nose and say "PAH yerself -- it would too work!"

[Tammy]

NurseJen: Wow, that's a lot of fish!! So let me get this straight, you get fresh vegetables AND fresh fish from this Farmboy of yours? You're the luckiest girl! As for the fish CSA concept, it's been pretty popular around here for the 9 months it's been around, and seems to be growing.

CC: Yeah, there wasn't going to be any filleting last summer, I'm afraid.

Sarah: I hear the summer CSF was chock full of cod! However, that doesn't help with the filleting thing (they do gut them for you, though).

Husband: Watch out for Old Man Inman. Raccoon batting practice starts at dusk.

Judy: The raccoons will absolutely love you. They will serenade you from the bushes under your window and whimsically decorate your yard with found objects.

Gail: Good idea. Luckily, our fish pick-up is Wednesday and trash pick-up is Friday. But even two days in the summertime would yield disgusting results, I'm sure.

Tamar: I started out freezing half, but now I think I'll freeze two-thirds. The kids love the fish, but we do have trouble eating that much at a time. Might as well spread it out.

[Megan Carroll]

my husband had read about this CSF and it cinched his resolve to move to boston.