American Catch - Fishing book recommendation

Just finished American Catch: The Fight For Our Local Seafood by Paul Greenberg (2014).

http://www.amazon.com/American-Catch-Fight-Local-Seafood/dp/1480599069

Enjoyed the book very much (despite its obvious biases).  I was searching for material that explained why food is not produced more proximally to where it is ultimately consumed.  Developed the concern on Xmas eve when I couldn't get into jammed up Costco to buy shortribs and it left me thinking, WTF, I'm going to a warehouse to buy my meat sourced from who the eff knows where - why ain't I going to a neighborhood butcher?!?! 

Catch addresses the question in the seafood context by reviewing history of production of two once great harvests that were heavily relied upon by locals (New York oysters, and Brown Gulf shrimp) and one still great local harvest that is under threat (sockey salmon in Bristol Bay, AK).

Why must sockeye salmon be caught in Alaska, frozen, shipped to Asia, thawed, then processed, re-frozen, then transported back for consumption to the US?   Why is vietnamese catfish ("Basa") the sixth most consumed fish by weight in all the US?  Read and find out . . .

Greenberg argues we have it ass backward, advocating for a community supported fishery whereby local suppliers sell the freshest catch at a premium to local consumers, i.e., at the dock, in "artisanal" fashion.  This eliminates the need for large processers and foreign transport/costs and should ideally increase the quality and freshness of the product.

Catch stops short of suggesting you should go out into local waters and catch the fish you want to eat by your own hand, NCKA-style.  Although that really is the extrapolated conclusion. 

So, I think my resolution is to try and catch, hunt, forage and dig for as much as I can in 2015.  Even might go so far as a "subsistence week" where the only thing consumed is stuff i sourced myself.  Mandatory business meals excepted . . . 

Who's game?

Thanks for posting this. I saw Four Fish a few years ago and put it on my "need to read" list. Looks like I'll add this one too. Moving beyond fisheries, you could argue that our entire food model is ass backwards and we're raising segments of the population that are completely removed from where their food comes from.

Wish more people would have the epiphany described in your first paragraph! When you get used to eating local/seasonal food (or catching it if you're lucky like us), the costco stuff just seems so blah with the baggage of excessive shipping and packaging to boot - especially fish/meats. A lot of the fish in those places is caught overseas with no regulations that would be illegal in our own waters, and a third (!) of that fish is mislabeled as something else, anyway. Not everyone can catch their own fish, of course, but we would all do well to make the trip from farm/sea to fork a little shorter.

This made me think of a Huell Howser show. Where he came here to Taste Pismo clam chowder. The famous Pismo Clam that can't be found here in Pismo Beach. So he asked the restaurant where their Pismo Clams Came from expecting to hear a local name. When the Owner replied New York, It floored Hewell Houser. 

Thanks for the heads up. Gonna grab a copy asap.

We all can't go and harvest all the time.  If you are interested in eating local sustainable seafood regularly but need to supplement your own harvesting I have some suggestions.

Firstly, check out NCKA member Kirk (monkeyface) Lombard's CSA, Seaforger (actually it's a CSS, community supported seafood but so few exist and people are catching on to understanding the CSA model that we will often refer to it as a CSA).
Check it out at http://www.seaforager.com/

Another way to source local seafood is to use the local website fishlineapp.com on your computer or get the free app called FishLine for both android and iOS.
FishLine does not distinguish between catch methods,  so you will have to apply your own judgement as to its sustainability.
Just about every weekend there are commercial fishermen selling their catch directly to the public in Halfmoon bay harbor. You can phone the harbor master to see who is selling what.

Good tips sharky.  CSS/CSA is one of the models discussed in the book.  Apparently ship to table is taking noticeable (but not substantial) market share from the large Gulf processors.  Great to support the mom and pops.

Couple copies of the book available at Oakland public library.  Probably get it on audiobook, too.

http://goo.gl/fBDva9

made me think of these guys right away..love the commercials on my local KRML station where they speak about fresh catch of the week and joining them..although I got fish ---I'm good on fish 

http://www.localcatchmontereybay.com/

also made me think of this book I read almost a decade ago...could not put the book down--a tad depressing ,but, just about anything is now days if you look at it close enough and compare it to how things once were--or could be

great link Martin ..I will look into this book

we should have a ongoing thread just for good books  ...I dig a good book and they are not easy to run into

 " Why is Vietnamese catfish ("Basa") the sixth most consumed fish by weight in all the US?"

I remember about 8-9 years ago when local restaurants here in Sacramento started serving it and making a big deal about how great it is...did a little research at the time and the fish( a bottom feeder) comes from fish farm pens in the Mekong delta. Not one of your cleaner waterways....Decided maybe it wasn't for me...

Thanks for bringing up the book I ordered it too!

Wormguy

Same reason i dont go for foreign sourced tilapia!  I cant believe ppl use it for ceviche 😷

I'd like to plug PG's other book, too.
Four Fish

Almost done with the book  and it is as good as advertised. If you haven't read this You should
read it.
t

Another good read covering the Urchin boom from SoCal to Mendo - Blue Water Gold Rush by Tom Kendrick

+1  Great idea   

I'd recommend, Tales from the fish patrol, by Jack London.
Colby (Toygota), recently loaned me a copy.  A great read of what turn of the century life was like in the SF/SP bay. 

Interesting thread.  +1 for Tales of the Fish Patrol. I had trouble finding a copy so I read it in the reading room at the local Library.