greenHaven Features

A Community Supported Fishery for CT

12/31/11

You’ve heard of CSAs, right? Community Supported Agriculture? But what about Community Supported Fisheries? Good idea, huh? Connecticut’s and Long Island Sound’s first CSF was the brain-child of the Thimble Island Oyster Co.’s Brendan Smith and Bun Lai of Miya’s Sushi. Shares for the first season, which ended in October, sold out in a matter of days, so hurry up and grab a subscription for next year!

The CSF functions just like a CSA: You pay an annual fee at the start of the season, investing in the farm’s operating costs, and, in return, receive regular shares of the harvest. The CSF provides monthly shares of shellfish–usually one dozen oysters and two dozen clams–from April through October, with local scallops, mussels, and trout substituted some months, as necessary.

This is the perfect way to support local business and enjoy local, organic, sustainably-produced seafood. For parents, it’s a great opportunity to take a monthly trip out to Stony Creek (pick-up also available at Miya’s in New Haven), see where your dinner came from (and maybe meet the oysterman who harvested it), and, with older kids, talk about the positive impact shellfish farms have on ocean health.

For more information, see www.organicoysters.com/cfa-program/ or contact the CSF at thimbleislandoysters@gmail.com or 203-533-9670.

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