Keeping Afloat: Why Supporting Small, Local Commercial Fishermen is Important [Video]

Shared from food. curated.

Meet Phil Karlin, the founder and commercial fisherman behind PE & DD Seafood in Riverhead, Long Island. Phil's passion is fishing. A passion you can only really understand if you've spent as much time on the water as he has. I met up with Phil a couple weeks ago to learn all about small, family-owned commercial fishing operations in the New York area. For 7 hours, I watched as Phil and his grandson Carl dragged for fish in the Long Island Sound. It's a lot of manual labor for a 2-man operation...a lot of nets, gear, fish sorting, fish gutting and fish packing while exposing yourself to whatever elements Mother Nature decides to bring that day. Luckily, I had 60-degree weather, a light breeze, and sunshine (in early December no less!!).

PE & DD Seafood is one of a handful of local seafood companies that sell their catch to customers at the NYC Greenmarkets, supplying a variety of fin fish, lobsters, shellfish and conch. By supporting local fishermen, you can help keep these hard-working, small family-run fishing businesses alive; in addition, you are also supporting a form or fishing that Phil believes does minimal damage to the environment.

So I hope you enjoy this intimate peek into the life of Phil Karlin. It's fascinating to see how fish are harvested on these small boats and the types of seafood coming into season in the Northeast. Unfortunately, striped bass season has come to an end (December 15th), but now's a good time to start looking for local lobster, bluefish, butterfish, squid, fluke, herring, porgies and sea robins. Hope you come pay them a visit!

PE & DD Seafood's NYC Greenmarket Stands:

* MONDAYS & SATURDAYS: Union Square Greenmarket
* SATURDAYS: Abingdon Square Greenmarket (on Hudson & W 11th St.)

Thanks for watching food. curated. Happy Eating!

 

Follow Liza de Guia on Twitter: www.twitter.com/SkeeterNYC

Comments

[bigfishingshop]

03:34 PM on 01/02/2011

Great story Liza! One way for the public to help local fisheries is a Community Supported Fisheries Program. Here is an excellent example of how this can be done:
(from the New Hampshire Sustainable Marine Fisheries blog)

"A growing interest in fresh, local seafood has brought about community supported fishery (CSF) initiatives to the Seacoast and the N.H. Fresh and Local seafood brand. Modeled after community supported agriculture, a CSF is a shore-side community of people collaborating with local fishermen to buy fish or seafood directly for a predetermined length of time. CSF shareholders give the fishermen financial support and then receive a weekly share of seafood caught during the season."
http://extension.unh.edu/news/2010/12/fishing_expedition_sea_grant_e.html

I think that this is an excellent program, and would love to see more like it in all coastal cities and towns. Too many people just sit back and rely on the local and federal government to take care of everything, and then complain when things don't go so well. Supporting your local fishermen benefits everyone in the community one way or another, and all persons who are able should do so.

[Daniel R Cobb]

12:02 PM on 12/21/2010

This is a great story and video. Buying local, whether it's fish, or seasonal fruit and vegetables, connects us with the health and richness of our local environment, as well as our neighbors. It cuts down on food transportation costs, (producing less CO2) and teaches our kids that good life and healthy eating doesn't start exclusively at the supermarket.

[GustavoRejivik]

05:13 PM on 12/19/2010

Half the World is entombed in Ice while this News site reports on Local Fisherman and a baby Rhino.

The real story here is how much of the World is experiencing a severe bitter cold, unseasonably cold temperatures so early in the year ... negating any warmer temperature records that built up early in the year ...

The "Gore Effect" is in full force !!

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1339149/Big-freeze-Temperatures-plummet-10C-bringing-travel-chaos-Britain.html

[Dave Harrison]

05:04 PM on 12/18/2010

If you really want to do a story about the small fishermen come to Chatham on Cape Cod and go out with a long liner or gill netter. I can even introduce you to many of the local fishermen as I was the welder for most of the fleet for over 10 years. BTW the best Chowda is here on the Cape! ;-)

[Lael Sara Caplan Hazan]

08:30 AM on 12/17/2010

Beautiful video and it is lovely to see working fishermen doing what they enjoy best. Eating local helps everyone. On the Gulf Coast, our fish industry has been hit extremely hard both by the economy and the perception of problems due to the BP oil spill. http://bit.ly/fm2eiK

[skeeternyc]

07:18 PM on 12/17/2010

Thanks so much for watching my story Lael. :) Yeah, I really wanted to see for myself how smaller fishing operations worked. Truly eye-opening to be out on the water with them. Hope you share this story further. Thanks for your link!

[MyFoodThoughts]

08:23 AM on 12/17/2010

In Boston, my husband and I are involved with Cape Ann Fresh Catch, which is a Community Supported Fishery that delivers to a number of locations in the area. Each week we get locally sourced, freshly caught fish that is some of the best I've ever had.

[skeeternyc]

07:19 PM on 12/17/2010

Sound interesting. There is something similar to that here in NYC, Port Clyde Fishery? Nothing like fresh local fish and getting to know your fishermen! BTW - where is the best chowder in Boston?