Hi Folks-

We're on the water today fishing in the Bay of Fundy for this week's catch of Fresh, Fair Fish.  Thanks to those who have already signed up for our fall season. I'll be sending out an email tomorrow with details of this weekend's deliveries.

If you haven't already signed up, there's still time. Go to /how-do-i-get-my-share for more information on the share types and pickup locations, or to subscribe. To get in on this fall's four deliveries, please register by tonight  (Thursday) so we know how many fish to bring this weekend.

Thanks,

Dave

Hi Folks-

Beau is on the water right now, and just landed two halibut. Actually, he landed three, but a seal ate most of one. You can go ahead and order halibut fillets online at /store/just-for-the-halibut. We have 40 lbs to sell, so get your orders in asap. We are happy to include your halibut with your normal share at any of our pickup locations this weekend.

Thanks for sharing your photos of what you've been doing with your fish. Here's a sample of what you sent:

Wow. What a delicious set of photos. Keep them coming- we'll post more next week. The pic of the week goes to Sheila Stevenson for her halibut kabobs. For the recipe she used, click here. Sheila- you can pick up your prize tomorrow!

If you have an alternating share, you'll be getting fillets this week. No filleting required. All pickups are expected to run as scheduled tomorrow. Here's the run down:

Halifax: Saturdays 10 am to 12 noon: Brewery Market 1496 Lower Water St, Halifax. We're in the Lunenburg room, next to Laughing Whale Coffee.The closest door to us is the furthest uphill off of Bishop Street (between Hollis and Lower Water Street). Coordinator: Dave 456-9353.

North End Halifax: Saturdays 10:30-12 pm 2705 Fern Lane, Hfx. (Ecology Action Centre) Guest Coordinator:  James 403-8909.

Wolfville Area: Saturdays 8-10 am Just Us! Coffee House Parking Lot: 11865 Highway 1 Grand Pre (Just off Exit 10 from Hwy 101). Coordinators:  Mark & Jenna  cell: 670-7747 and landline:542-2776.

Tantallon:  Saturdays  10:30-12 noon. Mariposa Picnic Area, 5229 St Margarets Bay Rd, Tant. Coordinators: Ron & Joan 852-2425

Bedford: Saturdays 10:30-12:30 pm.  59 Douglas Drive (Basinview Subdivision) Coordinator:Sandra 293-8046.

Dartmouth: Saturdays 10-11:30 am. 34 Russell St. (near the MacDonald Bridge). Coordinator: Brenda- 404-4481

Lower Prospect: Saturdays 4-7 pm East Coast Outfitters 2017 Lower Prospect Road. Coordinators: ECO 852-2567

Tatamagouche: Saturdays 6-7 pm Bonnyman House, 317 Main Street. Coordinators: Angus (956-3629) and Jackie  (902-324-2584).

The Islands: Saturdays- delivered. This pickup is coordinated by Jenny and Beau Gillis. 839-2003.

Musquodoboit Harbour Sundays from 9 to 11 at the Farmers' Market. Coordinator: Cath

Have a great long weekend, everybody. And thanks for supporting Off the Hook!

Dave

Hey folks-

We just got word that Beau did infact land a halibut today! Sorry for the short notice, but if you'd like some super fresh halibut tomorrow (and you get this message in time), you can pre-order it by following this link:

/store/just-for-the-halibut

mmmm....halibut.

-Dave

Hi Folks-

The sun is finally out in Nova Scotia, and we are busy getting ready for the fishing season. Weekly deliveries of our fresh, sustainably harvested fish will begin on Saturday, July 13. We will be doing an 8 week long summer season, and will follow with a 4 week season in the fall. We have coordinated deliveries in the following communities:

Halifax: Saturdays 10 am to 12 noon: Brewery Market 1496 Lower Water St, Halifax

North End Halifax: Saturdays 10:30-12 am 2705 Fern Lane, Hfx. (Ecology Action Centre)

Wolfville Area: Saturdays 8-10 am Just Us! Coffee House Parking Lot: 11865 Highway 1 Grand Pre (Just off Exit 10 from Hwy 101)

Tantallon:  Saturdays  10:30-12 noon. Mariposa Picnic Area, 5229 St Margarets Bay Rd, Tant.

Bedford: Saturdays 10:30-12:30.  59 Douglas Drive (Basinview Subdivision)

Dartmouth: Saturdays 10-11:30 am. 34 Russell St. (near the MacDonald Bridge).

Lower Prospect: Saturdays 4-7 pm East Coast Outfitters 2017 Lower Prospect Road.

Tatamagouche: Saturdays 4:30-5:30 Bonnyman House, Tatamagouche.

Musquodoboit Harbour Sundays from 9 to 11.at the Farmers’ Market

Truro: 4 to 5 on Saturday afternoons. Pickup location TBD

SE New Brunswick: Saturdays 6-7 pm 199 Casey Rd., Notre Dame New Brunswick

Amherst: Saturdays 4:30-6, Side By Each Farm, Amherst

The Islands (Brier Island/Long Island): Saturdays

This season, we are offering both whole fish and fillet options in several different share sizes. We are also looking forward to bringing in special catches from small scale producers like mackerel, clams, squid, and of course our own halibut when we land one!

For details on our share types and our pickup locations, please visit our website or here. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact us at [email protected], or by phone at 902-442-0999. Also, if you would like to set up a pick-up spot in your community, please get in touch!

Thank you for supporting Off the Hook. We're looking forward to a long season of Fresh, Fair, Fish.

-Dave

Hi Folks-

Off the Hook will be winding down the fall CSF season in two weeks, but before we do, we're offering an opportunity to order fish in any quantity you want for a one time delivery. We call it Fillet Fest.  It's great time to stock up on fish to freeze for the winter after our weekly deliveries have ended.

Our star fisherman Beau Gillis is fishing down on Brown's Bank right now, and will return late tonight with fish. Please get your orders in by NOON FRIDAY in order to be included in this weekend's delivery.  The fish will be delivered to all of our Off the Hook pickup locations (listed below) at the normally scheduled times. If you are already signed up for this fall's CSF deliveries, and you don't want to order extra fish, you don't need to do anything. You will still get your fish this weekend as scheduled.

To order fish for Fillet Fest, follow this link: /store/fillet-fest-2012, or click here. You can order fillets in one or five pound increments, or you can order whole fish.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Dave


Off the Hook Pickups: Fall 2012:

Halifax: Saturdays 10 am to 12 noon: Brewery Market 1496 Lower Water St, Halifax.

North End Halifax: Saturdays 10:15-12 am 2705 Fern Lane, Hfx. (Ecology Action Centre)

Wolfville Area: Saturdays 8-10 am Just Us! Coffee House Parking Lot: 11865 Highway 1 Grand Pre (Just off Exit 10 from Hwy 101)

Tantallon:  Saturdays  10:30-12 noon. Mariposa Picnic Area, 5229 St Margarets Bay Rd, Tant.

Bedford: Saturdays 12:30-2:30 pm.  59 Douglass Drive (Basinview Subdivision)

Dartmouth: Saturdays 10-12 am. 34 Russell St.

Lower Prospect: Saturdays 2-6 pm East Coast Outfitters 2017 Lower Prospect Road.

Tatamagouche: Saturdays 5-6. Home Hardware Parking lot, Tatamagouche.

The Islands:  Saturdays. This pickup is coordinated by Jenny and Beau Gillis.

Truro: Saturdays 3-4 pm. 23, Burnyeat St, Truro.

Musquodoboit Harbour: Sundays 10-12 am. Musquodoboit Harbour Farmers' Market.

Hi Folks-

Beau was back on the water in the Bay of Fundy this week and did a great job catching all of the fish for tomorrow's CSF delivery, as well as the Seafood Throwdown we are hosting as part of the Tall Ship Festival on the Halifax waterfront. Film-maker Kevin Moynihan was on the boat with him yesterday and sent us some screen grabs from his footage:

Tommorrow's CSF Deliveries

All deliveries are expected to run on time tomorrow- thanks to everyone for being patient with last week's late deliveries at some of our pickup spots. If you signed up for an alternating share of whole fish/fillets, tomorrow is a fillet day, so plan accordingly. As a reminder, here are your pickup details:

Halifax: Saturdays 10 am to 12 noon: Brewery Market 1496 Lower Water St, Halifax. Contact: Dave 456-9353

North End Halifax: Saturdays 10-12 am 2705 Fern Lane, Hfx. (Ecology Action Centre) Contact Heather: 449-7640

Wolfville Area: Saturdays 8-10 am Just Us! Coffee House Parking Lot: 11865 Highway 1 Grand Pre (Just off Exit 10 from Hwy 101) Contact: Carla and Justin today 691-7066

Tantallon:  Saturdays  10:30-12 noon. Mariposa Picnic Area, 5229 St Margarets Bay Rd, Tant. Contact: Ron or Joan 852-2425

Bedford: Saturdays 10-12 am.  59 Douglass Drive (Basinview Subdivision) Contact: Sandra 469-0719

Dartmouth: Saturdays 10-12 am. 34 Russell St. (near the MacDonald Bridge). Contact: Brenda 404-4481

Lower Prospect: Saturdays 2-6 pm East Coast Outfitters 2017 Lower Prospect Road. Contact ECO: 852-2567

***Note: Lower Prospect fish will be at 5 pm tomorrow

Tatamagouche: Saturdays 5-6. Home Hardware Parking lot, Tatamagouche. Contact: Jackie 324-2584

The Islands:  Saturdays. This pickup is coordinated by Jenny and Beau Gillis. Contact: Jenny 839-2003

Truro: Saturdays 3-4 pm. 23, Burnyeat St, Truro. Contact: Mike 956-8299

Musquodoboit Harbour: Sundays 10-12 am. Musquodoboit Harbour Farmers' Market. Contact Kelty: 220-9114

Off the Hook Seafood Throwdown!

If you happen to be on the Halifax waterfront tomorrow for Tall Ships, come see us at the Select NS/Catch Seafood festival Culinary Stage between 11:30 and 12:30 for the Off the Hook Seafood Throwdown.

What's a Seafood Throwdown? Good question.

Seafood Throwdowns were pioneered by the Northwest Atlantic Marine Alliance (www.namanet.org). A Throwdown promotes local, sustainable small scale fishing and farming by pitting two local chefs against each other on stage in front of a crowd. The chefs (Renee Lavallee and Colin Stone) will be presented with a mystery fish caught by Off the Hook, and given 20 minutes to shop at the Brewery Market with $30 each. hen they'll head to the stage and prepare a dish for our judges (Stephanie Johns from the Coast, and Lia Rinaldo from the Atlantic Film Festival, and one Peoples' Judge chosen from the crowd). They'll hit the market shortley after 11, and they'll head for the stage at 11:30. We'll be live tweeting from the event at #SeafoodThrowdown. The event is free, and there will be tasty samples of Off the Hook haddock afterwards. If you're in the area, come to the Throwdown!

Enjoy the fish tomorrow, and thanks for supporting Off the Hook.

Dave

.

Hello!

It's finally officially summer, and we are gearing up for a great season of Off the Hook. All of our fishermen were busy fishing for lobster over the winter, but are switching over to groundfish now. We will begin our weekly deliveries of fresh, sustainably harvested groundfish during the first week of July.

We will be switching our main delivery days to Saturday this season, in order to make parking and traffic less of an issue. The main Halifax pickup will be at the Historic Farmers' Market (the same place as last year), from 10-12 on Saturday mornings starting July 7. Other deliveries have also been organized in:

Tantallon
Bedford
Dartmouth
North End Halifax (at the Ecology Action Centre)
Wolfville
Lower Prospect
Musqudoboit Harbour Farmers' Market (Sundays)

If you are interested in organizing a delivery in your community, please get in touch with me. We need 10 subscribers at each delivery location to make it work.

Sign-up will be available on line soon (as soon as we work out some of the kinks). I'll send out another notice when the sign-up goes live, which will include share options and pickup details.

Beau is on the water today fishing for halibut. You can see a picture he just sent on our facebook page. As a special way to kick off the fishing season, Beau will be bringing halibut with him this Saturday (June 23) to Halifax. You can pre-order halibut steaks, fillets, or whole fish online through our website. To order, CLICK HERE. The fish can be picked up on Saturday morning from 10-12 at the Brewery Market (in the same room we were in last year- off of the lower courtyard). Please place your orders by noon on Friday so he know how much fish to bring.

Let me know if you have any questions, and thanks for supporting Off the Hook.

-Dave

Click here, just for the Halibut.

Hi Everyone-

On Friday afternoon we learned that Off the Hook was named as one of two runners up in National Geographic's "Solution Search" contest. There were 103 entries from all over the world, and we are really honoured to have been named as one of the top three.

Thanks to everyone for your continued support, and for spreading the word about Off the Hook. As one of the runners up, we win a $5000 grant to go towards our work, and a trip to Washington D.C. to meet with key stakeholders in international fisheries management. In addition to the grant and the trip we hope that the exposure we get through this contest will encourage more fishing communities to get involved, and more people to start asking where their seafood comes from, who harvested it, and how.

Again, thank you for supporting small scale sustainable fishing.

-Off the Hook

Happy Holidays everyone!

Holiday Lobster

Orlie and his crew left the wharf before dawn this morning to catch lobster for tomorrow's  delivery. He'll call in for a final count at noon today, so if you are planning to order lobster for Christmas Eve, please place your order by then. You can order online by clicking here. Lobsters are $10 each (they will be about 1 1/2 pounds each), and can be picked up at the Brewery Market on Saturday (the 24th) between 11 am and 1 pm.  Lobster will also be available on New Year's Eve. If you need any tips on how to handle or cook your lobster, please don't hesitate to ask. If you have a cooler, please bring it to the market.

Off the Hook Gift Certificates

We have had several inquiries about buying Off the Hook subscriptions as gifts for friends, neighbors, and family. You can now buy gift certificates online by clicking here. Certificates are good towards any Off the Hook subscription or special catch such as lobster, halibut or mackerel. Haddock, Cod & Hake subscriptions will be available as early as February, depending on how the lobster season goes! You can pay online with any credit card through paypal. Once we receive your order, we will email you a gift certificate that you can print out or email to a friend- just in time for Christmas.

"Turning the Tide for Coastal Fisheries"

We are really excited to have been named North America's only finalist in National Geographic's global contest aimed at finding innovative, community based solutions to overfishing. The winner will be decided by an online vote- and if we win, we get $20,000 to continue our work, and a chance to meet with key fisheries stakeholders and international policy makers at National Geographic's headquarters in Washington D.C. If you have already voted, then THANK YOU. If you haven't yet- you only have 1 more day to vote! To vote, click here. Voting is a little tricky- for step by step instructions, click here.

Thank you

Finally, we wanted to thank you for your continued support and interest in Off the Hook. We know that buying your fish from a super market may be cheaper and more convenient, but by buying your fish through Off the Hook, you are supporting coastal communities and the environment by ensuring that fishing families earn a fair wage for fishing sustainably. We look forward to bringing fresh, fair fish to more communities in the new year, and continuing to raise awareness about sustainable seafood. Happy Holidays, from our families to yours.

                The Thurbers                                 The Hudsons                           The Gillises

            The Dixons

Hi Folks-

We are pleased to announce that fresh, live, hard-shell lobster caught by Off the Hook will be available this holiday season. There will be two delivery dates: Christmas Eve (Dec. 24) and New Year's Eve (Dec. 31). Both deliveries will be at the Halifax Brewery Market from 11 am to 1 pm in the lower courtyard (the same area where we parked the truck for the fish pickups). Lobsters are $10 each, and average 1 1/2 pounds each. Lobster must be ordered in advance so we know how many to bring. You can pay by cash, cheque, or credit card (through Paypal). To order, click here.

If weather prevents us from safely getting out on the water and making the Christmas Eve delivery, we will deliver your lobster the following week (on New Year's Eve). If the New Year's Eve delivery is cancelled, we will refund your order. By buying lobster through Off the Hook, you are insuring that the people who catch your lobster get a fair price for their catch. A portion of the proceeds go to the habitat stewardship and fisheries conservation efforts of Off the Hook.

We need to sell at least 500 lobsters to make this work, so please spread the word! Thank you for supporting Off the Hook.

Happy Holidays,

Dave