Happy December fish lovers!

Unbelievably almost, the holiday season is upon us! This means all kinds of things- from decorating outlandish indoor trees, to marathon baking sessions, to procrastinating the inevitable trip to the mall. This means awkward mistletoe moments and even more awkward staff holiday parties. Mostly importantly though-for us-- it also means an opportunity to celebrate friends and family over a delicious local feed of lobster straight out of the frigid Bay of Fundy!!

I'm writing to announce that our Off the Hook CSF fishing members will be bringing a limited amount of fresh, hardshelled lobsters to Halifax for three special dates clustered around the winter holidays! Come find us on December 18th, December 23rd, and/or December 30th at the Halifax Historic Farmer's Market - aka the Brewery Market. We'll be there bright and early with our winter gems all ready for you to pick up.

We are really excited to be able to offer you this special winter treat, along with the assurance of where, when, how and by whom each lobster was caught. And of course, our Off the Hook subscribers and mailing list members will be given first dibs on our lobster offerings. Please show up before 11 am or else we will have to release your lobster for general sale.

IMPORTANT NOTE: This holiday special not going to work like the formal CSF. There is no need to sign up for all three dates and pay in advance. Just let us know which date(s) you would like lobster, along with approximately how many pounds.

Our price will be set at $7 /pound. A portion of the profit from each lobster sold will be returned to Off the Hook Cooperative in order to ensure we have some start up funds to pursue a full community supported fishery program in the spring.

(For wholesale inquiries, we recommend you contact our "cousins" in the business- the Fundy Island Fisherman's Cooperative. They share some members with Off the Hook and are looking to move larger volumes of lobster throughout the season: http://www.fundyislandslobster.com (902) 839 2532 or email [email protected]).

Please do send a note to let us know how much lobster you would like from Off the Hook members this year, and on which dates you would like to come pick it up. We are really looking forward to the chance to see you and wish you and your families happy holidays in person.

Thanks and best fishes,

Sadie  - on behalf of Off the Hook CSF

 

Hello %%user-name%%!

We hope you enjoyed the joys and challenges of  fresh, whole fish from the Bay of Fundy.  Please feel free to share your recipes and experiences at our facebook fan page or on your twitters and blogs!

Thanks to all of you who responded with feedback and enthusiasm about an attending an informal session about history and context of the Bay of Fundy'siinshore bottom hook and line fishery.  We are currently working out a time and location that can work for as many of you as possible- please stay tuned, and we'll have more details in the next week or so.

This is just a quick note to remind you that your second share delivery will be arriving on  Thursday, October 14th.  Fishing member Beau Gillis is currently on the water, catching your share on his fine little 38 foot vessel, the  C-Lover, pictured below.

See below some details about the pickup, including a reminder about what to bring, when and where to show up:

Hello fine subscribers!

First of all, thanks once more for your support of Off the Hook CSF! It was great to see the mix of old and new faces at the Halifax pickup, and a great feeling knowing that our fresh, sustainable fish was being distributed more broadly throughout the valley as well!

We hope everyone had a great time with their first shares of the fall delivery season. We look forward to hearing about your recipes, your challenges and your thoughts at the next pickup, on our facebook page, or by email.

This email is being sent to remind you that- as laid out in the contract- there will be no fish delivery this Thursday, October 7th. Fishing member Beau Gillis has heard the word that there are forecasted to be particulary unruly tides within the Bay of Fundy this week and cannot risk losing more of his fishing gear - or worse, risk his skin.

Weather permitting, we will resume our normal schedule of deliveries next Thursday, October 14th.

Many of you have expressed interest in learning more about some issues in our local  inshore groundfish fishery. Questions like why do the bottom hook and line fishermen have such a small quota as compared to their more industrial dragger cousins? What role does cod bycatch play in the fishery? Why is it illegal for Beau to fillet my fish share for me? I'd like to gauge interest among you in a short informal session where we present a background picture of the fishery and answer some of your burning questions. If you might be interested in attending a session somewhere in downtown Halifax, could you please let me know how likely you might be to attend a> a lunch-and-learn during the noon hour or b> an evening session, say 7-8:30.

Thanks once more and as always,

Best fishes,

Sadie

Hello Off the Hook Subscribers! 

Thanks once again to each of you for signing up with Off the Hook Community Supported Fishery for our fall delivery season!  Sign ups are now closed and we are excited that you are part of  fall cadre of subscribers. We will be starting a waiting list for the next season in the next few weeks, but you founding subscribers will have first dibs.

Your first delivery has been caught in the Bay of Fundy by fishing member Beau Gillis, and  will be ready for you to pick up tomorrow.  See below some details about the first pickup, including a final reminder on what to bring, when and where to show up, and more. Please be extra patient for this first pickup- we'll be working with over 80 of you to ensure this goes as smoothly as possible.

Hi folks!

Hope Cottage is looking for a few volunteers to help dish out their sitdown lunchtime meal featuring Off the Hook CSF fish fillets this October 6th. This is a great opportunity to see what happens to Off the Hook CSF's donated or missed fish shares and learn a little more about food security issues in Halifax and area.

If I weren't going to be away at a conference for Ocean NGOs in Ottawa, I would love to be there myself! Please send me an email and let me know if you will be interested and available to help out from 12-1 on October 6th.

Thanks in advance!

Sadie 

Hello Off the Hook Mailing List members!

Thanks so much for your interest in Off the Hook Community Supported Fishery!  We’re really excited to connect our co-operative of small-scale bottom hook and line fishermen from the Bay of Fundy to sustainable fish lovers in and around Halifax!

I'm writing today to let you know that TODAY(September 27th) IS THE LAST DAY to sign up!! We need to have our numbers finalized by 5 pm so that fishing member Beau Gillis will know how much fish to catch for the next four weeks of deliveries. Now is the time to get in on a share so that our fishermen can be guaranteed a fair price for their catch. Be a part of making a change to our food systems, supporting sustainable fisheries and coastal livelihoods while enjoying the freshest fish this side of the water line!


Thanks so much to all of you who have already completed their sign up! We look forward to seeing you at the pickup spot this Thursday, September 30th!

Find out more details and sign up on our website NOW:  
www.offthehookCSF.ca/members

And don’t hesitate to contact me (Sadie Beaton) with any follow-up questions about getting involved: 442-0999 or [email protected]