Community Supported Seafood Updates

CSS stands for Community Supported Seafood.

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Summer Salmon – Wild salmon is harvested each year using gillnet, power troll or hand troll gear.  Otolith buys salmon harvested using hand troll, power troll or gillnet gear in Southeast Alaska during the summer and winter fishery.  Otolith’s CSS for Summer Salmon provides 15 lbs. of the 2019 directed harvest of coho, sockeye or king salmon.  Prices vary depending on the salmon species ordered. See Enrollment Form for prices and expected availability. UPDATE:  CSS Summer 2019 harvest salmon are available for distribution.  

Sockeye Cans – Throughout the harvesting season, every year millions of cans of pressure cooked sockeye are canned in Petersburg, Alaska by Icicle Fisheries.  Otolith appreciates this finest caned sockeye available for three reasons. 1) No water or oil added, just pure sockeye and sea salt in each 7.5 oz can, 2) Pressure cooking rather than boiling salmon renders the super nutritious bones and skin delicate as tissue and imperceptible when mashed up together with the fish as for cakes, croquettes, or salad spread allowing our bodies to receive necessary calcium together with Vitamin A to aid its absorption 3)  whole fish cross-section not flakes or small pieces.  Each CSS 2019 Sockeye Can Club Membership provides 5 cases of 6 7.5 oz cans of 2019 wild sockeye salmon.   UPDATE:  Cases may be purchased and are available for delivery NOW! sales@otolithonline.com

Halibut – The directed longline fishery for Halibut in the North Pacific is on and is currently open for fall.  Otolith will buy halibut harvested in either Southeast Alaska or the Gulf of Alaska from vessel(s) permitted to harvest in the IPHC directed longline fishery.  Each CSS for Halibut costs $250 and will provide 10 lbs. of the 2019 directed fall harvest.  CSS 2019 Fall harvest halibut is OPEN for enrollment.  Enrollment Form

Sablefish – Sablefish are caught primarily with longline gear in Alaska; however, the Clarence Strait area has both a season for pot and longline gear. The Aleutian Islands state fishery allows longline, pot, jig, and hand troll gear, and one trawl vessel qualifies for the limited entry program in Prince William Sound. In federal waters, sablefish are primarily caught in directed fisheries on longline gear; however, an increasing trend toward pot gear exists due to whale depredation of sablefish on longline gear. In addition, sablefish are caught as bycatch in trawl fisheries (ADF&G 2012 c).  Otolith will buy sablefish harvested in either Southeast Alaska or the Gulf of Alaska from vessel(s) permitted to harvest using longline fishing gear or pot gear.  Under no circumstances will Otolith buy sablefish that is the result of bycatch from any USA or foreign directed trawl fishery.     Each CSS for Sablefish costs $200 and will provide 10 lbs. of the 2019 directed fall harvest. UPDATE: CSS 2019 Fall  harvest sablefish is OPEN for enrollment.  Enrollment Form

Winter King Crab – Otolith’s king crab will be harvested using pot gear.  There are three species of Alaskan King Crab: Red, Blue and Golden [brown].  Each CSS member enrolled receives 10 lbs of Alaskan Red King Crab. Red King Crab is the sweetest and largest of the 3 king crab species.  UPDATE:  CSS 2019 winter harvest Alaskan King Crab is OPEN for enrollment.  Enrollment Form

Dungeness Crab – Dungeness crab is harvested using pot/trap gear.  Otolith will purchase Dungeness Crab caught in Southeast Alaska .  The Dungeness  season opens in late spring and usually closes in August.  Occasionally, there is an additional Dungeness fishery opening in Southeast Alaska during October.  Each CSS for Dungeness costs $150 and will provide 10 lbs. of the 2019 directed harvest. UPDATE: CSS 2019 Fall harvest dungeness is OPEN for enrollment.  Enrollment Form

Spot Prawns The Southeast Alaskan directed prawn harvest begins in October 2019.  The average size of each spot prawn is 1/20th of a pound or 20 count per pound.   Otolith’s CSS Prawn fall harvest program opens for enrollment in August. UPDATE: CSS 2019 Fall Harvest spot prawn program  is OPEN for enrollment. Enrollment Form

Rockfish – The directed Demersal Shelf Rockfish [DSR] fishery is open from March 15th until it is closed by order of the North Pacific Fisheries Management Council.  Alternative harvests for obtaining Rockfish include bycatch from directed longline Halibut and/or Sablefish fisheries.  Otolith will purchase rockfish from a permitted harvester using conventional longline fishing gear in Southeast Alaska or the Gulf of Alaska.  In the past, rockfish has been harvested  by various vessels for Otolith including the fishing/vessel Sunset owned by Philadelphia’s local fisherman, Murat Aritan.    Each CSS for Rockfish costs $150 and will provide 10 lbs. of the 2019 spring harvest.  UPDATE: CSS 2019 spring harvest rockfish are available for distribution.

Pacific Cod – The directed Pacific Cod season opened and will remain open until further notice.  Alternative harvests for obtaining Pacific Cod include bycatch from Rockfish or other directed groundfish fisheries.  Otolith will purchase pacific cod and other groundfish from [a] permited harvester(s) operating vessel(s) using conventional longline fishing gear in Southeast Alaska or the Gulf of Alaska in either January or February as bycatch from directed rockfish or in January-March as a directed Pacific Cod harvest.  Pacific Cod has been harvested  by various vessels for Otolith including the fishing/vessel Sunset owned by Philadelphia’s local fisherman, Murat Aritan.  UPDATE: There is no current CSS Program available for Pacific Cod.

Smoked Sockeye “Squaw Candy” – At the end of each year when the harvesting is over, sockeye and sablefish are smoked.  Each CSS  Smoked Sockeye and Sablefish are $25/lb and provides 6 lbs of smoked wild fish for $150.  UPDATE: CSS 2019 Smoked Salmon is available online at www.communitysupportedseafood.com and Smoked Sablefish will OPEN soon. Thank you for your patience. Enrollment Form