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Community Seafood
updated: Jan 12, 2013, 10:00 AM

Do you want easy access to FRESH, LOCAL SEAFOOD directly from your Santa Barbara fishermen? You're in luck! Community Seafood is gearing up to start it's 3rd season. Never heard of us? We're a grassroots program aimed at connecting the SB community with your local fishermen by providing you weekly shares of amazing seafood! Our 1st and 2nd season customers got a taste of the Santa Barbara Channel with King Salmon, Halibut, Black Cod, Swordfish, White Seabass, Rockfish, Black Gill, Mussels, Spiny Lobster...and so much more!

Local, sustainably-caught seafood is not easy to find in stores in Santa Barbara. The local seafood counters are stocked with foreign products that may or may not be harvested sustainably or labeled truthfully. This is not good for the fishermen, the environment or the public.

The majority of the seafood harvested in Santa Barbara is bought by seafood processors and distributors operating out of Los Angeles. This leads to a 90% exportation rate of the seafood landed in Santa Barbara Harbor. With few options for direct marketing, our fishermen often get poor wholesale prices and have to respond to unpredictable foreign markets.

Community Seafood uses a CSA-based model to help promote local retention of seafood harvested in the Santa Barbara channel. We provide the Santa Barbara community greater access to all of the delicious, local, sustainable seafood caught responsibly right here, while supporting and recognizing the value of our local fishing community!

Being a fishermen is more than a full time job! The majority of fishermen don't have the time, energy, or resources to market their seafood directly. By cutting out the "middle men," Community Seafood is able to transfer the financial benefits directly to the fishermen, while providing locally caught seafood to the consumer at or below market value!

Because most of our seafood leaves town, our community is largely unaware of how desirable our local seafood is and how much better it is for the environment compared with buying imported seafood. California fishing regulations are some of the most environmentally stringent and progressive in the world. But these limits make it hard to make a profit fishing here. We want to actively create the means to provide support for our fishing industry to ensure its heritage and the continued access to local seafood into the future.

Our Goals: