1000 To 50

1000 commercial fishing licenses in Michigan to 50 today according to the Environment Report series Swimming Upstream which is investigating why it is so hard to find Great Lakes fish at your local market or restaurant.

GreatLakesWhitefish.com has more on Petersen Fisheries which is featured in the IPR story.

The next episode is about selling fish at the local Farmer's Market and how successful that has been for The Fish Monger's Wife.

So the next steps seems obvious, a CSF.

Community Supported Fisheries act like a CSA and allow you to get your fish directly, without a middleman. It means jobs for commercial fishers and fresh fish for consumers.

The most recent CSF I have read about is Off The Hook CSF in Halifax.

How Milwaukee Gets Fresh Perch

Another successful urban aquaculture story. I really am starting to believe this could work in northern Michigan.

See:
NYT: Fish Farms, With a Side of Greens

WSJ: Fish Are Jumping—Off Assembly Line: Perch, Loved in Milwaukee but Decimated in Lake Michigan, Find New Life in an Old Factory; On the Side: Fresh Produce

[Via GLEcho: Great Lakes aquaponics farm receives recognition from New York Times]

Separate But Equal

The Mississippi basin and Great Lakes are equally wonderful waterways, but I too would like to see them separated. Or turn Chicago back into a swamp instead of a flowing river. After all, the original name was chicagoua which was the word for the wild leeks which grew in the swampy ground there. The Chicago river barely flowed at all. How about turning the whole thing back into a wetland?

Doubtful, but this is hopeful.

See ChiBusiness: Bill calls for study delinking Lake Michigan, Chicago River to stall Asian carp

I was on a fishing charter recently and the sentiment on the boat was overwhelmingly for blocking out Asian carp no matter the cost.

One Person's Experience With A CSF

Via Goodeater: Community Supported Fisheries 2.0: A Personal Take

Urban Aquaponics

- I have been hoping for someone in northern Michigan to start a Community Supported Fishery.

- Chef Eric Patterson of the Cooks' House recently wrote about his efforts with the Grand Traverse Band to source local fish.

- Many organizations are hoping to reap the benefits of small scale Urban Farming like in Detroit (See: Urban farming can succeed in Detroit, panelists say)

- U.S. farmed fish are considered safe and sustainable.

So here's an idea for Traverse City, combine all of these ideas and launch an Urban Fish Farming program. Chicago is considering the idea. See the ChiTrib: Urban fish farming: Will it catch on in Chicago?

If you want to try aquaponics in your backyard Home Depot sells this slick kit: Earth Solutions Little Tokyo Aquaponics Container Gardening without a Tank

Saving Fish With Fish Shares

Community Supported Fishing and City Chickens are the next big things it looks like.

More thoughts on saving fish with fish shares at the NYT: Fish Shares and Sharing Fish

More Community Supported Fishing

Mentioned this idea last March.

The idea is growing. See: Skipper Otto's Wild BC Salmon CSF

How much does it cost & what will I get?
The cost is $250.00/ year. You will receive approximately 35lbs of the best quality whole, fresh and/ or frozen salmon that is available that season direct from the fisherman. This amounts to roughly 7 fish at around 5lbs each (about $7/lb). Most years, you will receive nothing but sockeye salmon; however, if the sockeye runs are poor, you will receive an equivalent value of other salmon.

Via TreeHugger

Removing A Dam In Fort Covington, NY

A dam is being removed in Fort Covington, NY in order to restore the connectivity of the Salmon River to the St. Lawrence River. And the anglers there are very excited about it.

See: NY officials hope removing dam will revive fishing

Community Supported Fishing

A new take on Community Supported Agriculture - Community Supported Fisheries. From the CS Monitor - Small fishermen borrow a page from small farmers

Perhaps this could be a model for preserving the Great Lakes commercial fishery?