Sonia and Shaun Strobel founded Skipper Otto's Community Supported Fishery to help connect conscientious consumers to BC fishermen and their sustainably harvested catch.  Shaun began gillnetting with his father, Otto, at the age of 7. Dismayed at the dwindling independent salmon fishing fleet, Shaun wrote his master’s thesis on the labour history of the BC fishing industry in the late 90’s and subsequently became a high school teacher. Sonia, also a high school teacher, was an avid supporter of the local agricultural food movement and married into the fishing family in 2001. Applying her knowledge of Community Supported Agriculture Programs to fishing, Sonia conceived of the idea for the CSF in 2008 and Skipper Otto’s CSF became one of the first CSFs in the world. In the CSF, members pre-purchase a share in the catch before the fishing season starts, helping fishermen with upfront costs and guaranteeing them a fair price for their catch all year. In exchange, members receive their pick of a variety of types of seafood delivered throughout the season.  The CSF now supports roughly 20 independent fishermen and delivers sustainable local seafood to over 1,500 families in BC, Alberta, and Saskatchewan. In 2015 Skipper Otto's CSF partnered up with The Organic Box to help distribute their fish to a wider market within Northern Alberta. The result of this partnership has been tremendously positive with thousands more people having access to sustainably harvested fish caught off the shores of BC. Without joining the CSF, The Organic Box members have access to high quality Sockeye Salmon filets and Salmon Lox all year round. By signing up for the CSF you gain access to all that Skipper Otto has to offer including all sockeye, chum, pink, coho, and chinook salmon; a variety of candied and smoked salmon products; pacific halibut, lingcod, albacore tuna, and side-stripe prawns. Together we are doing great things for our local fisheries, and our local farms.