Back in September, San Diego Coastkeeper partnered with the National Geographic Society to put on a community workshop about current ocean issues in Southern California. As a follow-up to that event, Coastkeeper facilitated a National Geographic grant program to support projects that carried the messages of the workshop to the public.

Two Coastkeeper staff members, Catie Fyfe of Birch Aquarium and Al Barret, Coastkeeper all-star volunteer, collected and reviewed proposals for many different projects throughout Southern California relating to ocean recreation and conservation.  We selected five awardees whose projects relate to the workshop and also align with Coastkeeper’s mission to protect and restore fishable, swimmable, drinkable waters.  This was not an easy task – I’m used to being the one applying for funds!

Grant Awardees are:

• WiLDCOAST – Education and outreach for marine protected areas (MPAs) to 200 K-12 students in the communities around south San Diego Bay.
• Agua Hedionda Lagoon Foundation – Educational field trips for 1,050 3rd grade students as part of the “Watersheds and Wetlands” component of The Environmental Stewardship school program.
• Santa Barbara Channelkeeper – Facilitating understanding, awareness and compliance with the provisions of new southern California MPAs through Spanish translations of existing outreach maps and materials.
• Tyler Stern and Lindsay Bonito – Implementing a La Jolla kayak industry training session for recreation professionals in the La Jolla Shores area in order to create awareness and comprehensive understanding of facts regarding the La Jolla Ecological reserve.
• USC Wrigley Institute for Environmental Studies – Taking 20 select participants to the Wrigley Marine Science Center on Catalina Island to learn about MPAs, scuba diving, indicator species and the impact of human activity on the coastal habitat, and developing educational materials to expand outreach to the broader public.

Coastkeeper held a reception on Monday to honor awardees, which included a talk by Shannon Switzer, a National Geographic Young Explorer who uses photography to promote ocean awareness and conservation. We were honored to host Shannon and grant awardees in celebration of their hard work to protect our ocean. Keep up the good work!

You missed out if you did not attend Signs of the Tide last night. We had a packed house of informative speakers and engaged audience members who all wanted to know--how do I buy sustainable seafood in San Diego? We have a full event recap coming soon, but San Diego Coastkeeper promised to share this list of San Diego-based seafood retailers and restaurants that we compiled in conjunction with Slow Food Urban San Diego (like them on facebook). Remember, this is not an exhaustive list.

Remember what we said--do your research, ask questions, know your priorities and ask more questions. We do not promise that all of these businesses only buy from San Diego fisherman or only sell fish from San Diego's waters. We also do not promise that all of the fish they sell meet safe harvesting practices. But, we do know that this starting place will get you in the right direction so that you can begin asking for and supporting the use of local fish caught sustainably by local fishermen.

Also, like our friends at San Diego Fisherman's Working Group on facebook. That's how you can keep in touch with Pete Halmay and get updates on his progress in developing a way to buy fish directly from San Diego's fishermen at the docks.

Big thanks to all of our speakers Dr. Russ Vettner, Chef Chad White, Fisherman Pete Halmay and Maritime Alliance President Michael Jones.

And please weigh in--where do you find your local sustainable fish in San Diego?

What can you Do?

1. Select Sustainable: Get educated about the solutions to the global issue of depleting fish populations--choose the a sustainable fish caught with sustainable practices. You can download the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch Guide or smart phone app. You can also look for the blue Marine Stewardship Council certification on seafood available in stores. This label carries products from fisheries assessed by the Council as originating from a sustainable fishery, which allows gives consumers to identify and purchase seafood from well-managed sources. As an educated consumer, remember to ask questions when you visit a retailer or restaurant.

2. Buy Local Fish: Remember to ask where your fish is from. Seafood that is caught outside of San Diego must be shipped long distances to reach our plates. This requires large amounts of fuel, which releases many pollutants into the air that harm our environment. Seafood that is caught or raised in San Diego spends far less time in transit; giving consumers a product that has a smaller carbon footprint and helps our local economy. Knowing where fishermen catch your seafood enables you to choose healthy options of the freshest and highest quality seafood. Thinking local ensures that local fishing communities can compete with large national and international processors and maintain traditional coastal communities.

3. Support Local Fishermen: San Diego has a fleet of small-scale, owner-operated boats that target well-managed fish populations. By supporting local fishermen, you'll preserve the environment and strengthen your community by investing your food dollars close to home. Buying local is this easy: find a fish merchant or retailer that purchases fish primarily from fishermen who practice sustainable fishing techniques in local waters and eat at local restaurants that have an environmentally conscious philosophy. The small additional cost of a locally caught fish is a wise investment in our ocean’s and our region’s future. Soon you will also be able to buy directly from fishermen, on the docks and at farmer’s markets.

Many moons ago, I had this fabulous idea to put together a website resource to help residents find local, sustainable seafood in San Diego. That shouldn't be hard, right? 

Wrong. 

Several iterations later, we're still defining "sustainable" and trying to break down what that means here in San Diego. Even though I use the word in a ton of our communications, I've come to realize that the word "sustainable" is one I'd like to drop like those last five pounds.  

What does it mean anyway?  

You can ask five different people and get five different answers. It's a buzz word that embodies all things Earth friendly, but everyone's definition of what's good for the planet differs, right? You may drive a Prius and feel good about reducing your carbon footprint. But I ride a bike because I don't think a hybrid is enough. But my neighbor works from home. Who's right? In some degree, we all are. We are all making steps to reduce our impact. 

Surely "local" is easier to define. But as it turns out, some fishermen consider "local" to be what's caught in Baja, but that seems pretty far to me. 

A few weeks ago, I went to the OB Farmers market to pick up my CSA from Suzie's Farm and buy fruit from Smit Orchards, when I happened to walk by Poppa's Fresh Fish. I remember reading about this booth on Yelp and salivating at the reviews of this guy's fish sandwiches. And then I saw that he also sold fresh fish fillets.  

So I decided to ask questions.  

Maybe I got lucky, but I randomly asked the owner of Poppa's Fresh Fish, Mark, and he's been a wealth of knowledge. And patience. My favorite part of our conversations and emails about what sustainable and local seafood means to him and to me is that he keeps encouraging me to ask questions. And he gives me the straight shootin' answer. I've learned that we don't always agree on what is sustainable or local, but he helps me find fish that meets my needs and that's important.

Here are few things that I've learned from him: 

1) I wanted fish caught hook & line, but the only two fishermen he buys from that do this are currently taking advantage of lobster season, and therefore not fishing.

2) He warned me about deep set fish & line, which means it's one line but it holds several short lines shooting off of it, which produces a lot of bycatch (this means catching fish that you didn't intend to catch).

3) He has a guy that will butterfly net a fish, which means he dives into the water with a net and will scoop up one fish. It's more expensive to buy fish this way, but guarantees zero bycatch and local waters.

4) Sea urchins seem popular right now. And when he serves them from his booth, they are still moving. (Ok, we didn't discuss this, but I did watch it happen.) I hear sea urchin tastes great, and they currently have  healthy population numbers.

5) If I email him a few days in advance, he'll save me a side of fish, which costs less because it requires less work on his end. This deal makes it easier for a budget-sensitive shopper to make the best decision on purchasing local, sustainable fish. 

We hope to publish our sustainable seafood in San Diego guide soon. Your input is valuable: what do you consider local, sustainable seafood? 

(c) Hugh Ryono

Last week, I attended National Geographic's Marine Recreation Workshop at Scripps Seaside Forum. The workshop brought together some of Southern California's top business owners, professionals and employees in the marine recreation community. People traveled from as far as Santa Barbara to listen to presentations on current ocean issues. Presenters included experts from Birch Aquarium, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, I Love A Clean San Diego, the Pacific Marine Mammal Center, the Pfleger Institute of Environmental Research and our very own Alicia Glassco of San Diego Coastkeeper. At the end of the event, National Geographic announced a grant program for any business or organization having to do with  the ocean, intended for projects relating to some of the topics discussed at the event (for more information on the grant program, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ). Here are highlights from the presentation.

• Water Quality - Issues and Causes: Inland actions are directly related to our ocean through watersheds. These watersheds carry pollution such as yard clippings, pet waste, fertilizers and pesticides, chemicals, trash and motor oil. Prevention of our ocean happens inland. Click here to learn about ways you can help minimize pollution and join us in testing the water in our watersheds.
• Marine Debris: Impacts, Removal and Prevention: Alicia talked about the debris found in our oceans, with an emphasis on harmful plastic waste. These plastics are often mistaken for food by animals, leaving them to suffocate, starve and die. The Pacific Gyre, sometimes incorrectly referred to as the "Garbage Patch," is a soup-like current system in the Pacific Ocean consisting of tiny bits of photodegraded plastic. We can prevent plastic and other debris from entering our ocean by refusing to use plastic foam products or take-out containers, encouraging businesses to use alternative materials or asking for foil or bringing tupperware for to-go foods.
• The Science Behind Marine Protected Areas: Marine protected areas (MPAs) succeed all over the world, like in Cabo Pulmo, Mexico. There, fish are bigger, they are having more offspring, ecosystems are thriving and fishermen are reaping the benefits due to the "spillover effect." All-in-all, MPAs are easy ways to keep the ocean healthy, especially when the community is on board to ensure their success.
• Biology, ecology and movement patters of pelagic sharks of the Southern California Bight: What is a pelagic shark? It refers to a shark that lives in open water, rather than near to shore. What is the Southern California Bight? This is the large circular current system stretching from Baja to the Channel Islands and Santa Barbara. Blue sharks, white sharks, mako sharks and thresher sharks are common in this area, because the bight serves as a rookery or nursery for all these species.
• Marine Mammals: This presentation focused mainly on two kinds of pinnipeds or marine mammals with short, flat and wide flippers - seals and sea lions. Seals are small, football shaped, propel themselves on dry land by doing what looks like "the worm" and they have no external ear flaps. Sea lions are larger, propel themselves on land by using their back flippers as a sort of third foot and have external ear flaps. These animals are often on our beaches; this does not mean they are stranded. A standed seal or sea lion looks dehydrated, has dry eyes, has excessive wrinkles and you can see their hip bones. When you see a distressed animal, call a rescue team or alert a lifeguard to do so.
• The Ecology and Conservation of Giant Kelp Forest Communities: Did you know that the kelp forest in La Jolla grows the size of one adult blue whale per day?! Kelp grows so fast that it replenishes itself once every six months. Kelp forests serve as vital ecosystems for a variety of marine life, but it is negatively impacted by overfishing. This is because top predators, like lobsters and sheephead, are overfished, leaving no predator of sea urchins behind. Sea urchins eat kelp and can kill off entire forests, causing what are called "urchin barrens." This is why one of the benefits of MPAs is healthy kelp forests, leading to healthy ecosystems.
• Communicating Ocean Conservation: making our messages meaningful: In delivering these important messages to clients, visitors or community members, know your audience. Knowing their values will help you design a message that is meaningful to them. Using simple models and analogies helps people understand issues in real, understandable terms (for example, "La Jolla kelp grows the size of a blue whale per day").