Community Supported Fishery Connects Ditmas Park To Local, Sustainable Fishing Operations

A resident got in touch with us today and said — do you know there is a CSF operating out of Bar Sycamore?

A Community Supported Fishery, which connects consumers directly to East Coast fishermen, has been active in Ditmas Park since early 2013. Participants (50 in our area) commit to four-week cycles, during which they receive regular “shares” of fresh fish.

It’s been a while since we’ve covered our local CSF, and we thought it might be useful for newer residents.

The CSF, which is managed by Mermaid’s Garden and operates much like a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture), has a pick-up location at Bar Sycamore on Cortelyou Road, and in eight other Brooklyn neighborhoods, including Prospect-Lefferts Gardens.

Mermaid’s Garden also has a retail operation on Vanderbilt Avenue and a wholesale business.

Participants are guaranteed a weekly supply of “super fresh, sustainable fish at a reasonable price,” Mermaid’s Garden says. “All of our fish is traceable back to the boat it was caught on, the fisherman who caught it and the catch method that was used,” they add.

Mermaid’s Garden says it will not offer fishes that are “overfished or subject to overfishing,” per the National Marine Fisheries Service’s quarterly fish stock reports.

Similar to CSA’s, the more consumers participate, the more local fishermen can be cost-competitive with larger suppliers.

Ditmas Park residents can obtain a variety of local Long Island and New England fishes year round, including: Acadian Redfish, Black Bass, Bluefish, Haddock, Hake, Mahi Mahi, Monkfish, Pollock, Porgy, Spanish Mackerel, Striped Bass, Summer Flounder, Swordfish, Tilefish, Tuna and more.

Participants purchase either a half- share or a full- share, which run in four week cycles. Half- shares (1-1.25 lbs/week) “comfortably” feed two people once a week and cost $70. Full- shares (2- 2.25 lbs/week) “comfortably” feed four people once a week (or two people twice) and cost $140, says Mermaid’s Garden.

Shellfish and whole fish options are sometimes made available as substitutions or additions to the fillets that participants typically receive.

And in the same spirit as CSA’s and farmers markets, the fundamental goal of our local CSF is to “reconnect coastal communities to their food system, promote sustainable fishing practices, and strengthen relationships between fishermen and the people they feed.”