Autumn 2013

From Land & Sea, CSA

Cape Cod Home  /  Autumn 2013 / , , ,

Writer: Amanda Wastrom / Photographer: Dan Cutrona and Maddie McNamara 

From Land & Sea, CSA

Autumn 2013

Cape Cod Home  /  Autumn 2013 / , , ,

Writer: Amanda Wastrom / Photographer: Dan Cutrona and Maddie McNamara 

CAPE COD FISH SHARE, Brewster

Community Supported Agriculture is a win-win solution for Cape Codders in search of fresh fare.

Photography by Dan Cutrona

While brainstorming business ideas a few years ago, entrepreneur Dave Henchy and his partner Ed Struzziero were determined to solve the challenge of finding good, locally caught fish in Eastern Massachusetts. “I lived in the Netherlands for 19 years,” Henchy says. “We lived next to a farm, so we always had fresh everything and it was fantastic. Ed and I were doing the MBA program at Suffolk University and we’re walking around Boston Common wondering why we can’t get fresh food in the best country in the world?” Consumer research confirmed that they weren’t the only ones looking for fresh fish.

In October 2011, the friends launched Cape Cod Fish Share. Spreading the word through a robust website and exposure through the Buy Fresh Buy Local newsletter run by the Barnstable County Extension Service, they started with 36 customers at three pick-up locations around the Cape: Brewster, Barnstable, and Falmouth. Flash forward to 2013, and they now serve 1,000 customers at 40 pick-up locations across the state, including Greater Boston and Amherst. They are currently developing their own processing facility in Harwich and are working with UPS to find an economical way to deliver their product directly to the doorstep of consumers, thereby expanding their range throughout New England.

Despite the growth, the basic concept of the business hasn’t changed: Customers sign up for a five-week subscription and select a convenient pick-up location as well as an option that fits their family. (Two typical choices, Family Share and Working Couple, each offer varying amounts of fish to fit different size households.) Over a five-week subscription, Cape Cod Fish Share offers two species a week, all sustainably caught and packaged, providing customers with a chance to try new fish, like dogfish and skate. An e-mail newsletter accompanies each weekly catch with stories about the fishermen, news about fisheries, and recipes. Freshness is key: Fish go from boat to processing to consumers in a maximum of two days.

Sustainability is also a hallmark. Henchy’s team works either directly with local, small-scale fishermen or through Andy Baler, a Chatham fisherman closely involved with the Chatham Commercial Fisherman’s Alliance, who acts as a buyer to get the “top of the boat” catch—literally the fish on the top of the boat, generally of the highest quality. Henchy pays a slightly higher price than what the fishermen would get at auction and is also able to take advantage of the variety of fish caught at different times of year. “We interact directly with several boats all the time,” says Henchy. “Scallops come from off Monomoy, tilefish and tuna out of Fairhaven, the lobster boats are out of Cape Cod Bay, squid comes from a Hyannis boat, redfish out of New Bedford. We give folks variety that they won’t see in the grocery store.”

Community Supported Agriculture is a win-win solution for Cape Codders in search of fresh fare.

Photography by Dan Cutrona

The business is truly a twenty-first century operation. Says Henchy, “We’re trying to put the business into fishing by taking some of the pressure off the fisheries. The fishermen have the hardest job of all—they’re already working huge hours, then how are they going to do the marketing?” Cape Cod Fish Share uses a website and social media to connect and interact with customers.

Cape Cod Fish Share has thus far managed to retain a local, hands-on cottage-industry feel to it. Throughout the process, the team has remained close to both fishermen and government authorities to handle delicate issues like safety and sustainability.

“The fishermen have been doing nothing but helping us to improve our products,” Henchy says.

In particular, Henchy credits the late Gary Oldsturm, a lobsterman and cod fisherman, with providing both him and Struzziero a crash course in fish preparation and safety. “He spent hours and hours with us on how to handle things, how to keep things safe—just a wonderful, open great guy,” Henchy says.

Ultimately, consumers appreciate that attention to detail, and the fishermen appreciate the business. Says Henchy, “What really matters to people are two things: that it is local and that it is high-quality. The CSA model is a very smart model to get high-quality product to consumers.” With increasing concerns about the health and status of fish stocks, customers are also satisfied knowing they are supporting small-scale fishermen who are committed to sustainable fishing practices.

Amanda Wastrom

Amanda Wastrom is a writer based in East Sandwich, where she lives with her husband and kids, a flock of chickens, an overgrown garden, and some feisty honeybees. With a background in education, art, and history, she also works as a curator and designer for museums and galleries throughout the region. She has interviewed many local artists in recent years for Cape Cod LIFE’s annual Cape Cod ART issue, and in 2016 she penned an article on a prestigious exhibit of Japanese artwork on display at Falmouth’s Highfield Hall & Gardens.