Local Seafood

Jul 23, 2009

Did you know that the Ventura County UCCE office has an advisor that works with local commercial fishermen? Her name is Carrie Culver, and she would like you to know our area is one of the top producing regions on the west coast!

The Santa Barbara Channel includes three ports in Ventura County and one in Santa Barbara County. The region is defined here as the ocean waters south of Point Conception to just south of Point Mugu, as well as the waters surrounding the four northern Channel Islands. This region is a unique place for California fisheries because it is the transition zone where both southern and northern species occur and there are natural conditions that typically provide an abundance of food for the fish.

So what are the top species caught by our local commercial fishermen? Halibut, rockfish, tuna, white seabass, squid, lobster, crab, sea urchin, and shrimp top the list. In addition abalone, oysters and mussels are locally farmed or cultured.

Research shows that including seafood in our diet is good for our health. If you enjoy eating seafood, please do what you can to support local fishermen by visiting fishermen’s market, or ask for it at stores and restaurants.

Great recipes, storage and handling information and much more can be found at these sites.

http://seafood.ucdavis.edu/consumer.html

http://ca-seafood.ucdavis.edu

Additional information about local fisheries, including availability, can be found in our Fish on Your Dish publication. Written by kids and for kids, there is much inside for all of us to learn.