Florida's First Community Supported Fishery and Seafood Market Takes Center Stage at the 2015 Aspen Ideas Festival

Florida is taking center stage in a new documentary that premiered at the 2015 Aspen Ideas Festival. A documentary series focused on the "Idea Economy" features Dock to Dish Key West (D2D™), Florida's first Community Supported Fishery (CSF) and Community Seafood Market (CSM), as one of three forward-looking enterprises singled out by multi award-winning documentary filmmaker Alison Klayman for the contributions the company is making to seafood sustainability, consumer health, and the livelihoods of Florida's commercial fishermen.

“We are extremely proud to have been selected by Klayman for the ‘Idea Economy’ documentary series,” D2D co-founder Tony Osborn said today. “Our inclusion proves that, together with our commercial fishermen, we do have the power to ‘rock the boat’ in the seafood industry. It’s exciting that a small company from a small town has the power to make a difference. This documentary provides our cause, mission and method with invaluable exposure on a national scale.”

HP Matter partnered with Klayman to develop a film series, “The Idea Economy”, that highlights the technology behind some of today's businesses that are disrupting and challenging the status quo in their respective industries. Each documentary explores the vision, passion and technological infrastructure of these companies that cultivates a need to change the world. In addition to D2D, the two other companies featured in the film series – which premiered on June 29th at the Aspen Ideas Festival – include Vimeo and One Kings Lane.

The Aspen Ideas Festival is the nation's premier, public gathering place for leaders from around the globe to discuss issues that shape our lives and challenge our times.

The documentary explores how D2D is disrupting the traditional fishing industry’s status quo and developing a sustainable system enabled by instant communication. Delivering fresh fish daily, according to the documentary, requires precise tracking of inventory and a communication platform for fisherman and customers. D2D’s model relies on the instantaneous sharing of information between fisherman and seafood market, seafood market and restaurant, and seafood market and consumer. “Each day, individual members and restaurants receive texts and emails alerting them on the catch of the day for purchase,” Paul Menta said. “D2D’s model begins and ends with mobile communication- and it’s working.” Mr. Menta participated alongside the film’s director Alison Klayman and Hewlett Packard’s CIO Ramon Baez in a discussion panel with an invitation-only audience of 700 attendees.

In the six short months since its founding in February of 2015, over 200 individual and restaurant members have signed up to purchase seafood from the market. “We’re so excited to share locally caught, sustainable American seafood with our customers because it’s the safest and healthiest catch in the world,” co-founder Chris Holland emphasized. “By utilizing communication methods, we’re raising the quality of seafood sold in Florida. We’re also improving the livelihood of local fisherman, who are now provided with both consistent work and a higher per price per pound compared to the fishing conglomerates exporting our delicious Florida fish overseas.”

While D2D has experienced immense success in Florida, the documentary brings the state’s first community supported fishery and seafood market to national attention — a goal that Holland strives for. “I want sustainable seafood or, as we call it – sea-stainability – to be at the forefront of everyone’s minds,” he said. “This documentary elevates our mission beyond what we’ve established in Florida.”

Dock to Dish Set to Host Monthly "Fish School" Events to Educate Key West Community About the New Age of Healthy, American, Sustainable Seafood

Underscoring its commitment to help the community learn about the many lesser-known, more affordable, but still great tasting fish species that are plentiful in the waters throughout the Florida Keys, Dock to Dish Key West, in conjunction with the Florida Keys Commercial Fishermen’s Association today announced plans to host a series of sunset “Fish School” events that combine education with fish-tasting, refreshments, and community socializing. 

Dock to Dish Co-Founder and Commercial Fisherman Tony Osborn

The first beachfront Fish School event will take place next Thursday, May 21st from 7:00PM until 9:00PM at the Dock to Dish Community Seafood Market (CSM) located at 3101 North Roosevelt Boulevard.  Dock to Dish members and their guests are welcome to attend, according to Dock to Dish Key West Co-Founder Tony Osborn.  “Our local waters have an abundance of healthy, great tasting fish and seafood that are not very well known, if at all,” Osborn said today.  “Because these species lack consumer demand, they’re often far less expensive than those that are highly popular. These events will show our community that by purchasing certain species, you can still enjoy entirely fresh, local, and delicious seafood without spending a lot.”

However, as Osborn and his Dock to Dish team emphasize, promoting lesser-known species does more than make seafood more affordable; it also eases the burden on the more in-demand and thus overfished species. “The current seafood industry in the America is demand-driven and when consumers are only aware of a few species, these species are subject to overfishing,” Osborn said. “By educating our community at Fish School events on our water’s wide variety of species, we allow our fish populations to regenerate while making fresh, local seafood more affordable for our community. It’s this positive impact on both our community and the Key West ecosystem that’s at the core of the Dock to Dish mission.”

Dock to Dish Commercial Fishermen representing the 1st Hand

In addition to promoting lesser-known species, the monthly Fish School events will also introduce the community to what Dock to Dish has dubbed their “Three Hands Fish” philosophy – a business model that guarantees their fish fresh while supporting the local Florida Keys commercial fishermen. 

According to Osborn, the ‘first hand’ is the hand of the Dock to Dish commercial fisherman who actually caught the fish.  The ‘second hand’ is the Community Seafood Market that cleans and prepares the fish, and the ‘third hand’ is the community and restaurant members who cook and consume the fish.  Unlike traditional markets and grocery stores, whose supply chain can include at least 12 separate links, the Dock to Dish seafood supply chain is made up of only the ‘three hands’ in the Three Hand Fish philosophy.  “Our very short and transparent harvesting and handling process ensures that your local seafood is always fresh, never frozen; always delicious and nutritious,” Osborn emphasized.

Dock to Dish CSM Fish Cutters Wes (left) and Ryan (right) representing the 2nd Hand

The inaugural Dock to Dish Fish School event will feature three interactive stations manned by Florida Keys Commercial Fishermen Association members, Community Seafood Market fish cutters, and Dock to Dish Restaurant Member chefs.  The first station will feature Dock to Dish fishermen who will teach members and their guests about a lesser known, in-season local fish species; the second station will feature Dock to Dish Community Seafood Market cutters teaching members how to fillet, de-bone, scale, and skin the same in-season local species; the third station will feature a Dock to Dish restaurant chef preparing and cooking that very same fish.

“In just a few months time, we’ve established strong relationships with nine of Key West’s most prominent restaurants, supplying them with Dock to Dish fish on a daily basis,” said Paul Menta, local chef and Co-Founder of Dock to Dish. “Involving the growing number of restaurants who support Dock to Dish in these events provides our members with the opportunity to learn fresh fish cooking tips from our community’s top chefs – it’s an experience that cannot be replicated elsewhere.”

Dock to Dish Co-Founder & Restaurant Chef Paul Menta representing the 3rd Hand

“The Dock to Dish Fish School is another great step forward in our association’s efforts to forge a meaningful relationship between commercial fishermen and the consumers who benefit the most from their catch,” emphasized FKCFA Executive Director Bill Kelly. “The growing success of the Dock to Dish Key West Community Seafood Market is helping to improve the livelihoods of our members while raising the general consumer population’s appreciation for what commercial fishermen contribute to our economy and our way of life.”

For more information on Dock to Dish Fish School events, emaildocktodishkeywest@gmail.com or call (305) 296-0274.