Women are an integral part of the fishing community (VIDEO)
#WomenInFishing
While there may not be as many women working on the water as men, women in our fishing community play an integral role in bringing seafood from the ocean to our tables.
Women run the fishing businesses, work in the processing plants, markets, and restaurants, and many hold their families and small businesses together throughout the difficult and rewarding lifestyle that comes with fishing. Heidi Rhodes, Jenn Gerard Lovewell, and Kristen Deyerle all work in local family fishing businesses.
Heidi Rhodes founded H&H Fresh Fish, a CSF and Fish Market based in Santa Cruz, with her partner, Hans Haveman. “I first started working in the seafood business in 2003.. a little partnership between Hans and I. We got this opportunity to start selling his catch at farmer's market, and eventually, everything grew from there,” says Heidi.
Jenn Gerard Lovewell is the Chief Nutrition Officer at Real Good Fish, a CSF based in Moss Landing. “Prior to coming here, to Real Good Fish, I was the director of nutrition for the Monterey School District and had worked several years in school nutrition, overseeing all the meal preparation and wellness efforts for 10,000 students,” says Jenn.
Kristen Deyerle is the manager of Sea Harvest Monterey. “Our generation is taking over as captains and running boats. I really wanted our son to be a part of the whole lifestyle and adopt all of Calder's talents in the fishing industry and to be a part of it,” says Kristen.
Jenn Gerard & Alan Lovewell’s fishing family. Photo: TrimTab Media
What does sustainability mean to you?
”Sustainable seafood means having that really short supply chain and having that direct connection to who caught your fish and how they did it and where they did it. Typical seafood consumed in the U.S. has traveled 5,000 miles. At Real Good Fish, our food has traveled on average, less than 200 miles, so that's a much fresher product, a much shorter supply chain, and it's the highest quality and also know that you're supporting local fishermen who operate some of the best and most well-managed fisheries in the U.S. It's mind-blowing to be this close to it and just to realize how much of a wonder the ocean is. To me, that just makes it even more exciting and even more something that I want people to know about and to love, bringing some of that wonder of the open ocean into people's lives and some of that excitement into their kitchens and into their families. And it makes coming to work so exciting, every day.”
- Jenn Gerard Lovewell, Real Good Fish
Heidi Rhodes & Hans Haveman’s fishing family. Photo: TrimTab Media
What is your favorite part about working in the fishing community?
”I'm a sentimental, emotional gal, in the pandemic and all. It just warms my heart how many people come to us to put food on their dinner table with their family. It means so much to me. With the farmer's markets, not even just this last year, they've been busy. Also, there's been people that we see every Saturday for 15 years that come to us, and I just never take that lightly or take that for granted. And I get so many emails that talk about Tuesdays, for example, their fish dinner and how it just brings people together. Food brings people together, and the fact that people go out of their way to come see us to buy fish when they could get it at the grocery store, or that they value our service and our product—that's definitely my favorite part. I never take it for granted. Everything I have and everything my children have and our life is because people come and buy fish from us and they have been for almost 20 years. And that's mind-blowing to me, so I'm so grateful.”
- Heidi Rhodes, H&H Seafood
Calder & Kristen Deyerle’s fishing family. Photo: TrimTab Media
Why are you proud of your family’s work?
“We are a small, tight-knit community. We've all grown up together. And now, it's our generation taking over as captains and running boats. Working at the counter at Sea Harvest Monterey, this fish here came from our local sea harvest fishermen. To me, I feel a lot of pride spreading that awareness to the consumers. They love it. They love that it's local and it's fresh and it's part of our family.”
- Kristen Deyerle, Sea Harvest
