"This is a way for people to connect to the local food system," Stoll said. "And by encouraging them to support their local fisheries, there also are environmental benefits in the long run."
The community-supported fishery is modeled on agricultural programs that supply participants with locally raised meats and seasonal vegetables from nearby farms and gardens. Not only does Walking Fish give landlubbers in Durham and Chapel Hill a fresh taste each week of seafood they are unlikely to find in local grocery stores — mullet, spot, triggerfish, some varieties of sea trout. It also aims to give North Carolina fishermen and the local fish houses they supply an infusion of cash that could help sustain them in turbulent economic times when stringent environmental regulations governing catch limits and fishing methods make community-based fishing a more and more difficult way of life.