Coastal Rovers Pilot promo from Coastal Rovers on Vimeo.

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John Foss is the Captain of the Coastal Rovers, a band of Fishers, Chefs, and Scientists committed to maintaining Coastal Communities. The Families, Foods, Tradition, and Culture that make up the fabric of these Communities and Villages is essential to protecting their Fisheries and Environment.
Watch the Video!
John is a leader and activist in Sustainable Local Food movements. A commercial fisherman and sailor from Ballard, a small Scandinavian fishing village near Seattle, he has spent 30 years in Alaska and the Bering Sea developing community-based sustainable marketing in coastal fishing communities. Foss was instrumental in creating the first sustainable coastal community of Cordova, Alaska. Cordova’s fortunes and environment have been saved by the renewed economic importance of Copper River Salmon to the community. At home in Seattle he has helped develop several artisan-based food economies, all in a belief that developing community-based, artisanal, and local, sustainable food economies reward us all as we reward rural families. Ultimately, rural and coastal families that are supported by livable economies become the best stewards of the environment.

Bethany Jean Clement is a regular at Burning Beast, and to date, has written the most definitive piece in Seattle's The Stranger.
"The Beast is on!" John Foss said, stringing silver sardines on a wire over hot coals. He'd arrived for Burning Beast—the annual open-fire meat bacchanal held at Smoke Farm, an hour or so north of Seattle—at three o'clock that morning, driving straight from Ilwaco in order to get the fish from the ocean to people's
mouths in fewer than 24 hours. .........

On Sunday, Coastal Rovers, John Foss and I were at Golden Gardens Beach in Ballard for the 3rd Annual Puget Soundkeeper Community Oyster Roast with the folks from Taylor Shellfish. John Foss scored some local Coonstripe Shrimp (nearly 40 pounds!) and marinated them in Mae Ploy(sweet garlic chili sauce) Fishtale Soundkeeper Organic Pale Ale and Tony Chacere's Creole Seasoning, then tossed them on the BBQ. Watch the video!

Coastal Rovers: Coonstripe Shrimp on The BBQ from Coastal Rovers on Vimeo.

AS many seafood experts and cooking mavens (like Mark Bittman) have observed and recommended, Americans need to eat less big fish and more little fish. We need to eat lower down on the food chain. Fish like Anchovies are sustainable, and delicious. Coastal Rover John Foss explains how you clean an anchovy, and the the delights of eating a whole one fried in batter.

How To Clean An Anchovy from Coastal Rovers on Vimeo.