View in Browser

JULY 2026

From Recovery to Resilience: What's Next for Salmon

Salmon go on a superhero odyssey in their relatively short lifetime.

Should they survive long enough, they make a mad dash from their riverbed birthplace to a wide-open ocean full of danger. 

So it feels fitting that what began as a simple update on the 2026 salmon season on Monterey Bay—the first such season in three years, in all its tenuous glory—led to its own sprawling journey, triggered by revelations from fishermen, chefs, buyers, charter boat captains, river anglers and environmental attorneys.

Here appears an itinerary of where that trip touched, before landing in a very dark place. 

That ominous destination could involve a cruel fate for future salmon seasons, or a real chance at survival—and is being litigated as this publishes.

All donations made JULY 13 - 19

MATCHED UP TO $10,000!

Mark your calendars for our annual Week of Seafood Giving, July 13–19! During this special week, every gift to the Community Seafood Program will be matched dollar for dollar, up to $10,000, doubling your impact. Your support helps provide fresh, nutritious, locally caught seafood to families experiencing food insecurity throughout Monterey and Santa Cruz counties while supporting our local fishing community. Together, we can make healthy, sustainable seafood more accessible to our neighbors who need it most.

Mark your calendar for the Week of Seafood Giving, July 13-19, watch your email for campaign updates and a link to give and help us meet our goal!

Colectivo Felix at Sarah's Vineyard July 16th!

Join us for an unforgettable Get Hooked Dinner at Sarah's Vineyard on July 16! Enjoy a locally sourced, five-course family-style dinner created by Chef Diego Felix of Colectivo Felix, expertly paired with Sarah's Vineyard wines and featuring the freshest local seafood.

Meet the chef, fishermen, and winemaker behind the meal while learning how choosing local seafood supports our coastal communities. Best of all, a portion of every ticket sold benefits the Community Seafood Program, helping provide fresh, nutritious seafood to families in need while supporting local fishermen. Reserve your seat today!

Colectivo Felix at Sarah's Vineyard

Thursday, July 16th, 5:30-7:30pm

Week of Seafood Giving Pint Night

and Ocean Trivia with MBFT at

Other Brother Brewery in Seaside

Monday, July 13th 6-9pm

These dinners directly benefit the Community Seafood Program, ensuring each dish supports both our local fishing families and community food access.

A special thank you to our dinner series sponsors!

Bay Federal Credit Union

Seas the Summer in Moss Landing

More details to come soon on this FREE event, but mark your calendar to join us on Sunday, August 30th in Moss Landing from 11am-3pm as we partner with the Western Flyer Foundation, the Sunflower Star Lab, Monterey Bay Eco Tours, and Moss Landing Marine Labs for a very special event. Tours of the Flyer and the Sunflower Star lab will be available and there will be a very special Uni Tasting that you will not want to miss!!

One sunny afternoon in June, a small group of seafood enthusiasts gathered outside Monterey Abalone Company at the end of Wharf II for the chance to try something a little out of the ordinary: purple sea urchin uni, straight from the shell.

The tasting was organized by Dan Jenkin of Real Good Fish, who had a simple goal—to get Chef Chase Ewing of Meals on Wheels of the Monterey Peninsula (MOWMP) to experience the bright orange, salty-sweet delicacy firsthand. If Chase liked it and enough quality uni could be produced, perhaps it could make its way onto the menu for our upcoming Get Hooked dinner. And after that, plenty more local chefs would be interested as well.

While this moment may seem like a small experiment, it represents a much bigger idea.

For years, exploding populations of purple sea urchins have overgrazed California's kelp forests, leaving behind vast underwater "urchin barrens" where little else can survive. At the same time, our local seafood economy continues to search for new opportunities to create jobs, diversify income, and make better use of our marine resources.

What if one solution could help address both challenges?

SEASONAL SEAFOOD RECIPE

Black Cod Chorizo Tamale Filling

This month's featured recipe comes from Chef Diego Felix of Colectivo Felix (and this month's Get Hooked host chef - see above!), whose signature Argentine-inspired cooking brings bold flavors, live-fire techniques, and California's finest local ingredients together on every plate. His Black Cod Chorizo Tamale Filling puts a creative twist on tradition, pairing locally caught black cod with rich, savory chorizo flavors to create a dish that's both comforting and unforgettable. It's a delicious celebration of the Central Coast's fishing heritage and the vibrant culinary traditions that make our local food scene so unique.

Thank you to Meals on Wheels of the Monterey Peninsula and chefs Chase Ewing, Justin Robarge, and Adolfo Diaz for hosting an incredible sold-out Get Hooked event on June 19th at the Meals on Wheels Community Center in Pacific Grove. We also extend our thanks to Dan Jenkin of Real Good Fish for speaking on behalf of our Community Seafood Program partnerships, and speaker Noah Kolander from Moss Landing Marine Labs, as well as to our generous sponsors, the Monterey Bay Aquarium, Montage Health, and Bay Federal Credit Union. We appreciate all who joined in support of our local fisheries. We are deeply grateful to the Ocean Protection Council and The Campbell Foundation for funding our Future of Blue pilot project in Moss Landing and are excited to kick off the project this summer! We also appreciate the Monterey Peninsula Foundation for their renewed grant and ongoing partnership.

info@mbfishtrust.org | montereybayfisheriestrust.org