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Dear Fisheries Friend,
Happy World Ocean Day! Today, we celebrate the ocean that sustains our communities, economies, and way of life. Here in Monterey Bay, local fishermen are on the front lines of ocean stewardship, helping ensure that future generations can continue to benefit from thriving marine resources. This World Ocean Day, we're grateful for the fishing community, partners, and supporters who are helping build a more resilient and sustainable future for our ocean.
Here’s what else is on the menu:
• Dive into MBFT's 2025 Impact Report!
• Meet MBFT Board Member Maya Hoffman
• Join a Get Hooked Dinner: Meals on Wheels (Pacific Grove, June 19th), and Sarah's Vineyard with Colectivo Felix (Gilroy, July 16th)
• Check out Melissa Mahoney's Director's Corner
• Make this delicious dish! Creamy Garlic Spot Prawns, courtesy of Chef Chase Ewing
| | Our 2025 Impact Report is here! | |
Thanks to the generosity of our donors, partners, and community, 2025 was a year of meaningful impact. Together, we provided nearly 35,000 healthy seafood meals to local families, supported fishermen through challenging seasons, expanded access to Monterey Bay seafood, and advanced efforts to strengthen our working waterfronts.
The 2025 Impact Report highlights the people, partnerships, and programs making a difference across our region. We invite you to explore the report and see how your support helps to build a resilient local seafood economy, sustain fishing families, and connect more community members with healthy, sustainable seafood. A gift today will help us continue to put more local seafood on local plates!
| Meet Maya Hoffman: A Lifelong Connection to Monterey Bay | | |
For Maya Hoffman, MBFT’s incoming board member, Monterey Bay has never just been a place on a map—it has been a source of inspiration, purpose, and community for nearly her entire life.
Although Maya grew up in landlocked Denver, Colorado, her summers were spent in Monterey with her grandparents. It was there, at just eight years old, that she first learned to sail through the junior program at the Monterey Peninsula Yacht Club. What began as a childhood pastime grew into a lifelong passion, shaping the course of her future.
"Growing up sailing in Monterey Bay, I thought seeing whales, sea otters, and all of this incredible biodiversity was normal," Maya recalls. "As I got older, I realized just how unique and special this place really is."
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Good food does more than bring people together—it strengthens communities.
On June 19, join us for a special Get Hooked dinner at Meals on Wheels of the Monterey Peninsula in Pacific Grove, where every ticket helps support our Community Seafood Program. Through this partnership, locally caught seafood is purchased directly from Monterey Bay fishermen and delivered to community members who need nutritious meals the most.
Come enjoy an incredible seafood dinner, meet the people behind our local catch, and be part of something bigger.
| | Together, we can support local fishermen, nourish our neighbors, and build a stronger, more connected community—one meal at a time. | | 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
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A Monthly Digest from
Executive Director Melissa Mahoney
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One thing I’ve learned in four years as a nonprofit director is that we’re almost always wearing more than one hat. On any given day, that might mean being a manager, fundraiser, strategist, or community leader—each role bringing new lessons and challenges along the way.
Recently, I’ve added another hat to the collection: fisheries researcher.
It’s actually an old hat—one I’ve worn several times throughout my career—so it has been both fun and refreshing to step back into that role while collaborating with researchers from UC Santa Cruz and the Monterey Bay Aquarium on Monterey Bay’s Commercial Fisheries: Status & Trends, the first comprehensive regional fisheries analysis in more than a decade.
| | Scheduled for release later this summer, the report is the first phase of our multi-year Future of Blue Initiative that will serve as a foundation for community conversations about the past, present, and future of commercial fisheries in Monterey Bay. Drawing on more than 40 years of fisheries data, we examine trends in landings, ex-vessel value (what fishermen are paid at the dock), and participation across our region’s ports. We also take a closer look at the seven most significant fisheries and explore their vulnerability and resilience to changing ocean conditions and other emerging challenges. | | Creamy Garlic Spot Prawns | | This month’s featured recipe comes from Chef Chase Ewing of Meals on Wheels of the Monterey Peninsula, host of our upcoming Get Hooked dinner on June 19. Designed to be simple enough for home cooks while showcasing the incredible flavors of Monterey Bay seafood, this dish highlights locally sourced spot prawns—one of the region’s most prized catches. Sweet, tender, and packed with flavor, spot prawns are a seasonal delicacy that remind us why eating local seafood is worth celebrating. Whether you're a longtime seafood lover or trying spot prawns for the first time, this recipe is an easy and delicious way to bring a taste of Monterey Bay to your table. | | Thank You to Our Generous Donors | | We sincerely appreciate all our partners, funders, and individual donors who continue to help us put more local fish on local plates. Our work would not be possible without this community. | | | | |
