Sonia Strobel is co-founder and CEO of Skipper Otto, a Community Supported Fishery (CSF) based on Coast Salish territory in Vancouver, BC, Canada. Sonia worked for decades in a variety of community-based organizations, non-profits, and as a high school teacher. A member of Community Supported Agriculture programs since the early 90’s, Sonia brought her knowledge of CSA’s to the family fishery, first conceiving of the idea for one of the first CSFs in the world in 2008: Skipper Otto.

Sonia Strobel will be the SVI Virtual 2026 True Confessions Presenter

Today, Sonia is a sought-after speaker and mentor throughout Canada and around the world, supporting the development of community-based food systems. She is on advisory committees with the Fisheries for Communities Coalition, Slow Fish Canada, and the Local Catch Network USA. In 2023, she spearheaded Local Catch Canada where she has convened harvesters, academics, Indigenous leaders, NGO’s, and fishing businesses to envision more just and equitable fisheries and food systems in Canada. She was an inaugural expert in Vancouver Island University’s Seafood Business Accelerator program in 2023, creator of Local Catch’s mentorship program in 2023. She continues to mentor many leaders who are starting and growing socially conscious seafood businesses across Canada and the USA.

 

About Skipper Otto

Skipper Otto Community Supported Fishery is a sustainable seafood subscription model in which members pre-purchase a share of the catch before the fishing season. This unique partnership between fishers and consumers guarantees harvesters a fair price for their catch, protects a traditional way of life in BC’s coastal and Indigenous fishing communities, and disrupts a seafood system fraught with social and environmental injustice. Since 2008, Skipper Otto has been on a mission to keep small-scale fishing alive in Canada, protect our valuable ocean resources, and ensure everyone has access to traceable, sustainably caught seafood. Skipper Otto is a certified B Corp and certified Living Wage employer. They educate consumers about important issues in fisheries and the value of eating with the ecosystem while advocating for just policy reform.