The locavore movement, which was born on the US West Coast, may have convinced more people to shop at their local farmers' markets and participate in community-supported agriculture--but it's been a challenge to make similar progress toward eating local fish.

The main commercial catch off our local [Southern California] coast are sardines and squid, but many Americans prefer to stick with the greatest hits (a.k.a. shrimp, salmon, and tuna.) So the primary market for our catch is overseas.

And here’s a crazy fact. According to all the fish experts I talked to, most seafood processors are now in China. So locally caught squid that becomes the calamari I love is actually sent to China where it is cleaned, frozen, and shipped back to California. That situation will hopefully change as we continue to work on processing technology.

In the meantime, "local" fish markets often sell fish from all over the world, and community-supported fisheries are in their infancy. But if a CSF ever starts up off the California coast, you can bet that market squid will be on the menu.

(If you haven't guessed by now, "teuthovore" means "squid-eating." It's not a very common word--I expect this post to be the fourth Google search result for the term. Let's hear it for obscure vocabulary! Hip, hip . . . huzzah? Anyone? Hello?)