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Whether you’re spending the day at the beach or need groceries for the whole week, New Leaf Community Markets has everything you need for the perfect day. Stop by your neighborhood New Leaf to stock up on local favorites.

10% of profits go back to the community

Ridings admits that she has a lot on her plate. “All my jobs are related, in terms of topic, interest and passion. They’re all about fish and public health.”

Ridings attributes her dedication to fishing communities to her work in the Peace Corps. “I was inspired by how tightly connected to the ocean the people were and how they protected their fisheries and worked to conserve and ensure that there were fish for their kids to eat.”

Not long after, Ridings was an observer on a North Pacific commercial fishing vessel, counting fish and gathering data. There she saw firsthand how commercial fishermen work, large-scale fish processing and how that part of the food supply chain functions.

Later, she received the Sea Grant Knauss Fellowship to work with the U.S. House Committee on Natural Resources and began to learn more about policy and politics, and how decisions are made at the national level.

“Working in Washington, D.C. got me thinking about conservation, exploring ideas around justice, equity, management and governance,” she says, “and led me to develop the concept of ‘justice sustainability,’ which posits that you can’t have sustainability without social justice.”

This season’s ban on commercial king salmon fishing is a good example of the need to consider the human element or justice sustainability in environmental policy.

The good news of this story is that heavy winter rain and a massive snowpack mean plenty of water for fish in the rivers and for farmers. And Ridings has a good prognosis for the Monterey Bay area, with suggestions of actions to take in our daily routines to ensure ocean health and the sustainability of fish and fishing communities.

• Eat locally caught seafood, as it helps support environmental and social sustainability worldwide.

• Get educated and involved with local decision-making; it will help support a thriving Monterey Bay ecosystem.

• Stay curious. Monterey Bay is ever-changing. Get to know it and its inhabitants, including people, and continue looking for ways to

• Creeks flowing into Monterey Bay are the southernmost home to native populations of coho salmon

• The Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary is home to more than 500 species of fish and 36 species of marine mammals support a healthy ocean ecosystem.

“We’re a very healthy fishing community. Monterey Bay’s natural ecosystem and surrounding communities are doing well,” says Ridings. “Our attention to the Bay is a big part of its health. We like to fish. We like to surf. We like to scuba dive. We like to swim. We like to boat. It’s a central part of the culture here.”

Jeff Bareilles is a Santa Cruz-based hospitality consultant, artist, photographer and writer who has overseen the beverage programs at some of the finest restaurants in California, including Manresa, Atelier Crenn, Commis and Mourad.