SAIL Catalyst

The application period is now closed. The next cohort is set to begin on February 4, 2025.

Up to 15 businesses will be accepted into the SAIL Catalyst program. Not all businesses that apply for SAIL Catalyst will be accepted into the program. For reference, there has been a 30% acceptance rate in prior years. on 

Community and values-based seafood businesses in the United States who are interested in scaling up their operations, and sell a portion of their catch directly to consumers through community supported fisheries (CSF), restaurants, institutions, and/or other similar outlets are invited to apply. Access to the internet, a computer and a webcam with a microphone are required to participate. 

Successful applicants will be businesses who meet the following selection criteria:

• Have operated a business to have tangible experience in business planning, strategy, finance, and direct marketing.
• Identify as a small- or mid-sized seafood business.
• Interested in growing in a way that meets the goals of the venture (i.e. community impact, efficiency, revenue)
• In alignment with LCN’s core values, participants must show a demonstrated commitment to stewarding environmental resources, fostering healthy ecosystems, using sustainable production and harvesting practices. 
• Seek to engage or are engaging in anti-racism, food/environmental justice, and/or food sovereignty activities to transform our current food system to a more equitable one.
• Committed to increasing access of seafood within communities. 
• Committed to equitable labor practices (paying a living wage, fair hiring process and treatment of workers, ensuring safety of crew, etc.).
• Committed to community-building via a willingness to serve as a mentor to a Local Catch Network member as well as other collaborative efforts that emerge.
• Owner/founder/manager(s) available and committed to actively participate in accelerator activities, including attending weekly virtual trainings, webinars, doing offline work as assigned, responding to program-related communications, filling out evaluations, etc.

Preference will be given to harvesters who:

• Are Black, Indigenous, Latino, or identify as a person of color;
• Are Women or LGBTQIA; and/or 
• Produce a value-added product from a raw commodity they are fishing, raising, or harvesting

SAIL Catalyst participants will learn alongside their peers during weekly virtual sessions held on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 2:00-3:30 pm ET. These sessions will be 1.5 hour and scheduled between February 2025-May 2025. 

Catalyst sessions are led by professional service providers who understand the unique needs of seafood harvesters. Catalyst participants can expect to deepen their knowledge and competencies in the following areas:

• Business Structure/Entity Formation 
• Contracts and Partnerships
• Accounting Framework for Managing Liquidity and Building Wealth
• Marketing
• Introduction to Taxation 
• Access to Capital
• Labor & Employment for your Fishing Business
• Necessities in Insurance and Understanding Risk
• Cashflow

Review the program syllabus for full session descriptions. 

Participants must be able to attend a majority of the training sessions and be willing to complete “homework” between sessions. Participants can expect to commit a total of approximately 50 hours to the program. A full agenda with training dates will be distributed upon acceptance into the program. 

As part of our efforts to assess the effectiveness of the program, participants are required to complete a series of evaluations throughout the duration of the program and beyond. 

Note: Participants that successfully complete the training program will be eligible for a scholarship to the 2025 Local Seafood Summit. 

• October 31, 2025 – Application period opens.
• December 5, 2024 – SAIL Catalyst info session. This is an opportunity to hear directly from the SAIL Catalyst team, learn more about the program, and ask questions. Watch the recording. 
• December 15, 2024 – Application period closes
• January 13, 2025 – Applicants are notified of their application status. Accepted applicants will be asked to complete a business health assessment before the start of the program. 
• February 4, 2025 – April 22, 2025 – Virtual program kickoff trainings held every Tuesday and Thursday from 2:00 – 3:30 PM ET. 
• November 2025 – In-person gathering at the 2025 Local Seafood Summit (costs covered by the SAIL Catalyst program) 

SAIL Catalyst programming is valued at $4,000 but remains free of cost to participants. This is made possible by grant funds from the Builder’s Initiative. 

If you are interested in financially supporting future cohorts of Catalyst participants you can donate to the Local Catch Network fund. If you would like to volunteer or provide professional services please contact us.AIL

SAIL Catalyst is modeled after Ecotrust’s Ag of the Middle accelerator. LCN has partnered with Ecotrust to develop and implement Catalyst programming. Consultants and community organizations who are familiar with the needs of small-to-mid scale fishing businesses that participate in direct marketing are contracted to facilitate key trainings.

Refer to our FAQ’s document , watch our recorded information sessions, or contact Local Catch (info@localcatch.org) and Tyson Rasor (trasor@ecotrust.org).

Fifteen seafood businesses participated in the 2022-2023 SYLC program. Get to know the cohort! 

Twelve seafood businesses completed the inaugural SYLC program. Get to know the SYLC 2021-2022 cohort.