Kaua‘i Fresh Fish wins Catch A Wave event supporting local entrepreneurs

Eight finalists competed Saturday in the Catch A Wave event for local entrepreneurs, and the winner was Kaua‘i Fresh Fish, a woman-owned business providing the Garden Isle’s restaurants with freshly caught seafood.

As attendees shouted and applauded, Kaua’i Fresh Fish founder Cadena Ragsdale said: “This business isn’t really about me: It’s about something much bigger. It’s about our fishermen, these harvesters that bring us this beautiful product that we get to enjoy.”

Catch A Wave is a free Kaua‘i event inspired by the popular ABC reality TV series “Shark Tank.” First held in 2018 and 2019, Catch A Wave made its triumphant return Saturday after a five-year hiatus prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Community members at the Kaua’i Philippine Cultural Center in Līhu‘e, some of whom were prospective investors, cheered as the finalists pitched their small businesses before a panel of five judges who also were doling out cash and prizes valued at more than $50,000.

Each walked away with awards valued in the thousands of dollars. But only one could claim the grand prize that included $10,000 in cash, $3,000 in Kaua‘i Now advertising and more.

Presenting Saturday evening was an achievement in itself: The eight finalists had been selected from a pool of 38 applicants.

“I’m always amazed … how many people are out there chasing their dreams,” said Will Smith of the Hawaiʻi Small Business Development Center. “The people, the resiliency that I see on this island, it’s amazing.”

Catch A Wave’s panel of five judges included Kaua‘i business leaders and consultants like Smith, Misha Laney, the owner of Aloha ʻĀina Juice Café, and Maile Botelho of the boutique Salt + Sea.

Retired businessman and community volunteer Mark Wolfendale and Eric Facas, who in 2017 launched the grassroots advocacy platform Rally Starter, rounded out the panel.

The five judges spent eight minutes questioning each finalist after they had delivered a five-minute presentation onstage. They announced Kaua‘i Fresh Fish as Catch A Wave’s 2024 grand prize winner following a period of intense deliberation at about 8 p.m.

Lace It Up Kaua‘i took second place and Kalalea Juice Hale was third.

Ragsdale founded Kaua‘i Fresh Fish two years ago to provide restaurants with locally caught and dressed-out fish.

“Restaurants … don’t have the time to break down the fish, which is why they’ll order it from somewhere else off-island,” Ragsdale told the Catch A Wave judges.

National Fisherman in October reported Hawai‘i imports about half its seafood, despite averaging 17.4 million pounds in annual seafood landings between 2000 and 2009.

Most fishers, according to Ragsdale, have no interest in selling their fish directly to restaurants: They want to unload their catch and return to the water.

“It’s so physically demanding to be out on the ocean with the waves and wind,” she said. “The last thing they want to do is have to go drive around for a day and unload at multiple places.”

Ragsdale, who relocated to Kaua‘i about six years ago, was born and raised in a New England fishing community. She began managing a small fish market in her early 20s and by 2009 had started her own seafood company in Santa Barbara, Calif.

Ragsdale purchases fresh fish from about 50 Kaua‘i fishers, although most of her business is with a core of 10 full-time fishers who brave the Pacific Ocean year-round.

Ragsdale has emphasized her dedication to paying local fishers a living wage, so they and their families can continue a multigenerational tradition for many more years to come. Throughout her career, she frequently observed others pay fishers “next to nothing” for their hard-earned work.

“These guys are risking their lives and risking their physical wellbeing to go fishing during storms and for days at a time,” said Ragsdale, who in the last 20 years has lost multiple friends to fatal fishing accidents. “These guys weren’t getting paid appropriately for what they were doing.”

While Kaua‘i Fresh Fish is now primarily a wholesale business, Ragsdale has plans to open a retail storefront in Puhi Industrial Park and manufacture value-added products like dried, smoked, canned and blast-frozen fish. Ragsdale on Saturday also announced a new subscription box service for retail customers.

Catch A Wave’s judges weighed many elements when determining Saturday’s winners. Innovation, community involvement, sustainability and the ability to create well-paying jobs were just some of the factors under consideration, according to Smith.

“They’re all great companies, but I think Kaua‘i Fresh Fish stood out,” he said. “They’re on the cusp of being able to make even more of a difference than they’re making today.”

Second place winner Sheleah Masi opened Lace It Up Kaua‘i, a shoe store located on Kukui Street in Kapa‘a, seven years ago with husband Mosese “Masi” Masi.

Sheleah Masi had planned to own a shoe store since she was a 14-year-old employee at a local surf shop. Day after day, customers wandered into the shop seeking footwear like soccer cleats, slip resistant shoes and cowboy boots.

Kaua‘i is a place where much of life is spent in slippers (flip-flops) or barefoot. As such, high quality and specialty footwear was — and can still be — hard to find.

County, utility and law enforcement personnel visit Lace It Up Kaua‘i for puncture resistant, steel shank and blood-borne pathogen proof boots. Conservation groups working in remote areas also stop by Lace It Up Kaua‘i. And of course, the small business supports local sports teams so players can perform at the top of their game.

Sheleah Masi said Catch A Wave, while based on “Shark Tank,” did not feel like a competition.

“We were in this boat together,” she explained. “There was great camaraderie … We met so many people in the audience that we didn’t know, and so many that didn’t know about us.”

Lace It Up Kaua‘i, like many Catch A Wave finalists, stated an intention to prioritize marketing going forward. The Masis also plan to open a location on the West Side of Kaua‘i before expanding to other islands.

Catch A Wave is sponsored by organizations including the Rotary clubs of Kaua‘i, the Kaua‘i Chamber of Commerce and Kaua‘i Now. This year’s Catch A Wave was supported in part by a $40,000 grant from the U.S. Small Business Administration.

Catch A Wave will continue on an annual basis going forward. Join the mailing list at catchawavekauai.com to receive updates about next year’s event.