HTO Elects Tom White to its Board of Directors

Tom White is well-known in Santa Barbara as the owner, with his son, Adam, of the Santa Barbara Shellfish Company, the Boat House (at Hendry’s Beach); the FisHouse Restaurant on Cabrillo, and Casa Blanca Restaurant on lower State Street.

He’s been involved with the ocean for many years – as a fisherman, surfer, sailor. When Heal the Ocean formed in 1998, Tom commissioned a thick glass backboard to the Oyster Bar at the FisHouse, into which the Heal the Ocean logo is etched in full. Tom has always advocated fresh fish at his restaurants, and his motive for having this piece created was to emphasize that fresh fish need a clean ocean.

When Jack Johnson gave to Heal the Ocean a concert at the Santa Barbara Bowl in 2005, we were given the opportunity to stage a pre-concert reception at the McCaw Terrace for our donors. Tom White volunteered to bring a full fish bar – sushi, fresh oysters, salmon, and other great seafood, for the event.

Tom White’s background includes a degree in Biological Sciences from UCSB. He continued his education with a year abroad at the Sorbonne, University of Paris, (Civilization de Francaise), after which he did a brief study term at Cambridge University in Biological Sciences. He has been a long-time Santa Barbara resident (1969) where he started a string of successful fish restaurant operations, beginning with Shellfish on the Wharf (1980), the FisHouse on Cabrillo Blvd, (1998), and the Boathouse on Hendry’s Beach (2012).

Tom is an avid sports participant and engages in surfing, skiing, sailing, and tennis. He and his wife Cynthia live in Montecito and are longtime members of the Tennis Club of Santa Barbara. They are also current members of the Santa Barbara Yacht Club and the La Cumbre Country Club.

“We are thrilled to have Tom White on our team,” says Hillary Hauser, Executive Director of Heal the Ocean. “Tom is smart, he’s well connected to the community, he knows the ocean and all things in it, and he knows how to work with a small team such as we are.” Welcome aboard Tom!