Fishing is part of Jill Lambert's family heritage; her grandfather Norman Nelson was a fisherman in Tromso, Norway. He quit school at age 14 to fish with a hand line over the side of an open boat in the North Sea. Together with his brother, Richard, he came to British Columbia and in 1928 they started a fish packing company. They produced the Paramount brand of salmon.

Lambert grew up eating wonderful seafood, local food caught by people she knew. Her family ate salmon, halibut, crab and prawns; they dug up clams and picked oysters off the rocks. Although it was abundant, they never took this food for granted; it always seemed more special than the other food on the table.

Lambert wrote A Good Catch to further her own appreciation of fish. She wanted to be sure that she was making good fish choices, and not contributing to the problem. The value we place on fish is very important; it motivates us to make better choices, protect the marine environment, and pay more attention to the method of harvest.

Jill Lambert is also the co-author of The Lesley Stowe Fine Foods Cookbook. She lives in Vancouver, British Columbia.