Special guest Kate Masury, program director at Eating with the Ecosystem, will present findings from an innovative research effort called the Eat Like a Fish citizen science project.
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UMass Dartmouth’s School for Marine Science & Technology (SMAST) and the nonprofit Eating with the Ecosystem invite the public to a discussion about diversifying local seafood diets and science surrounding ecosystem approaches to managing local seafood systems.
Special guest Kate Masury, program director at Eating with the Ecosystem, will present findings from an innovative research effort called the Eat Like a Fish citizen science project. The project’s newly released results show that although over a hundred edible wild seafood species thrive in the salty waters off New England’s shores, most of them are remarkably difficult to find for purchase at local seafood counters. Masury will discuss ecological and economic downsides to harvesting an overly narrow range of fish and shellfish from local waters and will offer tips to help everyday eaters support local fisheries by diversifying their seafood repertoires.
Marketing Director for UMass Dartmouth Dining Services Kirby Roberts, Executive Chef Kevin Gibbons, and Director of Operations Nancy Wiseman will discuss work to feature underused local seafood resources on campus dining facilities in the region. The efforts are part of the recent Kendall Foundation awarded projects Supporting Local Fishing and Underutilized Fish Species, and New England Kelp Farming to Expand New Locally-Produced Food Sources. Although these projects officially begin in fall, the regular menu in the UMass Dartmouth residential dining hall has already featured underutilized fish, including redfish and scup.
A focus on a place-based approach to supporting seafood systems is a leading principle of ecosystem-based fisheries management, which aims to explicitly consider tradeoffs and interactions among various species and human needs. Presentations by UMass Dartmouth faculty and students during the event will share current research to consider ecological, economic, and societal factors when developing and evaluating management strategies for marine ecosystems, and the role of technological and market innovation in sustaining fishery resources.
The event is free and open to the public and will take place from 6:00-8:00 pm at the new SMAST-East building, located at 836 South Rodney French Boulevard, New Bedford, MA
The discussion will be moderated by UMass Dartmouth and SMAST Assistant Professor of Fisheries Oceanography Dr. Gavin Fay. UMass Dartmouth Dining Services will prepare a menu of small, local bites for attendees to sample at the beginning of the event.
Masury’s new cookbook and coastal ecology primer, Simmering the Sea: Diversifying Cookery to Sustain Our Fisheries, will be available for signing and purchase. Simmering the Sea is an underwater culinary adventure where readers meet and learn how to prepare 40 underappreciated fish and shellfish from the Northwest Atlantic Ocean.
More information
- Questions about the event can be directed to Dr. Gavin Fay at gfay@umassd.edu.
- The Eat Like a Fish research project and Simmering the Sea cookbook is available at www.eatingwiththeecosystem.org.
- More information about the Kendall Foundation awarded projects can be found here.