Advancing Climate-Resilience: 2023 U.S. Fisheries Fellowship Spotlight

Since 2021, Sustainable Ocean Alliance (SOA) and the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) Fisheries Solution Center have partnered to provide funding, mentorship, and capacity-building resources to young ocean changemakers through the Leadership for Climate-Resilient Fisheries Fellowship (LCRF Fellowship).

In 2023, we were proud to support two cohorts for the LCRF Fellowship: Global Cohort and U.S. Cohort. 

In this program, fellows build a stronger foundation of technical and leadership skills through mentorship, skill-building workshops, and online resources from the EDF Fishery Solutions Center—including the opportunity to meet with members of U.S. Congress to discuss their innovation solutions for sustainable fisheries.

Through the LCRF Fellowship, participants are able to gain a deeper understanding of the impacts of climate change on fisheries and learn best practices to identify and advance solutions for greater resilience.

In two years, we delivered $190,000 in grants to support the work of 19 fellows across 11 U.S. states and territories. 

The 2023 U.S. Cohort has concluded, and we are excited to share the accomplishments and stories of these nine ocean changemakers. 

Interested in participating in the 2024 Fellowship? Complete this form here!

OoNee: Justice-Driven Workforce Training Program | Newport, Oregon

Creating opportunities for fishing-reliant coastal communities to engage in climate-resilient enterprises

Founded by Aaron Huang, OoNee is a startup dedicated to regenerating kelp ecosystems by sustainably harvesting and ranching purple sea urchins that have been decimating the kelp forests along Oregon's coastline. OoNee's mission extends beyond ecological restoration, aiming to create opportunities for individuals from underserved and underprivileged communities to engage in meaningful work within climate-resilient enterprises. 

With the support of SOA, OoNee provided training and certification for six individuals from fishing-reliant coastal communities. These locally-based operators received 65 hours of training in scuba diving, reef surveying, and urchin harvesting and processing. As a result, they successfully harvested 3,000 kg of purple urchins, contributing to the preservation of local kelp forests.

The Vieques Conservation and Historical Trust, Inc: Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries | Vieques, Puerto Rico

A youth-led sustainable fishing education program for food sovereignty and climate change adaptation

As a small island municipality in Puerto Rico, Vieques faces numerous ocean-related challenges—including overfishing, habitat degradation, and military pollution. These threats have limited the productivity of local fish habitats that are essential to the health of small-scale, coastal fisheries.

To address these limitations and improve the sustainability of local fisheries, Abdiel Connelly Boulogne founded SAMAR—a grassroots, fisherfolk-led educational project to teach youth about the ocean, sustainable fishing practices, and how to swim.

Abdiel successfully purchased and rehabilitated a boat for outdoor education, provided over 200 hours of training to a lead mentor to assist him, and piloted a 70-hour training program with three youth participants.

Ali Boutros: Advancing Community-Led Kelp Restoration | Santa Cruz, California

Documenting the most effective means of fostering community-led kelp restoration efforts

In Northern California, recent and recurring marine heatwaves have negatively impacted 90% of the kelp forest ecosystems. While scientific literature highlights the crucial role of community involvement in effective ecological restoration, there remains a limited understanding of how to effectively leverage community involvement and leadership.

Ali Boutros, a Coastal Science & Policy Masters student from Santa Cruz, undertook a project to fill the knowledge gap on leveraging community involvement in kelp restoration by conducting a comparative case study of two community-led efforts—including the participation in conferences, presenting at KelpFest, speaking on the Monterey Bay weather channel, and leading local working groups.

She hopes her findings will provide valuable insights to inform the development of California's Kelp Restoration & Management Plan and support the ongoing development of the Kelp Restoration Guidebook put forth by the Nature Conservancy and Kelp Forest Alliance. Since graduating in June, Ali has been working as a contractor for Ocean Science Trust to research and author a policy brief about coastal habitat restoration and was invited to co-author a scientific paper about kelp restoration.

Katharine Shambaugh: Surveying Maine Fishermen’s Views on Aquaculture | Portland, Maine

Exploring the responses of local communities in Maine to changing fishing practices and the introduction of aquaculture

The Gulf of Maine is warming at a rate faster than 97% of the global ocean average. As a result, there has been a drastic shift in marine life and the subsequent impact on generational fishing communities.

An Environmental Sustainability Masters student at the University of Michigan, Katharine Shambaugh explored the responses of local communities in Maine to changing fishing practices and the introduction of aquaculture as a potential alternative that is more environmentally and economically sustainable. The Gulf of Maine Research Institute (GMRI) has identified varied reactions towards aquaculture across Maine's fishers, with the reasons for these differences not fully understood.

For her project, Katharine successfully conducted 80 interviews with fishers and other locals across northern, central, and southern Maine. Her results showed that none of the interviewed fishers were ‘fully opposed’ to aquaculture and most expressed an interest in learning more. They also noted the changes they’ve witnessed in water temperature, storm variability, and population shifts, as well as fears of their way of life surviving in the next generation.

Kate's findings have considerable policy implications, and she's currently working with GMRI to complete her report while following up with the connections she made in D.C. to help her create and share a political memo for local legislatures. A local Maine paper published an article on her research. 

Salty Gold Uni: Sustainable Urchin Butter | Santa Barbara, California

Creating sea urchin (uni) butter using the overabundant and underutilized purple sea urchin

An unprecedented population surge of purple sea urchins has devoured and destroyed 95% of California's kelp forests in the last ten years.

Max Diamond, an environmentally conscious chef with Michelin Star restaurant training, founded Salty Gold Uni to achieve "restorative consumption." Through his business, Max aims to innovate seafood consumption and production by creating a uni butter product—blending the harvest from multiple urchins and utilizing smaller urchins deemed unfit for the market.

Max has made significant strides in scaling Salty Gold Uni's commercial reach and research and development through the LCRF Fellowship. He formed key relationships with retail food companies and completed the first phase of his product development plan to extend the product's shelf life and refine its formulation—including shipping 15 pounds of Salty Gold Uni butter for lab analysis to contribute to the industry's understanding of the nutritional value of sea urchin.

Now, Max is consulting with EDF and WWF scientists to incorporate the environmental impact of his product on kelp forests into his marketing strategy and retailer onboarding package.

Eating with the Ecosystem: Creating Climate-Resilient Seafood Supply Chains | Boston, Massachusetts

Developing an industry action plan to guide the introduction of new climate-resilient seafood species into New England supply chains

LCRF Fellow Nicky Roberts worked with the nonprofit Eating with the Ecosystem to develop climate-resilient seafood supply chains in New England. Building on their earlier work—which resulted in the publication Climate Winners: Adapting to Species Shifts in New England—Nicky worked to address the 'knowledge-to-action gap' among seafood suppliers caused by a lack of perceived consumer demand and trust in resource managers. 

Nicky identified the following as 'Climate winners' species: sugar kelp, green crabs, scup, black sea bass, blue crabs, squid, grey triggerfish, fluke, Atlantic croaker, Spanish mackerel, and Atlantic butterfish.

During the Fellowship, Nicky produced a Climate Winner Seafood Guide, which she presented at the Maine Fishermen's Forum, as well as a webinar with Local Catch Network to help seafood businesses across the supply chain adapt to new species that are better adapted to the effects of climate change. She plans to continue to host supply chain meet-ups for business owners and affiliates to collaborate on increasing seafood diversity in their portfolio, publish a Climate Winner seafood business policy report to help bring climate winners to market, and collaborate with regional chefs to host demos and develop recipes.

Meredith Pratt (The University of Central Florida): Impacts of Climate on Coastal Fisheries | Orlando, Florida

Studying the potential consequences of rising sea surface temperatures on coastal fish communities 

A PhD student in Integrative and Conservation Biology at the University of Central Florida, LCRF Fellow Meredith Pratt aimed to understand the potential consequences of rising sea surface temperatures on coastal fishing communities and fisheries.

By leveraging multi-decadal datasets encompassing fisheries and environmental data, the study investigated the latitudinal range shifts exhibited by Atlantic fish species (common snook, red drum, black drum, spotted sea trout, gray snapper, pinfish, bay anchovy, spot, striped mullet, and mojarra) over an extended period and explored the underlying drivers behind these shifts. Meredith presented her preliminary findings at the GTM Reserve’s State of the Reserve and the Ocean Sciences Meeting to the general public, stakeholders, and management.

Now, Meredith is completing additional analyses with the goal of publishing her findings in a peer-reviewed journal to further inform conservation strategies and understanding of the effects of climate change on coastal reef fish. Meredith was awarded the NOAA Margaret A. Davidson Graduate Fellowship, which will enable her to continue working on research projects within the reserve.

"This was a great experience and it made me realize where I want my career to go after my PhD! I cannot thank you all enough for this opportunity.” – Meredith on the LCRF Fellowship

Gulf of Mexico Reef Fish Shareholders' Alliance: Building Disaster Resilience in Florida | Fort Myers Beach, Florida

Improving fishing communities' disaster preparedness and response in Florida

Working waterfronts—the spaces where fishers can dock and process their catch—are declining as coastal areas are overdeveloped and the fishing industry is consolidated. High coastal rents and other factors like permitting quotas are part of why young fishers are not joining the industry.

Hugh Cipparone, a Fishery Finance & Policy Analyst for the Gulf of Mexico Reef Fish Shareholders' Alliance, created a documentary highlighting the stories of fisherfolk in Florida who have been impacted by climate and industry changes. To guide his project, Hugh developed a steering committee of four local commercial fishers and fish house/fleet owners in addition to infographics for fishers about how to prepare for disasters and access relief in the aftermath. He plans to present this project at a workshop later this year.

Coastal Quest: Climate Conversations | Denver, Colorado

An engaging video series exploring the unequal distribution of social capital in fisheries and aquaculture communities

Passionate about promoting gender equality in the seafood sector, Cameron Moore contributes to a range of programming at the nonprofit Seafood and Gender Equality (SAGE) with an intersectional and holistic approach. Recognizing the interconnected nature of climate change, white supremacy, colonialism, and capitalism, Cameron believes it is essential to address these fundamental issues in the conservation sector. 

For their Fellowship, Cameron developed an engaging video series to complement SAGE's Out of Hot Water podcast series, focusing on their personal "What the Heck Moments" in the seafood industry. This series delves into how climate change intensifies the unequal distribution of social capital, particularly affecting minorities in the Gulf of Mexico and the northeast coast of the US. The three-part series covers critical topics such as Indigenous "land back", the connection of women and girls to ocean and land, and social license—the social factors that enable access to coastal livelihoods for some and not others. These videos will also be featured in the "Climate Conversations" webinar series at the Conservation for Seafood Solutions annual conference, amplifying underrepresented voices and fostering meaningful discussions on climate change and social justice.

SOA and Environmental Defense Fund hope that the skills and lessons these fellows have acquired through the LCRF Fellowship will be invaluable as they advance in their careers and help forge a sustainable climate-resilient future for fisheries worldwide.

If you are interested in participating in the 2024 LCRF Fellowship, complete this form here.