Colles Stowell, Founder, President
The passion was born with the sight of my first big fish being hauled on board a charter boat off the Louisiana coast. The Jack Crevalle was almost as big as the dazed and somewhat seasick five-year-old I was.
The door opened, seeding a lifetime of recreational fishing: from my childhood patrolling the bayous in ancient wooden skiffs to cruising small N.H. lakes and rivers in an aluminum canoe, and from wading small trout streams in Northern N.H. to world-class salmon rivers in Canada and bonefish flats in the Bahamas.
It’s in my blood.
Along the way, I discovered two other deep passions. The first was fresh, local seafood, which was abundant year-round in my hometown of New Orleans. The other was writing. Ten years of journalism, including a variety of writing for The Boston Globe, United Press International and New Hampshire Public Radio preceded 10 years of technology writing for a high tech PR firm with some Fortune 500 clients.
I began writing about sustainable fisheries and sustainable seafood in 2011 after seeing once abundant species like Atlantic salmon and Atlantic cod pushed to the point of collapse. Since then, I’ve delved into issues ranging from privatization of our oceans to the devastating impact the proposed Pebble Mine would have on the world’s largest wild salmon run, located in Bristol Bay, Alaska.
Starting this foundation is the confluence of my career and personal passions. My deep-seated interest in fisheries and in striking the right balance to support well-managed fisheries, transparent, local seafood systems, and healthy oceans for future generations drives One Fish Foundation.
That energy sparks the interactive classroom discussions and blogs that convey the message that we need to work together to find better management solutions locally, nationally and internationally, and that we need to find better ways to adapt to climate impacts on our oceans. Educating students and their parents about their relationship to seafood as a resource is perhaps the best way to ensure we take care of that resource so it can sustain us.
Sydney Bichsel, Communications Coordinator
The powerful draw to water has been with me since my days as a small child. Growing up each summer amongst the shallow beaches and rocky jetties of the Cape Cod Atlantic, I poked and prodded my way to a relationship built on the knowledge that the ocean holds a power far deeper than I could ever understand. Coming from a long line of dairy farmers, my relationship with food was always rooted in where it came from and the power it had to draw people together. It wasn’t until I moved from the industrial steel cities I grew up in to the pristine, natural wonderland that is Southern Oregon that I was able to put together the pieces of my life. A connection was formed between my passion for community driven food sources to the highly accessible local seafood sources in the area. Powered by my desire to eat locally in my new home, I began talking with Oregon coastal fishermen at markets, purchasing seafood solely from small shops where I knew it had come from Oregon coastal waters. It was this connection of putting faces to food sources that secured the bond between the ocean and my kitchen table.
As an avid reader, writer, and media consumer, the natural pathway for my career was to find organizations that fuel me with a purpose and that speak to my personal passions and to aid them in extending their messages to their communities and audiences at large. It is my hope to utilize my skill set to share powerful and important information with the public in the hopes of igniting passions in others.
Jennifer Halstead, Digital Advisor
For as long as I can remember, the ocean has been my favorite place. The dynamics of the ocean, from roaring waves to calm waters, have always called to my soul. For a long time, it was just a place to visit. As I got older, I saw the damage we were doing to our planet, and often the ocean was forgotten in those conversations. When I embarked on my college journey, I knew the environment would be the focus, and I ended up diving deep into the ocean.
Throughout my studies, I completed several marine-centered research projects, with a lot of focus on ocean acidification and climate change, and worked in a water quality lab in NH. It was my time at Shoals Marine Lab on Appledore Island, ME where I fell in love with fish. After a two-week intensive course filled with fishing trips and guest lectures from local fishermen (and Colles and One Fish Foundation!), I shifted my focus from marine biology to sustainable fisheries, and I haven’t looked back.
A couple of weeks after my time at Shoals, I emailed Colles to see if I could intern, and the rest is One Fish-tory. For almost 5 years, I learned many of the facets of the work of One Fish Foundation, cultivated a deeper understanding of what truly sustainable fisheries look like, and my passion for it all grew deeper. Currently, I’m a full-time Community Organizer at NAMA, focusing on outreach and communications, and managing the website and newsletter.
In my downtime, I can be found painting (usually something ocean related), in the garden, or on the rocky Maine coastline with my partner, Alex, and our dog, Bluto.
Jennifer Halstead, Digital Adviser
For as long as I can remember, the ocean has been my favorite place. The dynamics of the ocean, from roaring waves to calm waters, have always called to my soul. For a long time, it was just a place to visit. As I got older, I saw the damage we were doing to our planet, and often the ocean was forgotten in those conversations. When I embarked on my college journey, I knew the environment would be the focus, and I ended up diving deep into the ocean.
Throughout my studies, I completed several marine-centered research projects, with a lot of focus on ocean acidification and climate change, and worked in a water quality lab in NH. It was my time at Shoals Marine Lab on Appledore Island, ME where I fell in love with fish. After a two-week intensive course filled with fishing trips and guest lectures from local fishermen (and Colles!), I shifted my focus from marine biology to sustainable fisheries, and I haven’t looked back.
A couple of weeks after my time at Shoals, I emailed Colles to see if I could intern, and the rest is One Fish-tory. For almost 5 years, I learned many of the facets of the work of One Fish Foundation, cultivated a deeper understanding of what truly sustainable fisheries look like, and my passion for it all grew deeper. Currently, I’m a full-time Community Organizer at NAMA, focusing on outreach and communications, and managing the website and newsletter.
In my downtime, I can be found painting (usually something ocean related), in the garden, or on the rocky Maine coastline with my partner, Alex, and our dog, Bluto.