“What can we do to make sure we’re getting sustainable seafood here?”
The question came from an Honors Biology student at Woodberry Forest School in Orange, Va. during a Zoom class in mid-May. It was the last class we taught this spring, and the question was one of the more thoughtful questions asked in classrooms this year.
Woodberry is a boarding school, responsible for feeding more than 400 students three times a day. So the question and its implications were relevant to many of students in the class and at the school.
Framing our relationship to seafood
During the class, we talked about our collective relationship to seafood, whether we eat it or not, and the importance of taking ownership of that relationship. We talked about different factors that frame the discussion around seafood sustainability: geography, relationships, abundance, scale, harvest methods, ecological impact, community support and focus, quality, heritage, effective fisheries management, fair price to both fishermen and customers, and more. How do these factors shape our values prism when considering seafood purchases?
We discussed what local seafood systems look like via examples like the Tuna Harbor Dockside Market. We explored how industrial salmon farming poses significant environmental and socio-economic threats. This includes the stark food justice issues of global fleets pillaging the forage fish that coastal communities in developing countries count on for their food to grind up to feed farmed salmon folks in those coastal communities couldn’t afford.
The domestic shrimp industry along the coasts of the Gulf of Mexico and southeast Atlantic was a great example of how the complex global seafood supply chain can disadvantage domestic fisherfolk, especially when local markets become flooded with cheap imported shrimp. We also highlighted how a resilient collective of shrimpers, chefs, scientists, and advocates have flipped the conversation showcasing the benefits of supporting local/domestic shrimp and shrimpers: support for local fishermen, support for local economies, healthier shrimp (not hammered with nasty chemicals), and better support for the environment.
We talked about how special PCR testing had been used to identify widespread fraud among restaurants and retailers throughout the south who mislabeled imported shrimp as domestic. We also talked about how persistent testing, storytelling and legislative campaigning has started to shift the tide where more people are choosing and sourcing domestic shrimp and dock prices are rising. This conversation was especially relevant to these students who had done similar DNA testing in their class.
Taking responsibility for that relationship
And we talked about students’ role in the seafood equation. If they like seafood, they should care about where it comes from and how it goes from ocean to plate. We used the analogy of asking a farmer at a farmer’s market about the eggs for sale. Students realized they had the right and the responsibility to ask about the seafood they eat.
Hence the above question about seafood served at the school.
I suggested students reach out to the school’s dining services team to talk about how they source seafood. Where does it come from? Was it farm raised? If so, were antibiotics used? “If we as students care about sustainability, how can we work together to ensure we’re eating sustainable seafood?”
That this conversation arose during the last class we’d teach this academic year, a class at my alma mater, was a rewarding reminder of why we do what we do. If we can inspire that kind of thinking in the classroom or in the community, we must be doing something right.
Onward!
Thanks to Eric Hicks for inviting me again to speak to his students!
Top photo: Screenshot of the Zoom call with three different Honors Biology classes (upper right hand corner) at Woodberry Forest School last month.
