Hello everybody, I am an undergraduate student here at California State University, Monterey Bay (CSUMB) majoring in environmental studies. Throughout this spring semester I will be going on a journey to learn about seafood sourcing and what that means for both our personal health and the health of the environment. More specifically I will be focused on the commercial fisheries and aquaculture right here in Monterey Bay. I hope to learn more about the details of how seafood from the ocean, or farm, ends up on our plates at restaurants, fish markets, and grocery stores. I want to share what I learn with all of you at CSUMB.
CSUMB has a reputation for attracting people who find passion and sanctuary in the mix of the ocean landscape and maritime fog. Today, humans are learning how to better coexist with the environment and maintain its natural integrity, especially at CSUMB. Seafood sourcing is a big part of how we interact with this ecosystem. We need to make sure our choices are good for our own health as well the health of the environment. We have arrived at a time where new information on climate change has highlighted the importance of doing everything we can to make choices that are as sustainable as possible and our diets are a large part of that.
I grew up the son of an avid fisherman and was raised a diver and spearfisher. Seafood was synonymous with meals in my household and still is part of my family’s identity and culture, just as it is for many other families that live near a working waterfront. There is a use and need for seafood for the future, but out of cultivated respect for the ocean and everything that it provides us, we owe it to natural world to ensure that process is done responsibly. How to source seafood responsibly is what I want to bring to table when it comes time to eat.
