Salmon, Subsistence, Pebble Mine and More: Waterside Chat with Melanie Brown of SalmonState
SalmonState's Melanie Brown joined the Marine Fish Conservation Network for an online Waterside Chat on January 23rd, 2024. Melanie fishes commercially in Bristol Bay in Alaska, the fourth generation of her family to make a living on the water. In her role as outreach director at SalmonState, Melanie builds spheres of influence to address marine policy challenges. In a conversation that started with a poem and ended with a song, Melanie and host Tom Sadler talked about:
* The status of the Pebble Mine fight, which now moves to a federal district court, though Melanie hopes for an eventual legislative solution
* How she was born into a fishing family, with her great-great grandfather still fishing when she started at ten years old (she got her permit from him when he retired) and her children following her
* Her work with SalmonState, which grew out of Trout Unlimited's original organizing against Pebble Mine and now covers other issues in the Bering Sea and waters around Alaska, particularly bycatch
* How the Pebble Fight brought together sport fishing interests, commercial fishing interests and Alaska's First People around protecting Bristol Bay
* How mining development in Canada threatens U.S. waters, because "everything flows downstream"
* The status of Magnuson-Stevens reauthorization, plus the work to derail a late Trump administration rule that would open 28 million acres of land to mining and oil & gas exploration
* How wild salmon and other species including caribou play a big role in feeding people in Alaska, particularly the state's First People
And much, much more!
Mentioned in this episode:
* SalmonState: https://salmonstate.org/
* Help keep protections in place for over 28 million acres: https://www.alaskalands.org/take-action
* About the Magnuson-Stevens Act and its bipartisan tradition: https://conservefish.org/healthy-oceans/magnuson-stevens-act-upholding-a-legacy-of-success/
Watch more Waterside Chats or subscribe to the podcast: https://conservefish.org/resources/waterside-chat/
The Marine Fish Conservation Network’s Waterside Chat series connects people who depend on healthy oceans and fisheries with the issues that directly affect them and their communities. Each episode the Network’s Deputy Director Tom Sadler talks with different guests about ocean policy and fisheries management topics. He engages them in genuine and thoughtful conversations about what policy decisions mean for people’s livelihoods, communities, recreation, and coastal ways of life.
Join the Network's email list to learn about future Waterside Chats: https://conservefish.org/join-our-email-list/
Fisherman, Poet & Advocate: Waterside Chat with Kevin Scribner
Kevin Scribner joined the Marine Fish Conservation Network in December 2023 for an online Waterside Chat with host Tom Sadler. Affectionally known as "Scribfish" by friends and colleagues, Kevin is a fisherman, poet, and advocate known for his eclectic and wide-ranging interests related to marine resource issues. Kevin and Tom covered a lot of ground (and water), including:
* How "if you are what you eat", Kevin has become a salmon many times over
* How salmon runs in the Pacific Northwest are hurt by bad management practices on dry land ("What runs off the land is how the land talks to the water")
* How to work with landowners in a market-based program to improve their practices and help them earn a "Salmon Safe" designation
* How this model can be applied to other species and other places, which is why he's recently been working with fishermen in Japan and Hawaii
* How using local resources to solve local problems can help keep food systems (and people!) working during times of duress
* Why you have to be a dreamer and an optimist to keep fishing
Listen to the full conversation to hear about these topics and much more!
Mentioned in this Chat:
* https://salmonsafe.org/
* https://wavefoundation.org/
* https://localcatch.org
Watch more Waterside Chats/subscribe to the podcast: https://conservefish.org/resources/waterside-chat/
The Marine Fish Conservation Network’s Waterside Chat series connects people who depend on healthy oceans and fisheries with the issues that directly affect them and their communities. Each episode the Network’s Deputy Director Tom Sadler talks with different guests about ocean policy and fisheries management topics. He engages them in genuine and thoughtful conversations about what policy decisions mean for people’s livelihoods, communities, recreation, and coastal ways of life.
Join the Network's email list to learn about future Waterside Chats: https://conservefish.org/join-our-email-list/
Marine Sanctuaries & Protected Waters: A Waterside Chat with Joel Johnson
Joel Johnson, the President and CEO of the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation, joined the Marine Fish Conservation Network and host Tom Sadler for an online Waterside Chat on Friday, September 22nd.
The foundation is a leading voice for U.S. protected waters, working with communities to conserve and expand those special places for a healthy ocean, coasts, and Great Lakes. The foundation safeguards species and the places they call home, and preserves America's maritime history.
* More about the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation: https://marinesanctuary.org/
* Watch more Waterside Chats/subscribe to the podcast: https://conservefish.org/resources/waterside-chat/
The Marine Fish Conservation Network’s Waterside Chat series connects people who depend on healthy oceans and fisheries with the issues that directly affect them and their communities. Each episode the Network’s Deputy Director Tom Sadler talks with different guests about ocean policy and fisheries management topics. He engages them in genuine and thoughtful conversations about what policy decisions mean for people’s livelihoods, communities, recreation, and coastal ways of life.
Join the Network's email list to learn about future Waterside Chats: https://conservefish.org/join-our-email-list/
Climate Change and Our Oceans: Waterside Chat with Jean Flemma
Jean Flemma, co-founder of the Urban Ocean Lab and director of the Ocean Defense Initiative, joined the Network for an online Waterside Chat on July 19, 2023. Jean is a long-time policy hand and, as host Tom Sadler described her, "important and very wise counsel on ocean policy". Their conversation covered a range of issues related to oceans and climate change, focusing on actions by the Biden administration and the Blueprint for Ocean Climate Action found at https://oceanclimateaction.org.
Among many other topics, Jean and Tom discussed:
* Why our food supply, coastal communities, coral reefs and more are threatened as the ocean warms and acidifies
* Why if we want a livable planet for our children, we can no longer kick the climate can down the road
* The Biden administration's commitment to addressing climate change's effects on our oceans, and how they are following through on it, including historic sums allocated for coastal-community resilience, electrification of ports and much more
* Why NMFS needs to be doing a lot more to support fisheries managers in addressing the challenges climate change presents to our fisheries
* How the Ocean Defense Initiative focuses on the idea of amplifying ocean issues, to help them break through with decision-makers
* How Blueprint for Ocean Climate Action was crowdsourced from a wide swath of advocates, scientists and activists
Learn more:
* The Urban Ocean Lab: https://urbanoceanlab.org/
* The Blueprint for Ocean Climate Action: https://oceanclimateaction.org
The Marine Fish Conservation Network’s Waterside Chat series connects people who depend on healthy oceans and fisheries with the issues that directly affect them and their communities. Each episode the Network’s Deputy Director Tom Sadler talks with different guests about ocean policy and fisheries management topics. He engages them in genuine and thoughtful conversations about what policy decisions mean for people’s livelihoods, communities, recreation, and coastal ways of life.
Join the Network's email list to learn about future Waterside Chats: https://conservefish.org/join-our-email-list/
Aquaculture the Right Way: Waterside Chat with Andrianna Natsoulas
Andrianna Natsoulas joined host Tom Sadler on June 21, 2023 for a Waterside Chat organized by the Marine Fish Conservation Network. The campaign director for Don’t Cage Our Oceans, Andrianna is also the author of "Food Voices: Stories from the People Who Feed Us."
In a wide-ranging conversation, Tom and Andrianna talked about:
* Don’t Cage Our Oceans' approach to open-ocean aquaculture policy and advocacy
* Why Don't Cage Our Oceans argues that open-ocean, fin-fish aquaculture is neither economical nor sustainable
* The downsides of open-ocean fin-fish farms, from nitrogen and carbon pollution to antibiotic releases and risks to marine mammals
* The comparison between open-ocean fish farms and factory farms on land
* The need for fish-farming practices that are embedded in social, economic, and environmental values — projects that provide nutritious fish to local residents, support the environment, and bring coastal communities more opportunities
Learn more about Don’t Cage Our Oceans: https://dontcageouroceans.org/
The Marine Fish Conservation Network’s Waterside Chat series connects people who depend on healthy oceans and fisheries with the issues that directly affect them and their communities. Each episode the Network’s Deputy Director Tom Sadler talks with different guests about ocean policy and fisheries management topics. He engages them in genuine and thoughtful conversations about what policy decisions mean for people’s livelihoods, communities, recreation, and coastal ways of life.
Join the Network's email list to learn about future Waterside Chats: https://conservefish.org/join-our-email-list/
Waterside Chat with Brad Warren of Global Ocean Health
Brad Warren, president of Global Ocean Health, joined host Tom Sadler of the Marine Fish Conservation Network on May 31, 2023 for an online Waterside Chat. Global Ocean Health is based around the idea that when the "health of the ocean itself is threatened, the strongest champions are people who depend on it for a living." Brad and host Tom Sadler talked about:
* How the seeing salmon reduced to a shadow of their former abundance – and size – motivated him and so many others to take action.
* Why melting glaciers and ocean acidification are bad news for fish populations, and how fish losses from heat and drought are a direct and visible result of climate change.
* How frontline food producers can see the unraveling of the ecosystems that make us dinner.
* The power of fishermen speaking directly to Congress about the threat to their livelihoods and their ability to feed the rest of us
* How Global Ocean Health is working with tribal nations to address climate change.
* Why the tribal ethic of multi-generational stewardship is essential to helping restore the ocean, atmosphere, and land balance.
* How Global Ocean Health, helps seafood producers, resource-dependent communities and scientists understand climate change, document its consequences, and protect fishery resources and ecosystems.
More about Global Ocean Health: http://globaloceanhealth.org/
The Marine Fish Conservation Network’s Waterside Chat series connects people who depend on healthy oceans and fisheries with the issues that directly affect them and their communities. Each episode the Network’s Deputy Director Tom Sadler talks with different guests about ocean policy and fisheries management topics. He engages them in genuine and thoughtful conversations about what policy decisions mean for people’s livelihoods, communities, recreation, and coastal ways of life.
Join the Network's email list to learn about future Waterside Chats: https://conservefish.org/join-our-email-list/
Managing Gulf Fisheries for the Long Term: Waterside Chat with Eric Brazer
Eric Brazer joined host Tom Sadler for a Waterside Chat on April 26th, 2023. Eric is the deputy director of the Gulf of Mexico Reef Fish Shareholders' Alliance, a member of the Network’s Policy Council, and a voice on behalf of science-based management of Gulf Red Snapper and other species. Among many other things, Eric and Tom discussed:
* How despite years of fisheries conservation successes, the Gulf is telling us it's in trouble. Populations of fish such as gag grouper have declined to their lowest level on record, prompting huge cuts in fishing quotas.
* The need for ecosystem management rather than managing individual species in isolation.
* The need for fisheries managers to have experience in fisheries management or on the water. The Gulf management council has more people named "Bob" serving on it right now than it does actual commercial fishermen.
* How the Shareholder Alliance’s Quota Bank that helps reduce red snapper discards in the eastern Gulf by holding participants to a high standard of accountability in a market-based system.
* The Alliance's policy work to support good science and data, to educate regional and federal regulators, and to play an active role in shaping our commercial fishing regulations.
* Their work with the Gulf Wild brand program, supporting a seafood traceability program built by fishermen for fishermen.
* How the Alliance fosters the next generation of conservation-minded fishermen.
* The complex effects of climate change on Gulf fish populations.
More about the Gulf of Mexico Reef Fish Shareholders' Alliance: https://shareholdersalliance.org/
More about the Gulf Wild program: https://gulfwild.com/
The Marine Fish Conservation Network’s Waterside Chat series connects people who depend on healthy oceans and fisheries with the issues that directly affect them and their communities. Each episode the Network’s Deputy Director Tom Sadler talks with different guests about ocean policy and fisheries management topics. He engages them in genuine and thoughtful conversations about what policy decisions mean for people’s livelihoods, communities, recreation, and coastal ways of life.
Join the Network's email list to learn about future Waterside Chats: https://conservefish.org/join-our-email-list/
Listen to Waterside Chats as a podcast: https://conservefish.org/resources/waterside-chat/
Salmon, Steelhead and Climate Change in the Pacific Northwest: A Waterside Chat with Bob Rees
Bob Rees of the Northwest Guides and Anglers Association joined Waterside Chat host Tom Sadler on April 19, 2023 to talk about salmon, steelhead and conservation in the Pacific Northwest. Among many topics, they discussed:
* How climate change and forest-clearing have raised water temperatures in many streams to the point that juvenile salmonids cannot thrive and often can't survive at all. Fish are a forest product, like timber, and forest management needs to take their survival into account
* How the Snake River Dams have damaged or destroyed salmon runs that local communities have relied on for many years
* How fishing guides and others whose livelihoods depend on healthy stocks of salmon and steelhead are working together to change public policy around fisheries and conservation.
* Why even an email or a letter to a legislator or the Board of Forestry can make a difference
* Tips for fishing in Oregon waters this year
Mentioned in this episode:
Northwest Guides and Anglers Association: https://nwguidesandanglers.org/
The Association of Northwest Steelheaders: https://nwsteelheaders.org/
Northwest Sportfishing Industry Association: https://nsiafishing.org/
Team Spicy biggest fish winner video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ROGndNLE7AU
The Marine Fish Conservation Network’s Waterside Chat series connects people who depend on healthy oceans and fisheries with the issues that directly affect them and their communities. Each episode the Network’s Deputy Director Tom Sadler talks with different guests about ocean policy and fisheries management topics. He engages them in genuine and thoughtful conversations about what policy decisions mean for people’s livelihoods, communities, recreation, and coastal ways of life.
Join the Network's email list to learn about future Waterside Chats: https://conservefish.org/join-our-email-list/
Listen to Waterside Chats as a podcast: https://conservefish.org/resources/waterside-chat/
It's All About the Food System: A Waterside Chat with Justin Zeulner of The Wave Foundation
The Wave Foundation Founder and President Justin Zeulner joined host Tom Sadler for a Waterside Chat on February 28, 2023, about The Wave's large-scale approaches to food programs around equity, environmental stewardship, diversity and resilience, with an emphasis on local production and healthy communities.
The organization's big goals involve systemic change in the ways we feed ourselves as a society, but The Wave pivoted during Covid to providing services in the Pacific Northwest, particularly to rural and tribal communities not being effectively served by food banks and other traditional interventions. The Wave distributed eight million pounds of healthy, sustainably grown and culturally appropriate food in two years of the pandemic, including food boxes based around Alaska salmon or tribal-caught Columbia River salmon and filled out with other products grown locally in the Northwest.
The food box program and The Wave's work to introduce locally and sustainably grown ingredients to sports arenas and other large public venues have had ripple effects, since a commitment to purchase allowed farmers to invest in capacity and grow their operations. Learn more about how Justin's time as a pioneering snowboarder sparked his interest in conservation, and how his experience with Paul Allen and the Green Sports Alliance helped The Wave come together.
The Marine Fish Conservation Network’s Waterside Chat series connects people who depend on healthy oceans and fisheries with the issues that directly affect them and their communities. Each episode the Network’s Deputy Director Tom Sadler talks with different guests about ocean policy and fisheries management topics. He engages them in genuine and thoughtful conversations about what policy decisions mean for people’s livelihoods, communities, recreation, and coastal ways of life.
Learn about The Wave Foundation: https://www.thewavenw.org/
Join the Network's email list to learn about future Waterside Chats: https://conservefish.org/join-our-email-list/
Listen to Waterside Chats as a podcast: https://conservefish.org/resources/waterside-chat/
