Southern New England Waters at Henrietta's Table, September 10, 2013

Thirty guests gathered in the private dining room at Henrietta's Table in Cambridge. Over a four-course meal prepared by Chef Peter Davis, the guests and featured speakers launched into a complex conversation ranging from the appropriate role of the government in science, the challenges of really knowing where your food comes from, and the effects of warming waters on local fish stocks.

Place settings (note the little shellfish fork on the far left).

Chef Peter Davis and assistant plate the first course.

Steamers, Razor Clams and Mussels with Verrill Farm Sweet Corn, Potatoes and Pigs Ear Brown Ale

Guests dig into the shellfish dish.

Guest speaker Kristin Kleisner talks about climate change and shifts in New England marine species.

Guests enjoy the meal.

One of Kristin's slides shows that the average latitude at which lobsters are found is shifting north -- likely a response to warming waters.

Kristin's slide: in the Gulf of Maine, some fish species are adapting to the reality of warming waters by moving deeper.

Marinated Grilled Squid, Smoked Blue Fish Pate and Lobster Salad

Chef Peter Davis examines a whole scallop.

Geoffrey Day explains why roe-on scallops are so delicious and rarely found on the market.

Raw whole scallops. The one on the left has red roe because it is a female; the one on the right has white roe because it is male.

Roe-on scallops -- a little-known delicacy

Chef Peter Davis engages in dialogue with the guests about the importance of knowing where your food comes from.

Seared Monkfish with Scallop Roe, Wilted Greens, Heirloom Tomatoes and Lemon Grape Seed Oil

Fisherman Ted Platz shares his thoughts on the future of fisheries science.

Guest speakers

Kristin M. Kleisner (Ph.D. in Marine Biology and Fisheries) is a joint research scientist for The Nature Conservancy and NOAA’s Northeast Fisheries Science Center in Woods Hole. She is currently researching the effect that climate change has on the distributions of fish on the northeast U.S. shelf. She recently moved to Boston from Vancouver where she was a postdoctoral research fellow for the Sea Around Us project at the Fisheries Centre at the University of British Columbia. While there, her research interests include measuring and evaluating the effects of fishing on marine resources, the development and testing of global data-poor stock assessment techniques and indicators of ecosystem health. Her past work included the development of geospatial techniques for assessing highly migratory fish stocks and the assessment of suitable areas for temporal-spatial fishing area closures for red snapper in the Gulf of Mexico.

Ted Platz is a commercial fisherman out of Newport, RI. Ted arrived in New England in the spring of 1985 for what was supposed to be a one year fishing adventure before getting a real post college job. He bought a 20' skiff in 1986 and began fishing on that between trips offshore lobstering. He started running a 38' lobster boat for the Sakonnet Lobster Company in 1991. He bought his first boat, Gertrude H., in 1994. He presently owns three 40' fishing boats that primarily fish for monkfish, skate, and dogfish. His company, Ocean Harvest, Inc., also owns two refrigeration trucks which allows them to move all of their product to processors and local end users. He has been actively involved in fisheries management in New England for over 10 years. Currently he serves on the monkfish and skate Advisory Panels. Ted's boats have been actively involved in the monkfish research set aside program (cooperative research) every year since the inception of the program some ten years ago.

Menu

1. Steamers, Razor Clams and Mussels with Verrill Farm Sweet Corn, Potatoes and Pigs Ear Brown Ale

2. Marinated Grilled Squid, Smoked Blue Fish Pate and Lobster Salad

3. Seared Monkfish with Scallop Roe, Wilted Greens, Heirloom Tomatoes and Lemon Grape Seed Oil

4. Native Fruit Short Cake