Southern New England waters at Nourish, Lexington, February 28th, 2013

Karen Masterson kicked off the very first dinner in the Boston Eating with the Ecosystem series at her Lexington eatery, nourish. We were joined by guests from near and far for a cozy and inspiring meal, interspersed with Nathan Rebuck's informative presentation on ocean acidification and Katie Eagan's passionate chronicling of her coming of age as a young, second-generation commercial fisherman.

Guests enjoy the chowder.

Red shellfish chowder.

Karen Masterson, proprietor of nourish Restaurant, welcomes guests and explains the importance of diversifying our seafood diet.

Sea scallop salad.

Rhode Island fisherman Katie Eagan enthralls guests with her story of being a commercial fisherman.

Guests listen to speaker Katie Eagan as she describes what makes commercial fishing challenging but special.

Razor clams and chips.

Proprietor Karen Masterson converses with guests about how we must all urge our seafood retail establishments to support small and medium sized local fishing boats.

Fish taco, made with Southern New England scup.

Guest speaker Nathan Rebuck describes how the accumulation of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is altering the chemistry of seawater.

Skate, pan fried with seasonal local vegetables.

Menu :

Red shellfish chowder
Sea scallop salad
Razor clams and chips
Fish taco, made with Southern New England scup
Skate, pan fried with seasonal local vegetables

Guest speakers :

Katie Eagan is a second-generation commercial fisherman from Bristol, RI. She fishes with traps from her father’s 32-ft boat, catching lobsters, conchs, and crabs. When not on the boat, she digs for shellfish along the shorelines of Narragansett Bay. She spent two years with the Peace Corps in Fiji, where she worked with local communities to develop coastal management plans, and graduated from URI with a bachelors’ degree in Marine Affairs. She now fishes year-round, following the seasonal patterns of abundance of different species as they migrate throughout the year. Katie is valued as a well-respected communicator by her fellow fisherman and local fisheries managers alike.

Nathan Rebuck is currently a Post-Doctoral Research Associate for the National Research Council working with the Northeast Fisheries Science Center (part of NMFS-NOAA) in Narragansett, RI. His current studies are examining the rates and determinants of ocean acidification in the Northeastern US and possible future acidification under varying carbon dioxide emissions scenarios. He received his PhD in Oceanography from the University of Maine in 2011, where his research examined the causes of variability in dissolved nutrient concentrations in the Gulf of Maine. He received his undergraduate degree in Ecology from Princeton University in 2002, and worked as a Naturalist Tour Guide on the coast of Georgia. After exploring much of the eastern seaboard, he now lives in Jamestown, RI where he spends much of his time in, on, and around Narragansett Bay.

nourish is located at 1727 Massachusetts Avenue, Lexington, MA, 02420.