Scientists & Researchers
Ecosystem science provides the backbone for our work. Eating with the Ecosystem’s mission is modeled on the concepts behind ecosystem-based fisheries management (EBFM), applied to the New England seafood system with the goal of promoting resilient socio-ecological systems. Scientists and researchers are involved in our work in many ways, they serve as valued partners, advisors, and thought leaders.
If you are a scientist or researcher interested in collaborating with Eating with the Ecosystem, here are a few ways you can get involved:
Partner with us on a research project. Our methodological expertise includes citizen science, seafood markets, and seafood supply chains.
Hire us to disseminate your findings to the public. We are available to help coordinate a public seafood event to help your findings reach a broader audience, or to use our in-house graphics skills to help you create attractive informational literature.
Speak at one of our educational public events. Help us educate seafood lovers about the what’s going on in local marine ecosystems and how they can help.
Serve on our Advisory NETwork. Join our inside circle of mentors by signing up for an ongoing advising role.
If you are interested in getting involved in any of these ways, contact kate@eatingwiththeecosystem.org
Examples of our work
Eat Like a Fish Citizen Science Research Project
This one-of-a-kind research project included weekly shopping expeditions, home cooking experiments, and adventurous dinner table taste tests. Eighty six citizen scientists journeyed to seafood markets, supermarkets, farmers’ markets, and seaside fishing piers, hunting for 52 New England seafood species for 26 weeks (at a rate of four randomly assigned species per person per week), making note of where they found them and where they didn’t. When they found them, they took them home for dinner.
The Eat Like a Fish citizen science project produced first-of-its-kind data to help seafood eaters, sellers, and promoters plot a course for achieving greater symmetry between the wild creatures in New England’s ocean ecosystem and those found in its markets. Diversifying seafood supply chains and balancing harvests with ecological rhythms are necessary steps to reduce disruption of marine food webs and adapt to climate change.
Annual Seafood market Blitz
Using the concept of a Bio Blitz, (an intense period of biological surveying conducted by groups of scientists, naturalists, and volunteers in an attempt to record all living species within a given area over a continuous period of time), we set out to apply this concept to the seafood marketplace to help us gain a greater understanding of the composition of seafood in our New England retail markets. The Seafood Market Blitz utilizes a group of citizen science volunteers to collect data about New England retail seafood markets such as species availability, product form, price, origin, and sustainability labels present. Our goal is to have volunteers visit as many New England retail markets that sell seafood as possible. The data collected through the Seafood Market Blitz will go into a database that can be used to help understand the composition of the New England seafood marketplace and track changes over time.