NYSG public education program builds support for Long Island seafood

Contact:

Antoinette Clemetson, NYSG Marine Fisheries Specialist, P: 631-632-8730, E: aoc5@cornell.edu

Stony Brook, NY, March 4, 2019 - More than 10,000 travelers on the Long Island (LI) Expressway use the facilities at the LI Welcome Center and shop for local food products at the Taste New York Marketplace retail store each day in summer. There is a limited seafood inventory available at this retail store and managers are seeking ways to increase consumer awareness and demand for these products.

New York Sea Grant and Cornell Cooperative Extension of Nassau County established a partnership to design and conduct a month-long program to educate visitors about seafood nutrition and the sustainable fisheries that help to sustain Long Island’s coastal economies.

July 2018 was celebrated as Seafood Awareness Month at the Welcome Center. Cornell University College of Agriculture and Life Science funded a Seafood Ambassador summer intern who hosted a kiosk where visitors received information about seafood nutrition and sustainable fisheries in recognition of Long Island’s rich maritime heritage.

Two evenings were used to honor fishing traditions through storytelling. A local bayman talked about his life on the water and read poetry. A fisherman who sells value-added seafood products at the retail store hosted a tasting session for visitors. A farm-to-table chef from a local restaurant conducted a seafood cooking demonstration and talked about support for the local food industry in Nassau County. This month-long program intercepted at least 2,000 visitors.


2018 Cornell University CALS Seafood Ambassador Susanna Osinski (Inset, right) at the Long Island Welcome Center; Inset, left: Spicy Calamari Salad prepared by Chef Francis J. Derby to culminate Seafood Awareness Month at the Long Island Welcome Center. Credit: NYSG/Antoinette Clemetson.

Partners:

• Cornell Cooperative Extension of Nassau County
• Cornell University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
• New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets

More Info: New York Sea Grant

New York Sea Grant (NYSG), a cooperative program of Cornell University and the State University of New York (SUNY), is one of 33 university-based programs under the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Sea Grant College Program.

Since 1971, NYSG has represented a statewide network of integrated research, education and extension services promoting coastal community economic vitality, environmental sustainability and citizen awareness and understanding about the State’s marine and Great Lakes resources.

Through NYSG’s efforts, the combined talents of university scientists and extension specialists help develop and transfer science-based information to many coastal user groups—businesses and industries, federal, state and local government decision-makers and agency managers, educators, the media and the interested public.

The program maintains Great Lakes offices at Cornell University, SUNY Buffalo, SUNY Oswego and the Wayne County Cooperative Extension office in Newark. In the State's marine waters, NYSG has offices at Stony Brook University in Long Island, Brooklyn College and Cornell Cooperative Extension in NYC and Kingston in the Hudson Valley.

For updates on Sea Grant activities: www.nyseagrant.org has RSS, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube links. NYSG offers a free e-list sign up via www.nyseagrant.org/nycoastlines for its flagship publication, NY Coastlines/Currents, which is published quarterly. Our program also produces an occasional e-newsletter,"NOAA Sea Grant's Social Media Review," via its blog, www.nyseagrant.org/blog.