(At left) Porgy (scup) with lime caught in the LI Sound; (At right) Shucked Eastern Oysters from Peeko Oysters in New Suffolk, NY. Credit: Michael Ciaramella/NYSG.

Contact: 

Michael Ciaramella, NYSG Seafood Safety & Technology Specialist, P: 631-632-8730, E: mc2544@cornell.edu

Stony Brook, NY, October 1, 2021 - NOAA’s National Sea Grant College Program announced $3.5 million in federal funding to improve sustainable aquaculture and strengthen seafood resources impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic through Sea Grant programs across the nation. Mike Ciaramella, New York Sea Grant’s Seafood Specialist, is awarded $200,000 to carry out a project with partners from Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County’s (CCE of Suffolk) Marine Program that will enhance the market for New York farmed and fished seafood.

This multi-layered, two-year project aims to help the New York seafood industry by encouraging New York retailers to sell and New York buyers to choose local NY landed seafood. This will be done through initiatives that will engage Long Island and New York City retailers and consumers to choose local seafood and create opportunities for all sectors of the seafood industry to network, learn, and collaborate. New York Sea Grant and CCE of Suffolk Marine Program will conduct efforts at farmers markets, farm stands, seafood retail outlets, and event spaces across southeastern New York. 


(At left) Skate from Lady J Seafood in Hampton Bays, NY; (At right) A delicious dish of scallops. Credit: Michael Ciaramella/NYSG.

New York Sea Grant Leads Incentive Program and Annual NY Seafood Summit

New York Sea Grant (NYSG) will lead the effort on designing and distributing an insulated tote bag to retail outlets and farm stands in NYC and eastern Long Island so that they can give them out to consumers that purchase NY landed seafood. A free tote-bag with educational materials can provide incentive for buyers to choose locally landed products. This can also encourage retailers to want to be a part of this program and sell more NY landed seafood as buyers respond to the incentive. The insulated tote bag’s purpose is not only to encourage the sale of NY landed seafood, but it also provides a safe way to transfer purchased products from retail outlet to destination. 

“This incentive program will help educate and bring awareness to the local products we have here in New York. Despite New York being a coastal state, many residents are unfamiliar with the diversity of species that are farmed and fished throughout the state. We hope the incentive program provides retailers with a platform to highlight NY grown and harvested seafood and to talk about sustainability and safety of NY products,” says Ciaramella. 

In addition to providing these totes to retailers, many will be given to Long Island Cares Food Bank as they distribute NY landed seafood products to the communities they serve. These totes will help transfer products safely and help educate communities on local seafood products and how to store and handle them safely.

The goal of the incentive program is to increase demand for NY seafood, which will support and create sustainable local fishing and farming industries.

Beyond the direct to consumer experience, since 2016, NYSG and its partners have facilitated the NY Seafood Summit, an annual event that engages seafood professionals throughout all sectors of the industry to network, collaborate, and gain knowledge that will enhance their businesses. This in-person event has evolved to include virtual opportunities for participation. The federal funding from this award allows for an expansion of this event at locations beyond Manhattan, to now include events in eastern Long Island, the mid-state region, and virtual events during the week-long summit. The summit supports the seafood industry by highlighting local species, seafood businesses and fisherman, and allowing professionals to communicate trends, opportunities, and needs. 

This multi-layered, two-year project also keeps in mind the shift in demand for local seafood as the COVID-19 pandemic created changes in the economic scope of the industry. As part of New York Sea Grant’s Rapid Response Support, the Seafood Processing and Marketing Taskforce was developed to equip New York fishermen and aquaculturists with interactive guides that shed light on the regulatory requirements of seafood processing and how best to market their products to expand their business. Expanding on these resources will further help farmers and fisherman grow their local businesses sustainably and safely.  

CCE Suffolk Marine Program Focuses on the Culinary Aspect of Local Seafood

CCE Suffolk will hold cooking demonstrations and provide recipes for local seafood at community events held at fish markets and farmers markets on Long Island. The events and recipe cards will focus on underutilized fish such as porgy, dogfish, skate, monkfish, and sea robin as many consumers are unaware of their existence, flavor, and edibility. These efforts will enhance community engagement with local seafood availability, access, and preparation. By increasing demand and creating awareness for these species, fishermen and aquaculturists can bring their catch to the market more successfully. These outreach and education events expand on CCE Suffolk’s “Choose Local F.I.S.H” initiative that promotes the fact that local seafood is “Fresh, Indigenous, Sustainable, and Healthy”.  This initiative brings awareness to which species are local to Long Island’s coastal waters, provides knowledge about the benefits of choosing local and underutilized fish, and brings easy recipes and tips to home chefs to confidently choose and cook local seafood.


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 34 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, University at 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 and Cornell Cooperative Extension of Nassau County on Long Island; at Brooklyn College, with New York City Department of Environmental Protection in Queens and at Cornell Cooperative Extension in NYC and Elmsford and Kingston in the Hudson Valley.

For updates on Sea Grant activities: www.nyseagrant.org has RSS, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, 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.