2024 New York Seafood Summit Access and Opportunities Panel, Riverhead, NY, from left: commercial fishermen Al Schaffer and Mike Bauhs; Long Island Commercial Fishing Association Executive Director Bonnie Brady; processor/distributor/retailer Mike Lucchesse, Gra-Bar Fish; Matt Ketchum, Peconic Gold Oysters. Credit: B. Udelson/NYSG
Contact:
Michael Ciaramella, NYSG Seafood Safety & Technology Specialist, E: mc2544@cornell.edu, P: (631) 824-4052
NYSG Hosts 8th Annual New York Seafood Summit, where active cross-sector communication and collaboration is crucial to enhancing and supporting growth in aquatic foods production and processing in New York
Stony Brook, NY, May 27, 2025 - A truly supported aquatic foods sector that is well positioned for growth requires coordinated efforts as well as active collaboration and communication across the diverse sectors involved in the aquatic food chain.
To facilitate regular and active communication among the aquatic foods industry, agencies, academics, and organizations involved in the safety and quality of aquatic foods, New York Sea Grant (NYSG) coordinated its 8th Annual NY Seafood Summit. With a theme of Exploring Access and Opportunities for NY Seafood, the 2024 summit agenda included talks that explored the challenges and opportunities associated with access to aquatic foods and aquatic food products, including all farmed and wild-caught fish, shellfish, and seaweed. Speakers represented commercial seafood producers and sellers, aquaculture producers, a chef, an aquatic veterinarian, researchers, and state and federal agency representatives.
Three Seafood Summit events were held upstate, mid-state, and downstate (Geneva, Hyde Park, Riverhead), attracting more than 150 participants. Of 34 individuals who completed the post-summit event evaluations, 16 indicated that the event impacted how their organization, program, or business would function using the knowledge gained at this 8th annual Seafood Summit.
The 8th Annual Seafood Summit enhanced opportunities for knowledge exchange to support the aquatic foods industry’s efforts to grow and be resilient. Session recordings are posted at nyseagrant.org/seafoodsummit.
Project Partners/Funders:
• Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County
• Culinary Institute of America
• Center for Aquatic Animal Research and Management
• Funding: Cornell Atkinson Center for Sustainability
More Info: New York Sea Grant
Established in 1966, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)’s National Sea Grant College Program promotes the informed stewardship of coastal resources in 34 joint federal/state university-based programs in every U.S. coastal state (marine and Great Lakes) and Puerto Rico. The Sea Grant model has also inspired similar projects in the Pacific region, Korea and Indonesia.
Since 1971, New York Sea Grant (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.
NYSG historically leverages on average a 3 to 6-fold return on each invested federal dollar, annually. We benefit from this, as these resources are invested in Sea Grant staff and their work in communities right here in New York.
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.
New York Sea Grant, one of the largest of the state Sea Grant programs, is a cooperative program of the State University of New York (SUNY) and Cornell University. The program maintains Great Lakes offices at Cornell University, SUNY Buffalo, Rochester Institute of Technology, SUNY Oswego, the Wayne County Cooperative Extension office in Newark, and in Watertown. In the State's marine waters, NYSG has offices at Stony Brook University and with Cornell Cooperative Extension of Nassau County on Long Island, in Queens, at Brooklyn College, with Cornell Cooperative Extension in NYC, in Bronx, with Cornell Cooperative Extension of Ulster County in Kingston, and with Cornell Cooperative Extension of Westchester County in Elmsford.
For updates on Sea Grant activities: www.nyseagrant.org, follow us on social media (Facebook, Twitter/X, Instagram, Bluesky, LinkedIn, and YouTube). NYSG offers a free e-list sign up via www.nyseagrant.org/nycoastlines for its flagship publication, NY Coastlines/Currents, which it publishes 2-3 times a year.