The Story Walking Radio Hour with Wendy Fachon: Local Seafood Year-round

Local Seafood Year-round: Eating with the Seasons

Guests Molly Moran-Ogren, Jordyn Kastlunger and Alexander Esterly, RI Seafood Marketing Collaborative

By purchasing and eating local seafood, we help sustain regional fisheries and local fishing businesses. The Seafood Marketing Collaborative (SMC) is actively engaged in a host of programs and activities aimed at fostering increased awareness of, interest in and demand for local seafood products. In addition to developing and trademarking the RI Seafood logo, the Collaborative has launched a robust website, which serves as the focal point for the marketing campaign. The RI Seafood Brand is at the heart of the local food scene in the Ocean State. It guarantees seafood is fresh and landed in right here in Rhode Island, and it supports the local economy and local traditions. Consumers can find RI Seafood products in grocery stores and restaurants and at festivals and farmers' markets during every season.

Molly Moran-Ogren, SMC Chair, was born in Juneau, Alaska, and is a fourth-generation commercial fisherman. Understanding that commercial fishing is a livelihood dependent on the resource, and wanting to keep her family’s legacy alive, Molly shifted her career from fishing to advocating for all parts of the seafood industry. She has a Bachelor of Science from the University of Nevada, a Juris Doctor from Roger Williams University School of Law, and a Master’s Degree in Marine Affairs from the University of Rhode Island. As the appointed Chair of the SMC, Molly oversees the day-to-day programmatic initiatives, budget, grant proposals, collaborative coordination and meetings, and more.

Jordyn Kastlunger, SMC Marketing Specialist, manages the social media pages of RI Seafood, publishes the newsletter, and works closely with local fishermen for features. She comes from a third-generation fishing family in San Diego and grew up working as a deckhand for her father and assisting in the direct sales of their catch to the community. Jordyn graduated from San Diego State University with a bachelor’s degree in Communications and a minor in Sustainability. She has attended a variety of conferences and meetings both on a national and international level speaking about the importance and success of commercial fishing and sustainable seafood sources.

Alex Esterly, RI Seafood’s Marketing Intern focuses on community engagement by representing the collaborative at local seafood festivals and farmers’ markets. His love for all things seafood comes from the time he spent fishing as a child on the Jersey Shore with his grandpa. Alex is originally from Pennsylvania and made his way to the Ocean State to attend the University of Rhode Island where he received his bachelor's degrees in Environmental Economics and Marine Affairs, and his master's degree in Environmental Economics.

These three guests share their amazing background stories, detai their experiences working together in the SMC and guide us toward eating more sustainably.

INFORMATION RESOURCES

Overall website: https://seafood.ri.gov/

Seafood finder: https://seafood.ri.gov/ri-seafood-finder

PDF cookbooks: https://seafood.ri.gov/local-species/recipes-resources

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RISeafoodRocks/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ri.seafood/

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