April 22, 2022 — The following was released by the New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center:
New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center was recently awarded a $25,000 grant from the Division of Marine Fisheries’ (DMF) Seafood Marketing Program. The program was launched in 2016 to increase awareness and demand for Massachusetts seafood products and to enhance the viability and stabilize the economic environment for the state’s local commercial fishing and seafood industries and communities.
The Center’s project, A School of Fish: Infusing Sustainable Seafood into Culinary Arts Programs & the Public Palate, will support a year-long partnership with the culinary arts programs at Greater New Bedford Regional-Vocational Technical High School and Bristol Community College. Together, the Center and project partners will produce materials and programs to educate the next generation of chefs and the general public about the local seafood industry with a focus on local, underutilized, and abundant seafood species. “We are thrilled to support the seafood industry by helping to build demand for some of the lesser-known seafood species,” says the Center’s Executive Director, Laura Orleans. In addition to producing curriculum materials and a digital cookbook, the project will support cooking demonstrations, classes, and a Seafood Throwdown.
“Importantly, these projects will educate and steer consumers towards the Commonwealth’s healthy and sustainable seafood, directly benefiting our economy and historic fishing communities.” Department of Fish and Game Commissioner Ron Amidon says: “The Seafood Marketing Grant Program projects provide further support the for the livelihoods of the many families who rely on commercial fishing, processing, and related business.”