{"id":35607,"date":"2025-12-12T16:34:33","date_gmt":"2025-12-12T21:34:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/umaine.edu\/mitchellcenter\/?page_id=35607"},"modified":"2025-12-16T13:51:05","modified_gmt":"2025-12-16T18:51:05","slug":"nourishing-mainers-understanding-the-potential-of-local-seafood","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/umaine.edu\/mitchellcenter\/nourishing-mainers-understanding-the-potential-of-local-seafood\/","title":{"rendered":"Nourishing Mainers: Understanding the Potential of Local Seafood"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">(<em>Drivers of nutritional intake in Maine\u2019s social-ecological marine system<\/em>)<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Sponsor:<\/strong> Mitchell Center for Sustainability Solutions<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Team Members<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"mailto:joshua.stoll@maine.edu\">Joshua Stoll<\/a>, Associate Professor, School of Marine Sciences, 91福利 (team leader)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Sahir Advani<strong><em>, <\/em><\/strong>Postdoctoral Research Fellow, School of Marine Sciences, 91福利<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Zoe Alexander, Masters student, School of Marine Sciences, 91福利<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Jade McNamara,<strong><em> <\/em><\/strong>Associate Professor of Human Nutrition, School of Food and Agriculture, 91福利<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Tolulope Oyikeke, PhD candidate, School of Marine Sciences<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Hillary Smith, Research Assistant Professor, School of Marine Sciences, 91福利 <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Kate Yerxa, Extension Professor, Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program; Coordinator, Cooperative Extension and School of Food and Agriculture, 91福利 <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Key Partners<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Tora Johnson<strong>, <\/strong>Co-Director, Sustainable Prosperity Initiative, Sunrise County Economic Council<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Ben Martens<em>, <\/em>Executive Director, Maine Coast Fishermen\u2019s Association<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Jocelyn Runnebaum, Director, Maine Coastal Program, Maine Department of Marine Resources<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Maine has the second-most rural coastline in the continental United States with the second-highest seafood landings, making Maine the most fisheries-dependent state in the continental United States. While the economic impact of these fisheries and aquaculture is well-studied, the role that these industries play in Mainers\u2019 food security and diets is not.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cLimited attention has been devoted to understanding the contributions that marine species play in the local food system or their role in human health and well-being in Maine,\u201d said Stoll. This knowledge gap is notable because seafood is an important source of nutrients, and there are high rates of food insecurity in Maine. Additionally, Maine has set the ambitious goal of increasing the proportion of locally-sourced food consumed in the state to 30% by 2030.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This two-year project, which includes additional funding from the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sewallfoundation.org\/\">Elmina B. Sewall Foundation<\/a>, seeks to fill this knowledge gap, bringing together an interdisciplinary team from the University of Maine School of Marine Sciences, School of Food and Agriculture, and Cooperative Extension. Three partners, spanning the public-private spectrum, will also contribute: the Sunrise County Economic Council, the Maine Coast Fishermen\u2019s Association, and the Maine Department of Marine Resources. The grant will support two graduate students and a postdoctoral research fellow.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This interdisciplinary team will consider five questions:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>What does the nutritional content of seafood landed in Maine communities look like?&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>How are local marine species contributing to rural Maine diets?&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>To what extent is the local marine ecosystem contributing to nutritional security?&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>What are the barriers to accessing locally-sourced seafood?&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>And how do demographics and fisheries access shape seafood consumption patterns?&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>In answering these questions, the team hopes to increase access to local seafood, to inform working waterfront investments, and to get Mainers eating more of the local catch. Stoll also hopes that this research will help spur greater integration of seafood into food system policies and funding.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cBetter integrating seafood into our broader food systems, particularly in marine resource dependent places like Maine, has the potential to improve human health outcomes, while also aligning with recently identified statewide working waterfront infrastructure and economic development goals,\u201d said Stoll.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n<style>.wp-block-kadence-spacer.kt-block-spacer-35607_5d22d2-00 .kt-block-spacer{height:60px;}.wp-block-kadence-spacer.kt-block-spacer-35607_5d22d2-00 .kt-divider{border-top-width:1px;height:1px;border-top-color:#ffffff;width:80%;border-top-style:solid;}<\/style>\n<div class=\"wp-block-kadence-spacer aligncenter kt-block-spacer-35607_5d22d2-00\"><div class=\"kt-block-spacer kt-block-spacer-halign-center\"><hr class=\"kt-divider\" \/><\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>(Drivers of nutritional intake in Maine\u2019s social-ecological marine system) Sponsor: Mitchell Center for Sustainability Solutions Team Members Key Partners Maine has the second-most rural coastline in the continental United States with the second-highest seafood landings, making Maine the most fisheries-dependent state in the continental United States. While the economic impact of these fisheries and aquaculture [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":957,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-35607","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"taxonomy_info":[],"featured_image_src_large":false,"author_info":{"display_name":"mitchellcenter","author_link":"https:\/\/umaine.edu\/mitchellcenter\/author\/mitchellcenter\/"},"comment_info":0,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/umaine.edu\/mitchellcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/35607","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/umaine.edu\/mitchellcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/umaine.edu\/mitchellcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/umaine.edu\/mitchellcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/957"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/umaine.edu\/mitchellcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35607"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/umaine.edu\/mitchellcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/35607\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":35612,"href":"https:\/\/umaine.edu\/mitchellcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/35607\/revisions\/35612"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/umaine.edu\/mitchellcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35607"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}