September 6, 2023 — The following was released by The Local Catch Network:
The Local Catch Network (LCN), based in the School of Marine
Sciences at the University of Maine, is facilitating the third annual #FindYourSeafoodWeek
(#FYSW) to connect community members directly with fishing families and seafood harvesters
and to raise awareness of community-based fisheries across the United States and Canada.
Find Your Seafood Week is a social media campaign that runs from September 10-16 and
increases the visibility of domestic seafood harvesters and businesses that participate in direct
marketing — in other words, selling their catch directly to consumers, rather than relying on
convoluted supply chains.
The initiative is focused on highlighting the importance of community-based fisheries in building
resilient local and regional seafood systems. During the pandemic, while global supply chains
faltered, the direct-to-consumer businesses within the Local Catch Network saw an uptick in
engagement. During the first Find Your Seafood Week campaign, approximately 1,200 people
visited LCN’s Seafood Finder, an interactive directory of local seafood businesses, over the
course of a week. With media coverage by CNN, Good Morning America, and other local,
regional, and national outlets, the total potential media reach exceeded 234 million people
throughout the duration of the 2021 #FYSW campaign.
“Many families are motivated to eat quality seafood, but are concerned about the impacts to
people and the planet,” says Laughton Elliott-DeAngelis, Local Catch Network Coordinator,
“Through #FindYourSeafoodWeek we are able to connect these families to values-based
seafood businesses throughout our network that are committed to protecting our oceans and
supporting their coastal communities.”
The Local Catch Network invites community members to join the “boat-to-fork” movement by
using the Seafood Finder to learn more about community-based fishing businesses, the
locations they operate, the number of fishermen they partner with, and the types of catch they
offer during #FindYourSeafoodWeek and beyond.
For information on how to participate in #FindYourSeafoodWeek, download our campaign
toolkit and follow LCN on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.
To access the Seafood Finder tool, visit https://finder.localcatch.org/.
About Local Catch Network
The Local Catch Network, based at the University of Maine, is an inclusive, values-based
network of 500+ seafood harvesters, researchers, and community organizations from across
North America. LCN members support and promote safe, direct, transparent and profitable
“boat-to-fork” systems of local and regional seafood distribution, such as Community Supported
Fisheries (CSFs) and similar models. Members of the Local Catch Network align with a set of core
values that aim to create a higher level of accountability and trust, both internally within the
network and externally to the public. LCN is governed by a volunteer Executive Committee
responsible for supporting the growth and development of the network, with backbone support
from the North American Marine Alliance. FMI: https://localcatch.org/.
For media inquires, contact Laughton Elliott-DeAngelis at info@localcatch.org