August 24, 2026 — The Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF) is launching a new campaign to promote locally harvested flounder.
The “Flat is Back” campaign is a DMF collaboration with the Massachusetts Flounder Chef Council that features 10 chefs across the state cooking dishes made with locally harvested flounder until 30 September.
August 24, 2026 — Telling the stories of watermen and meeting consumers where they’re at emerged as priorities during a hearing for a new seafood marketing initiative in Maryland.
With consumption down and state regulations adding to the hurdles faced by seafood harvesters, Marylanders are making a coordinated effort to revive seafood sales both locally and abroad.
Earlier this year, the state Legislature tasked the Maryland Department of Agriculture with forming a seafood marketing workgroup to identify challenges and opportunities in the industry and develop an expanded state-led strategy.
Seafood industry representatives, state legislators and the secretaries of agriculture and natural resources make up the group.
The first of two public listening sessions for hearing stakeholders’ input took place Aug. 18 at the Ag Department office, with an introduction by Maryland Ag Secretary Kevin Atticks.
He said the state’s seafood industry is diverse and the workgroup needs stakeholder input to form a coherent plan.
“The market has completely changed in some respects and in other areas hasn’t changed in a century,” Atticks said.
August 22, 2026 — Cultivating food for human consumption is among the most noble and important jobs in society. Harnessing the resources gifted to us by nature and turning them into delicious meals for our neighbors and visitors is a challenging task, and farmers—of both the land and sea—deserve our gratitude.
Our pristine waters produce the most exquisite seafood on the planet. The flavors of our farmed oysters, mussels, and salmon are desired by the finest chefs in America and envied by seafood producers all over the world. Maine’s sea farmers are the ones who make it possible for us to be nourished by this local, sustainable, and delicious food.
The Maine Farmed Seafood Coalition consists of over 50 businesses and industry support groups—including seafood farmers and dealers, banks, educational institutions, and nonprofits. Our goal is to tell the authentic stories of sea farmers and educate the public about the opportunities aquaculture presents for our economy, communities, and ecosystems.
August 19, 2026 — A“third eye” camera for groundfishermen and autonomous robots for lobstermen. That’s, in part, what a group of New England commercial fishing advocates, oceanographic researchers and tech companies hope to build with a $15 million federal grant.
The goal of the U.S. National Science Foundation funding, awarded in late July, is to help commercial fishermen catch better, healthier fish and bolster the region’s seafood industry from harvest to processing.
Researchers will use some of the money to further develop a camera system that allows captains and crews to see what’s swimming into their nets, before it is hauled onto the deck. The innovation could mean the difference between a net full of bycatch — fish that crews don’t want, because they’re heavily regulated, or can’t keep — and a harvest that makes money.
Other parts of the federal grant will be spent to develop autonomous robots to detect environmental conditions underwater that could lead to bringing up traps filled with dead lobsters.
The awardees also plan to use the money to figure out how to strengthen the processing side of the seafood industry, said Jake Kritzer, executive director for the Northeastern Regional Association of Coastal Ocean Observing Systems — the organization leading the group awarded the grant — in an interview with The Light.
August 19, 2026 — The following was released by Mass.gov
The Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF) today announced the launch of the Massachusetts Flounder Chef Council, a statewide campaign celebrating locally harvested flounders. Ten participating chefs will feature the versatile New England fish on restaurant menus across the state. The council brings together ten leading Massachusetts chefs, each of whom will feature a signature dish showcasing Massachusetts flounder. The dishes will be served at participating restaurant locations across Massachusetts through September 30.
“Massachusetts fishermen harvest world-class seafood from some of the most nutrient-rich fishing grounds in the world,” said DMF Director Dan McKiernan. “The Flounder Chef Council connects that fishing heritage with today’s diners while demonstrating how choosing local flounder supports fishing families, working waterfronts and coastal communities throughout the Commonwealth.”
Massachusetts flounder is wild-caught by local fishermen in the cool waters off the New England coast. With its mild, slightly sweet flavor and delicate white flesh, flounder is quick to cook and remarkably versatile. Flounder is low in saturated fat and packs a protein punch providing essential vitamins and minerals and over 20 grams of protein for 100 calories per serving.
Although local flounder is available year-round, Massachusetts fishermen caught only a portion of the amount allowed in 2025. Unpredictable prices, competition from imported seafood and limited consumer demand can make it difficult to sell more of the available catch.Through the Flat Is Back campaign, DMF and the participating chefs hope to introduce more restaurant diners and home cooks to this versatile New England fish while creating greater demand for the local catch.
“Massachusetts flounder is a beautiful fish to cook with – it’s fresh, delicate and incredibly versatile,” said Jeremy Sewall, Chef & Owner of Row 34 and Massachusetts Flounder Chef Council member. “By putting it on our menus, we can create something memorable for diners while supporting the local fishermen and coastal communities that make Massachusetts seafood so special.”
July 3, 2025 — DMF’s Seafood Marketing Program aims to increase consumer demand and preference for local seafood products and support local fisheries through education and awareness. Part of the program’s role is to attend local seafood, food, and outreach shows and conferences to share resources on local seafood, learn from industry members, and grow DMF’s network of fishermen, seafood dealers, restaurants, educators, and more!
The Seafood Marketing Program has attended several seafood promotional events so far this year!
Local Food Trade Show. The Sustainable Business Network’s 2025 Local Food Trade Show took place on January 28, 2025, at Russell’s Garden Center in Wayland, MA, featuring nearly 100 local food exhibitors. The event connected wholesale buyers with New England-based farmers and food producers, and several seafood industry members were also in attendance. This event was a great opportunity for DMF to connect with industry members during networking sessions and learn more about building a resilient local food economy. Seafood Expo North America. Seven seafood businesses made up Mass. Ave. at
Seafood Expo North 2025. These local Commonwealth businesses are promoted by DMF’s Seafood Marketing Program and received 50% cost-share for the show via MA Dept. Of Agricultural Resource (MDAR) and the US Dept. of Agriculture. MA Dept. of Fish and Game (DFG) Commissioner Tom O’Shea, Deputy Commissioner Sefatia Romeo-Theken and MDAR Commissioner Ashley Randle visited with those businesses and other Massachusetts businesses scattered throughout the show in March. A DMF grant-supported project by St. Ours was a finalist in the New Product Showcase using invasive green crabs for seafood broth.
New England Restaurant and Bar Show. More than a half dozen seafood businesses attended the New England Restaurant & Bar Show as part of the Massachusetts Seafood Pavilion March 30–31, 2025, at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center. Over 300 exhibitors showcased the latest products, services, and technologies, and alongside local seafood businesses, DMF helped promote local seafood and connect industry members.
MA Library Association Conference. The Seafood Marketing Program attended this conference for the first time, May 30-31 at the Sea Crest Hotel in Falmouth. Libraries are a hub for all-ages education and DMF wanted to inform librarians of the resources available on our website as well as our printed educational material and programming opportunities. Librarians were very interested in speakers from DMF for both in-person and on-line programming.
DMF’s Marine Quest. The Seafood Marketing Program was able to offer seafood sampling of over 100 pounds of Jonah crab at DMF’s first Marine Quest Festival using recently earned certifications. The sampling was a huge success!
The Seafood Marketing Program is busy creating video content. We filmed fifteen cooking videos starring Laura Foley Ramsden, a fourth-generation fish mongress with nearly 40 years of experience in the seafood industry, who generously donated her time. Seven of these videos feature local flatfish species as we continue to promote these species, including the pan seared sole recipe below. We are filming four story-telling mini-documentaries with fishermen as well. All videos will be posted on our social media with media partners during 2025.
September 1, 2022 — Jared Auerbach reached into a pile of long, skinny razor clams, pulled one out and cracked it open.
Uh oh, I thought.
We were only 20 minutes into the interview and I had already eaten two raw scallops. They were delicious, like butter. But I was sure I’d soon be doubled over with food poisoning.
“I didn’t know you could eat razor clams,” I said. “How do you eat them?”
“What do you think my answer is going to be?” said Auerbach, gleefully slicing clam meat with his shucking knife. “Raw!”
He offered the knife, a flap of clam flesh dangling off the blade.
I ate it. It tasted like the ocean. (And no, I didn’t get sick.)
Following Auerbach through the packing floor of his seafood company, Red’s Best, is like chasing a kid through a candy shop — albeit a candy shop with buckets of monkfish livers, trays of squid tentacles and 50-pound bags of scallop meat.
Headquartered on Boston’s Fish Pier, Red’s Best buys more than 10 million pounds of seafood directly from hundreds of local fishermen every year, Auerbach said. The company supplies seafood to Harvard, Brown and UConn, as well as Beth Israel Hospital and Rhode Island public schools.
The morning I visited, I saw locally caught pollock, halibut and tuna. There were soft-shell clams, blood clams, razor clams and surf clams. They had black sea bass, Boston mackerel and other seafood that I had never, ever seen in a local grocery store.
That’s weird, right?
In my neighborhood big-chain grocery stores, I’ve seen fish from New Zealand, Thailand, Indonesia, Norway, Canada, Chile, China, Columbia and even Idaho. Hardly anything comes from local waters except shellfish.
That’s because American grocery stores sell mostly cheap, familiar fish.
“People are buying crappy fish, and they’re trying to force feed it to their kids. Like old, icky fish that doesn’t have any taste,” said Melissa Marshall, who runs Cape Ann Fresh Catch, a community supported fishery in Gloucester.
What does this mean for people in New England who want to eat local, climate-friendly, “not-crappy” fish? Let’s dive in.
December 22, 2021 — From Alaska to California to New York to Maine, hyper-local seafood purveyors throughout the United States have seen a boom in interest the COVID-19 pandemic – and federal, state, and local governments are taking notice.
As the result COVID’s drastic impact on seafood supply chains and the U.S. consumer market for seafood, the local seafood trend has thrived in the pandemic, from direct-to-consumer seafood subscription services, to community supported fisheries (CSFs), to fishermen banding together to form sales cooperatives such as Real Good Fish and Get Hooked Seafood in California, Local Catch Network in New England, and Louisiana Direct Seafood.
December 18, 2020 — The following was released by the North American Local Catch Network:
The Local Catch Network, based in the School of Marine Sciences at the University of Maine, has received a half-million dollar grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farmers Market Promotion Program (FMPP) to support better integration of seafood into local and regional food systems and fund the creation of ‘Scale Your Local Catch,’ the first nationwide training and technical assistance program to catalyze sustainable direct-to-consumer seafood operations.
The Local Catch Network has raised $624,331 for the project, which included a 25 percent match contribution from the University of Maine System, in addition to a $499,463 grant awarded by the USDA. With funding secured, the Local Catch Network is now in the beginning stages of building out the Scale Your Local Catch program’s infrastructure and expects to start recruiting its first cohort in the summer of 2021. To start, the program will prioritize seafood operations that serve consumers in low income and low food access areas.
Joshua Stoll, Assistant Professor of Marine Policy at the University of Maine and co-founder of the Local Catch Network, explained the significance of the project:
“We are thrilled that the Local Catch Network is receiving this incredibly important and timely grant. As we have seen during the COVID-19 pandemic, and repeatedly in recent history, fishers and seafood harvesters are vulnerable to social, environmental, and economic shocks. Direct and values-based seafood businesses have been a bright spot, stepping up during the pandemic when traditional supply chains have faltered. This grant will help to ensure that these alternative business models remain sustainable long-term and seafood is recognized as an integral part of local and regional food systems.”
A broad range of skills, from marketing and social media management to pricing and permitting, are required to successfully sell seafood directly to consumers. Scale Your Local Catch will reduce the learning curve for fishing communities by leveraging the collective experience of the Local Catch Network and partnering organizations through workshops, networking and mentorship opportunities, and digital tools, such as a next-generation Seafood Finder designed to link consumers with producers in their local area. Scale Your Local Catch is being modeled after ‘Ag of the Middle,’ a well-established training program for small and mid-sized agricultural businesses facilitated by the Oregon-based non-profit, Ecotrust.
“We’ve successfully built a training program for farmers in the Northwest to expand their ability to feed the region. Scale Your Local Catch will expand the model and reach communities across the country, especially low-income communities and areas with low food access,” said Tyson Rasor of Ecotrust, one of the grant program partners.
“As a seafood business owner, I am so pleased with this opportunity to expand the Local Catch Network and support business models like ours across the US,” said Kerry Marhefka of Abundant Seafood and Executive Committee member of the Local Catch Network. “We must work collectively to demystify seafood as a protein source for consumers, remove physical, financial and educational barriers to access, and foster greater understanding of community supported fisheries as a path to creating more resilient and thriving local economies.”
August 18, 2020 — Summer flounder is a popular commercial fishery in the Mid-Atlantic region, with North Carolina allocated the largest share at 27.44 percent. Despite the widespread disruption in markets from covid-19, the state’s fleet by early summer was on track for landings just slightly lower than 2019.
Preliminary statistics show 69 North Carolina vessels representing 131 trips had landed 744,479 pounds of summer flounder by late June, with a value of $2.67 million distributed to 16 dealers.
“Landings of summer flounder appear to be somewhat down from last year, but the trend seems similar,” said Lee Paramore, biologist supervisor with the North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries. “Since we can modify trip limits to stay within quota, it may be possible to allow for increased harvest if landings remain down relative to last year.
“There a lot of factors that can impact landings, and we haven’t yet determined if covid will play a part, but currently the fish houses here that typically land summer flounder have been operating at same level.”
The state’s commercial landings for summer flounder have been consistent since 2008 ,with the exception of 2012-13, where excessive shoaling in Oregon Inlet limited the number of trawl boats able to land in North Carolina. Annual commercial landings averaged 2.25 million pounds of summer flounder since 2008.