The world needs to know about the power of ✨𝗦𝗘𝗔 𝗩𝗘𝗚𝗘𝗧𝗔𝗕𝗟𝗘𝗦✨—how they’re regeneratively farmed, why they improve our coastal communities, and ways they shine as a culinary ingredient.

🌊🌿 In fact, there’s so much to unpack on this fascinating topic that we brought on seaweed advocate Rachelle Hacmac to The Conch podcast!

Rachelle is one of the co-founders of Winter Waters, an amazing seaweed-centric regenerative seafare dining series that is leading this conversation in Oregon.

So hear all about sea veggies—including 3 key things to know when you’re looking to try them—by tuning into Season 5, Episode 10!

Transcript

Episode Guide

• :00 Intro
• 01:02 Rachelle Hacmac, one of three founders of Winter Waters, shares why they started this regenerative seafare dining series in Oregon
• 05:42 There’s a great reason why Winter Waters happens in February, one of the gloomiest months of all!
• 09:00 Seaweed is the new kale
• 10:21 Seaweed cocktails? Yes please!
• 11:43 How has the public reacted to Winter Waters?
• 13:19 Can we farm seaweed in Oregon’s waters?
• 14:55 A deep dive into the connection between wild kelp forests and purple sea urchins (and sunflower sea stars!)
• 14:57 Winter Waters is also a fundraising tool for deserving nonprofits
• 19:33 Rachelle shares about the other two co-founders of Winter Waters, Alanna Kieffer and Kristen Penner
• 21:33 Why are seaweeds having such a big moment and advice for what to do if you want to start a seaweed farm
• 25:47 The importance of social media for the seafood industry
• 27:42 Three things you should know when you want to learn more about eating and foraging seaweed
• 30:39 Amplifying the voices of women in the seafood industry has been an unexpected, yet incredible component of Winter Waters
• 33:01 Rachelle’s sage advice for anyone wanting to break into the seaweed industry
• 34:04 Shout out to an amazing chef and friend of both SAGE and Winter Waters—Maylin Chavez!
• 35:23 What’s next for Winter Waters?Resources:
  

1. Find @winterwaterspnw on Instagram and give a follow and browse the website for more resources, including recipes!!
2. Learn more about the cool efforts of Winter Waters’ other founders: Alanna Kieffer and Shifting Tides NW and Kristen Penner and Oregon Coast Visitors Association

Have you heard of the GREEN CRAB, which is commonly known as the “world’s worst invasive species?”

Harming ecosystems and other species, the green crab is bad news—which makes it a great species to eat!

But how do you go about building a culinary market for an invasive species, especially given that many Americans don’t stray too far from seafoods like salmon, tuna, and shrimp?

Here to tell us on Season 5, Episode 9 of The Conch podcast is Mary Parks, the amazing Executive Director of Greencrab.org.

On a mission to spread awareness of its invasive impact, Mary’s taking the green crab from “problem to plate”!

Transcript

Episode Guide

• :04 Introducing Mary Parks, Executive Director of Greencrab.org.
• 01:00 Mary introduces us to the invasive green crab, commonly referred to as the world's “worst invasive species” and shares how they ended up in U.S. waters
• 04:08 The havoc that green crabs cause to both ecosystems and other animals
• 06:55 Green crabs are new(ish) to the West Coast
• 08:37 Mary’s journey to start Greencrab.org, a nonprofit that builds and supports culinary markets for European green crab, and also spreads awareness of their invasive impact
• 12:17 Venetians traditionally eat green crab roe. It’s a delicacy!
• 15:03 Mary shares the fascinating process of molting a green crab
• 20;00 How to build a market for an invasive species
• 25:39 Let’s say you’re a seafood harvester finding a lot of green crab—what do you do? Mary walks us through some critical steps and how Greencrab.org can help
• 31:23 A lot of communities, like the Khmer, cook green crabs in a variety of exciting ways and it’s important to acknowledge these communities in terms of their seafood buying power
• 35:17 Greencrab.org launched a harvester survey to understand who is participating in the fishery
• 36:43 Mary gives a shout-out to Isaura Buasier, an incredible chef who is redefining New England’s seafood cuisine

Resources:

1. Check out Greencrab.org to learn about the invasive green crab and even which restaurants serve them on their menus!
2. Recommend this episode to one person who is curious about stopping the spread of the world’s worst invasive species, the green crab

How can we use AI and Machine Learning to support Arctic fishing, shipping, and kelp mariculture—all of which are increasingly impacted by the climate crisis?

Leslie Canavera, a Yup’ik Alaska Native and the CEO of PolArctic, is here to tell us on the latest episode of The Conch podcast!

The PolArctic team developed the “first AI model of its kind to treat Indigenous Knowledge and Western science as equals, training with and validating both knowledge systems.”

If you’re curious to hear how merging these two knowledge bases has helped strengthen the seafood industry in the face of climate change, you won’t want to miss Season 5, Episode 8.

You’ll learn more about their impactful work and Leslie’s journey from getting her Master’s in Business Administration to serving in the Air Force to launching PolArctic!

Episode Transcript

Episode Guide

• :00 Intro

• 01:20 Introducing Leslie Canavera, founder of PolArctic, a company focusing on the Arctic and the ocean, creating custom, cutting-edge artificial intelligence models for forecasting future environmental change

• 04:19 Artificial Intelligence (AI) is challenging established paradigms in the Arctic environment. Leslie tells us how

• 05:59 The Arctic is experiencing incredible challenges due to climate change

• 10:12 Ice patterns in the Arctic are changing due to climate change. Leslie walks us through the impacts on fisheries and communities

• 13:40 PolArctic recently successfully developed the first AI model to integrate Indigenous knowledge, scientific data, and remote sensing techniques to assess potential inshore fishery locations for an Arctic community

• 16:15 The Arctic is a data desert

• 19:00 Parachute science: when we're collecting data sets and asking people for their knowledge, it’s important to use CARE and FAIR principles

• 20:54 Leslie’s career journey from growing up in Anchorage, to becoming an AirForce officer, to launching a tech startup

• 26:25 Leslie’s advice to eliminate inequality in the tech sector

• 30:45 Reshma Saujani said, "We're raising our girls to be perfect, and we're raising our boys to be brave." The challenges of VC funding and the importance of networking and sponsors

• 39:05 Leslie uplifts Jennifer Brown from Foraged and Found!

Resources:

1. 1. Check out PolArctic’s website to learn more about solutions to business and policy questions about the Arctic through the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) techniques.

   2. Interested in understanding why women-founded companies generate outsized social and financial returns? Read this article.

   3. Recommend this episode to one person who is curious about the importance of Indigenous knowledge in developing solutions to the greatest challenges facing our planet.