Delaware Sea Grant kicks off webinar series

Delaware State News
Posted 5/14/21

NEWARK — At the Delaware beaches, locally grown oysters are beginning to reappear on menus as premium products available for purchase. But as the Delaware oyster industry begins to re-emerge, …

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Delaware Sea Grant kicks off webinar series

Posted

NEWARK — At the Delaware beaches, locally grown oysters are beginning to reappear on menus as premium products available for purchase. But as the Delaware oyster industry begins to re-emerge, Delaware Sea Grant is looking to ensure that these aquatic delicacies are available to all Delawareans in equal measure.

With that in mind, DESG will kick off its 2021 Delaware Sea Grant Engage and Exchange Workshops from 7 to 8:30 p.m. on Wednesday, May 19 with a webinar focused on “Regional Considerations within Food Justice in the Oyster Industry.”

The talk will feature Ed Hale, DESG marine advisory service specialist and assistant professor in the University of Delaware’s School of Marine Science and Policy, and Cristina Sandolo, an ocean food systems professional science master’s degree candidate at the University of New England.

Topics will include the current oyster aquaculture efforts underway in Delaware, as well as a description of the history of the oyster fishery in the region.

Further, Ms. Sandolo will present information related to her recent research on how food justice, which responds to the systemic inequities and racial discrimination in the food system, could be applied to enhance the equity of business ownership thereby enhancing industry potential.

Dr. Hale, who serves as one of  Ms. Sandolo’s advisers, explained that oysters are typically not uniformly available to all races and peoples, especially in Delaware where they are mostly found in southern coastal communities and marketed as a high-end product found in the more expensive restaurant establishments.

Making oysters available and accessible to underrepresented populations could be a boon for both the oyster growers and for those communities. Growers could add new customers, and people adding oysters to their diets will get a healthy, high-protein food that helps to clean the waters of their home state while it grows.

This workshop is free and open to the public. To participate, go online.

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