BOSTON, MA – The 8th Annual Boston Seafood Festival is proud to showcase many examples of sustainable practices throughout Sunday’s event, which runs from 11:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. on Boston’s historic Fish Pier. Festival attendees will have the opportunity to learn, touch, and feel how sustainable practices are vital to the continued success of our fisheries.
As a part of this year’s Chef Demonstration lineup, Jeff Trombotta, chef/instructor and professor at Norwalk Community College, will prepare a Green Crab and Kelp “surf and surf” combination. This wild-harvest/sustainable aquaculture pairing intentionally creates a market for the invasive green crab species, where harvests allow for habitat restoration for stressed native species. Trombotta will team up with J.P. Velotti of East Coast Kelp Farms to highlight the culinary side of Kelp, a highly nutritious sea vegetable raised sustainably with little to no impact on the environment. The Green Crab and Kelp “surf and surf” will be prepared live and delicious samples will be distributed at 4:15 p.m. Additional information regarding efforts to contain the invasive Green Crab will be available at the “Green Crab R&D Project” booth, located on the Fish Pier.
From 12:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m., Polkadog Bakery will offer free, guided tours of its Fish Pier processing facility for event attendees. Known for making dog and cat treats that enhance the sustainability of New England fisheries, Polka og Bakeries uses skins of locally-caught fish to make pet treats, increasing the utilization percentage of the fish that are caught. Attendees can see how these treats are made and better understand how the bakery keeps tails wagging throughout the Boston area. Tours begin every 20 minutes.
Visitors can check in with the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries, where representatives from the Commonwealth’s fisheries will communicate how the fish that we catch are sustainable. The University of Massachusetts School of Marine Science and Technology will educate visitors on the science of sustainability and species protection. Food vendors along the pier will identify which of their offerings are sustainable, and in some cases, share their philosophies regarding sustainability. Representatives of the Gloucester Fisherman’s Wives Association, which advocates for sustaining the Atlantic Ocean fisheries as a food supply for the world, will be joined in their booth by Gloucester Mayor Sefatia Romeo Theken to spread the awareness of the good work that the association does.
For the eighth year, the Boston Seafood Festival is proud to blend education with entertainment and seafood with sustainability. Event attendees are encouraged to purchase tickets in advance at www.bostonseafoodfestival.org. A portion of the event’s proceeds support the Boston Fisheries Foundation, a non-profit organization created to preserve, sustain, and share the region’s seafood and maritime heritage.
For more information and a complete list of activities, please visit www.bostonseafoodfestival.org. Find event updates on the Boston Seafood Festival Facebook page, @BostonSeaFest on Twitter, or join the conversation by using #BostonSeaFest.
About the Boston Fisheries Foundation:
The Boston Fisheries Foundation is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization created to preserve, sustain, and share the region’s seafood and maritime heritage, and the regional economy it supports. The BFF works to protect our oceans and fisheries while promoting Boston’s historic Fish Pier. The BFF created the Boston Seafood Festival to celebrate Boston’s rich fishing history, its bustling economic impact, and its bright, sustainable future.
