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Aquaculture America 2023 Plenary Features Market and Communication Speakers

Courtesy of NAA:

The theme for Aquaculture America 2023 is: Food for the Future.  To kick-off the conference, the Plenary Session on February 24th will feature two dynamic speakers, Daisy Berg, Program & Category Manager- Seafood for New Seasons Market, and Dr. Tracy Fanara, Science Communicator.  They will present on topics critical to US aquaculture: Marketing and Communication.

Grocery Chain Changes It’s Tune to Include Aquaculture

How would you change your company’s stance regarding aquaculture after 17 years of public facing statements about the benefits of wild Pacific salmon over farmed salmon?

New Seasons Market, located in the Pacific Northwest where wild salmon is king, made the decision early on to never sell farmed salmon. Daisy will share her journey to unravel the myths about farmed salmon, how she changed her mind, and persuaded her customers and staff, the future of wild salmon was dependent on aquaculture.

Daisy Berg Bio
Daisy’s history in the seafood industry runs deep, starting at the early age of nine in her family’s seafood business in New Mexico. Her father supplied fresh seafood to high-end restaurants in Albuquerque and Northern New Mexico and later opened several seafood markets that her mother operated. After leaving New Mexico, Daisy spent a few years in Atlanta, working with a small distributor specializing in sushi grade tuna.

In 2006 she relocated to the Pacific Northwest where she joined a chain of grocery stores called New Seasons Market. She is currently the Program & Category Manager- Seafood for New Seasons Market in the Portland Metro, and New Leaf Community Markets in Northern California. She is a champion for sustainable seafood, sourcing product and building relationships with small, local wild capture fisheries and global aquaculture operations.

Daisy’s commitment to sustainable fisheries extends beyond sourcing; she serves on the board of the Salish Center for Sustainable Fishing Methods and the Seafood Shelf-Life Advisory Committee—a NOAA Saltonstall-Kennedy project.

A Modern Take on Science Communication

Dr. Tracy Fanara’s goal is to bridge the gap between scientists and the public as a strategy to spark behavioral change towards more sustainable lifestyles. Through this, Tracy has learned the “do’s” and “don’ts” of science communication and is on a mission to share what she has learned with other scientists and those in science-related fields.

Dr. Tracy Fanara Bio
Dr. Tracy Fanara, a.k.a. Inspector Planet, is an environmental engineer, research scientist, and a noted science communicator with a BS, ME, and PhD from the University of Florida’s College of Environmental Engineering. Tracy gained international attention through her communication efforts during the 2018/2019 Florida Water Crises, where The Weather Channel coined her, “The face of red tide”. Tracy has developed water treatment technology, designs for hydrologic restoration, and citizen science programs with over 1.6 million users to obtain publicly available environmental data.

While Tracy’s day job as the US Coastal Modeling Manager for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is to advance our understanding of our earth systems and threats to humans. She spends her “spare time” as the science communicator Inspector Planet (among other exciting activities). Inspector Planet, uses social media and a variety of art forms to engage and empower the scientist in all of us to investigate, communicate, and solve environmental problems. Tracy co-produces a STEM comic book called “Seekers of Science”, creates videos and environmental wrap songs, and runs the STEM Camp, Mission: Tampa Bay. You may have seen Tracy on Science Channel, National Geographic, Myth Busters, Weather Channel, Fox or CBS; in Marvel’s Unstoppable Wasp comics, or as Xylem YSI’s Mission Water, Water Hero.

The early bird registration discount for Aquaculture America 2023 ends on January 25th.  Register today by clicking here.

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