Julie Kuchepatov is seeking to fight gender inequality within the seafood industry. She launched the Conch podcast where she interviews women at various levels of the seafood supply chain to tell their stories and show how women can be successful in the seafood industry. 

I chat with Julie to talk about how she started her organization, Seafood and Gender Equality, and launched her podcast. This is an interview you don't want to miss as Julie is such a great storyteller. 

Connect with Julie:

Website: https://www.seafoodandgenderequality.org/
Podcast: https://www.seafoodandgenderequality.org/theconch
Instagram: @seafood_and_gender_equality
Twitter: @sdg5forseafood

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Does Subway use real Tuna in their Tuna sandwiches? That is the question that many headlines read throughout social media sites recently as people were sharing variations of a New York Times article along the same lines. 

The purpose of the article was to test whether a lawsuit filed by some people in California about what was in the Tuna sandwich at Subway; however, the experimental design was weak at best. 

The "experiment" came back inconclusive so the result was that they didn't know the answer based on the results. Unfortunately, the headlines looked damning to Subway without any evidence that the restaurant chain doesn't use real Tuna in their sandwiches. 

Link to article: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/19/style/subway-tuna-sandwich-lawsuit.html

Check out all of our episodes on www.speakupforblue.com

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How can seafood consumers truly buy sustainable seafood? The first step is to decrease the number of middle people in the supply chain so that most of the money spent can support the smaller-scale fishers who do most of the work and follow the regulations for responsible fisheries. 

Sitka Salmon Shares is an Alsakan Seafood business that flips the current fisheries model on its head and provides a better alternative to seafood consumers. 

Nic Mink is the co-founder of Sitka Salmon Shares and he joins me on the podcast today to discuss how he started the business and how he overcame challenges to provide a responsible and diverse array of species. 

Links:
https://sitkasalmonshares.com/

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There has been a breakthrough in the Lobster Fisheries conflict between the Indigenous and Non-Indigenous Fishers in Nova Scotia, Canada. A conglomerate of Mi’kmaq Nations have purchased the largest seafood corporation in Atlantic Canada for a 50% stake in the company. The Mi’kmaq Nation had a partner in the deal, a company based in British Columbia called Premium Foods. The company owns a number of popular seafood brands in Canada and Internationally.

The deal marks the largest investment by Indigenous communities in the seafood industry. It also marks a huge win for Indigenous people who have been locked in a violent battle with non-Indigenous fishers over the past few months.

A group of Non-Indigenous fishers has been harassing Indigenous fishers who started fishing lobster legally and are not bound by seasonal closures as are their Non-Indigenous counterparts. Protests have turned from shouting matches to setting cars on fire as well as lobster storage houses in violent protests along the southern shores of Nova Scotia.

The Indigenous fishers have the right to fish year-round as it states in a government-indigenous treaty signed all the way back in the 1700s. The agreement was upheld by the Supreme Court in 1999.

The purchase of Clearwater is a separate matter than the local lobster fishery, but it will have a positive generational impact for the Mi’kmaq Nation.

Links To Articles:
1) https://atlantic.ctvnews.ca/first-nations-chief-calls-1-billion-clearwater-deal-a-generational-acquisition-1.5181778

2) https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/seafood-giant-clearwater-convicted-gross-violation-lobster-fishery-1.4971558

Register for the Mindful Conservation Conference: 
https://www.absolutelysmashingllc.com/mindful-conference

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Check out the Shows on the Speak Up For Blue Network:

Marine Conservation Happy Hour
Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2k4ZB3x
Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2kkEElk

Madame Curiosity
Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2xUlSax
Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2V38QQ1

ConCiencia Azul:
Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2k6XPio
Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2k4ZMMf

Dugongs & Seadragons:
Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2lB9Blv
Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2lV6THt

Environmental Studies & Sciences
Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2lx86oh
Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2lG8LUh

Marine Mammal Science:
Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2k5pTCI
Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2k1YyRL

Projects For Wildlife Podcast:
Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2Oc17gy
Spotify: https://spoti.fi/37rinWz

Ocean Science Radio
Apple Podcast: https://apple.co/3chJMfA
Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3bnkP18

The Guide To Mindful Conservation: Dancing In Pink Hiking Boots:
Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/31P4UY6
Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3f7hDJw

A great article was written in TechCrunch about how Start-Ups may be changing the future of how we consume seafood. Check out the article after you listen to some of the great Start-Ups tackling the problems.

Link to article

Do you think the seafood industry can be saved? Let me know what you think in the Speak Up For Blue Facebook Group: https://www.speakupforblue.com/group.

Want to be more eco-friendly? Buy certified eco-friendly products from our affiliate partner the Grove Collaborative: http://www.speakupforblue.com/goocean.

Check out the new Speak Up For The Ocean Blue Podcast App: http://www.speakupforblue.com/app.

Speak Up For Blue Instagram

Speak Up For Blue Twitter

Check out the Shows on the Speak Up For Blue Network:

Marine Conservation Happy Hour
Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2k4ZB3x
Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2kkEElk

ConCiencia Azul:
Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2k6XPio
Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2k4ZMMf

Dugongs & Seadragons:
Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2lB9Blv
Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2lV6THt

Environmental Studies & Sciences
Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2lx86oh
Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2lG8LUh

Marine Mammal Science:
Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2k5pTCI
Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2k1YyRL

Buying seafood is a difficult process these days, especially if you would like to buy sustainably caught seafood. There are so many things to take into account such as farmed vs wild caught, how the seafood was caught, where it was caught, and who caught it.

Then, when you finally think you have everything solved with apps such as Seafood Watch and programs such as Ocean Wise, you find out that the seafood you bought has a 48% chance (in Canadian cities) that it may not be the seafood you thought you were buying, or as it was advertised. In other words, seafood fraud is a big problem. 

So how do you buy seafood that solves all of the problems highlighted above? So search for the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) label. MSC works with 400 fisheries around the world throughout the entire supply chain to ensure its 30,000 products that carry the MSC label are sustainable.

Lucy Erickson, the Science Communications Manager for MSC, joins me on the podcast to discuss how the MSC program works and to give us hope in fisheries for the future. 

Do you buy MSC products? Share your experiences in the Facebook Group: http://www.speakupforblue.com/group.

Want to get started on living for a better Ocean? Sign up for the Grove Collaborative and get a free gift: http://www.speakupforblue.com/goocean. 

Links Associated With MSC:

https://www.msc.org/

https://www.msc.org/en-us/

MSC Fisheries Standards: https://www.msc.org/standards-and-certification/developing-our-standards/the-fisheries-standard-review

Avoid Being Duped By Seafood Fraud:

https://www.newscientist.com/article/2196872-a-third-of-fish-sold-is-mislabelled-heres-how-to-avoid-being-duped/#.XJUJXBM9tkw.twitter

The Trump administration is holding a set of public listening meeting between August 31st and November on the topic of allowing commercial fishing in Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). You might be asking "why would anyone allow commercial fishing in MPAs that are probably designed to protect habitats from overfishing?" And you are completely right. There really is no reason for this type of deregulation.

The reason the Trump administration is using is because of the country's seafood trade deficit. The Seafood trade is measured based on the value of the country's exports vs the country's imports. 

I take the time to run through why Dr. Martin Smith form Duke University says the US should have a Seafood Trade deficit.

Source

Enjoy the Podcast!!!

Do you think the US should run a seafood trade deficit? Let us know in the Facebook Group?

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A crazy story emerged out of Kuwait recently where a fish market was shutdown because it pasted googly eyes on its fish that it was selling. I am not lying...this actually happened. Insane...right?!?!